Read in Catalan

In theory, the strike was to end today. Mid-morning, union officials said they wouldn't take additional measures before discussing them in an assembly this afternoon. But drivers have taken things into their own hands.

Spontaneous gatherings of "wasps", as Barcelona's taxi drivers call their yellow and black vehicles, have blocked the roads to Barcelona-El Prat airport and Sants station, one of the most important in Barcelona. A group of drivers started driving slowly from the airport towards the city.

taxistes vaga sants. Gisela RodríguezDrivers at Sants station after the strike was announced / G.R.

The drivers entered the Catalan capital via plaça Espanya, heading along Gran Via in all three lanes to plaça Universitat and the centre of the city, disrupting traffic for all other vehicles. 

"Today no taxi, today strike", has been the announcement repeated throughout the day to tourists arriving at key transport hubs around the city.

The announcement via WhatsApp was that service would be suspended until 6pm, when a meeting was scheduled between the unions and the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau. The improvised nature of the strike caused confusion among drivers, unsure what they should do.

"We don't accept responsibility for anything that might happen"

Finally, in a joint statement, the unions officially called for an "immediate stoppage" until further notice, which they said would follow this afternoon's meeting. They also disavow any responsibility for "any event which could occur in our streets", placing the responsibility on "the public works ministry and its minister for the situation of alarm created". 

A spokesperson for the union Agrupació Taxi Companys (ATC), José Manuel López, expressed disappointment, saying they had had "great hopes" that the previous days of strike would have been successful. "We've lost a battle, but not the war," he said, but he recognised ahead of the meeting that "it's not a question that is solved in one minute".

The new strike comes after the High Court of Justice of Catalonia decided to maintain its provisional suspension of a new law limiting the number of VTC licenses to be issued. VTC licenses are those used by drivers for companies like Uber and Cabify. Drivers are striking because they believe that the issue of unlimited such licenses is unfair competition.