A trade association representing private hire vehicle operators in Andalusia, Ceuta and Melilla has called on the regional government to increase the staff and resources dedicated to transport inspection, saying inadequate enforcement is fuelling unfair competition.
The group, known as Asociacion VTC Andalucia, Ceuta y Melilla, said in a statement that fraud and a lack of effective controls were seriously harming companies and professionals who operate within the law.
Its president, Pablo Garcia-Trespalacios, said the problem affects the entire sector and demanded that existing rules be enforced and that authorities provide the means to guarantee effective inspection. He said those who work within the law cannot be harmed by those who break the rules.
The association stressed it is not calling for new regulations, only for current ones to be properly enforced. Garcia-Trespalacios said equal respect for the law is the only way to protect self-employed operators, companies and cooperatives that comply with the rules, ensure fair competition and give legal certainty to both the sector and its users.
Andalusia’s provincial transport delegations currently employ a total of 59 people, of whom 16 are inspectors. The association described that figure as clearly insufficient to oversee the thousands of transport licences in the region covering both passenger and freight services.
Under Spain’s Land Transport Regulation Act, known as the LOTT, starting a service in a territory other than the one where an operator is based is classified as a very serious infringement. Fines range from 1,001 to 2,000 euros, rising to between 2,001 and 6,000 euros for repeat offences within twelve months. Operators who accumulate three very serious sanctions over two years face revocation of their licence.
