Is There Uber In Barcelona & Spain? What You Need to Know
There is Uber in Spain, but it’s a little confusing to use. Due to the push-and-pull legal battle between Uber and the Spanish taxi associations over the past decade, Uber exists in Spain on a per-city basis rather than a per-country one. For example, Uber services are extensively available in Madrid, where Uber drivers need to be licensed like traditional taxi drivers, but it is extremely limited in Barcelona, where there have been protests erupting in recent years.
So, using Uber in Spain is kinda confusing – I’ve written this guide so you know how to best get around in Spain in cities with and without Uber service. Keep reading for everything you need to know!
✔️ Essential Info
- 🏝 Where is it Available? You can use Uber in Spain in major cities like Madrid and Valencia. Due to taxi protests, Uber is limited in Barcelona, and not available on the Spanish Islands.
- 🚕 Is Uber Legal in Spain? Uber’s legal status in Spain is constantly changing – right now Uber is legal, but limited.
- 📲 Is it Safe? Using Uber in Spain is safer than taking traditional taxis off the street because Uber has GPS tracking.
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✈️ Spain Airport Transfers
While you can’t take Uber from all of Spain’s Airports, you can book your airport transportation ahead of time here
What You Need to Know for Using Uber In Spain
✔️ Uber’s Legal Status Is In Flux In Spain – Due to Spanish taxi regulations, Uber’s legal status and to what capacity it’s allowed to operate has been constantly in flux since it launched the past decade. Keep reading for more information on Uber’s legal status in Spain.
✔️ Uber Is Most Widely Available In Madrid – Uber is always the most accessible in larger cities, but in Madrid in particular there are a ton of different Uber options ranging from the typical Uber X to Uber Pet, Uber Lux, etc to choose from!
✔️ Uber Is Most Contentious In Barcelona – For the past four years or so there have been protests from both taxi drivers and Uber drivers in contention to taxi regulations for both parties.
Right now, Uber officially is running in Barcelona, but there are very few drivers, so it’s unlikely even an Uber Taxi ride will be accepted.
Taxis Vs. Uber In Spain
While there are lots of different Uber services available in large cities like Madrid, the most common way the Uber app is used in Spain is as a conduit for hailing traditional metered taxis, kinda like an online taxi rank. So, there really isn’t much difference between taking a taxi or an Uber in Spain! That being said, due to added security benefits like ride-tracking and fare estimation, I would recommend hailing taxis through the Uber app when it’s an available option to you!
Can You Take Uber From The Airports In Spain?
Wondering if you can take Uber from the airports in Spain to your hotel? The answer is, it depends! While taking Uber from the airports in Spain isn’t expressly forbidden like it is in some other places, Uber operates on a per-city basis in Spain, so it depends on which city you’re flying into.
In Madrid, for example, you will likely have no problem taking either an Uber X or calling an Uber Taxi from the airport terminal. But in Barcelona, where Uber is in contention, you likely will not get a car. I recommend just skipping the uncertainty and booking your Airport Transportation ahead of time, especially if you’re not a Spanish speaker!
🚕 Transfer Service From Barcelona Airport ➡️ Here
🚕 Transfer Service From Madrid Airport ➡️ Here
🚕 Transfer Service From Valencia Airport ➡️ Here
🚕 Transfer Service From Ibiza Airport ➡️ Here
🚕 Transfer Service From Tenerife Airport ➡️ Here
Is There Uber In Barcelona?
Barcelona is currently a hotspot of contention among taxi drivers and ride-sharing services, with protests erupting earlier this year. Because of this, according to the Uber app, there are Uber Taxis and Uber X cars in Barcelona, in reality, there are almost no cars operating.
Getting To/From Barcelona’s Airports
I mentioned earlier in this article that Uber in all forms is in turmoil in Barcelona, so unfortunately it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get an Uber X car or an Uber Taxi from Barcelona’s airport. Instead of using Uber or taxis at the airport, I recommend just arranging your airport transportation ahead of time so there’s no uncertainty about how you’re getting to your hotel!
Uber is legally operating in Spain as of 2024, that being said, it was a long road to get there! Uber first started operating in Spain in 2014 under the name “UberPop”. UberPop was considerably cheaper than traditional taxis in Spain because UberPop drivers didn’t have to incur the same licensing expenses traditional taxis did.
Under UberPop, anyone with a car could start driving and due to the cheap cost of service, they were putting traditional taxis out of business. In late 2014, the Madrid Taxi Association complained and got UberPop banned from operating. Then, in 2019, extensive regulations in Barcelona caused Uber to completely pull out of the city for two years until they came back in 2021 with new means of compliance.
The rules enacted in 2019 were deemed frivolous and unnecessary by ride-hailing app supporters and included rules like “all rides must be booked 15 minutes in advance“, and all cars needing bumper extenders.
Even after complying with Barcelona’s ride-hailing rules, Uber is still in hot water there. Protests from both sides have prevented Uber and other ride-hailing services from thriving in Barcelona, even though they’re currently able to legally operate there.
Even though Uber in Spain, along with other taxi-hailing apps like Cabify and Bolt, are most commonly used to just call traditional metered taxis to your location. I believe that using a tracked app service like Uber is always safer than just hailing a cab off the street! Especially if you’re in a foreign country for the first time!
Why? Well, for one, using the app to put in your location helps get around language barriers, and helps you make it to your destination safely.
Uber also tracks your ride and keeps a record of things like the license plate of your taxi driver in the app. While you could take a photo of every single license plate for every cab you ever get into, it’s a lot easier to have all of that done automatically for you!
📲 Safety Tips
✅ Always take a picture of your Uber driver’s license plate (and make sure they see that you took a picture!).
✅ Use Uber’s “share-ride” feature to share your trip with your emergency contacts in live time.
✅ Ask your Uber driver for your name before getting in the car. Some taxis will pretend to be your Uber driver because they just want some work.
✅ Contact a local Spanish SIM card so you have data during your trip in case you need to call someone. 💡 Tip: You will need an unlocked phone for this!
✅ You can download a map of your city offline on Google Maps so you can track your trip even if you don’t have a cellular signal.
🚩 Illegal Taxi Drivers
The Irish Mirror has taken to warning travelers visiting Spain about fake taxi drivers who aren’t licensed and do not use meters. They have these in New York too, and they’re called “Gypsy Cabs”. These illegal cabs usually target travelers just arriving in the country who haven’t visited the city before and therefore don’t know what legal cabs look like. I would honestly just recommend arranging your airport transfer ahead of time, especially if it’s your first time in Spain, to avoid this kind of situation.
🚩 Running Up The Meter
I wrote about how this taxi scam actually happened to me when I was on a study abroad in Rome. I didn’t use Uber in Rome and fell for this common European taxi scam. Basically, if you’re a foreigner or just obviously a tourist, a metered taxi will take you the “long way” to run up the metered fare. This scam happens all over, not just in Spain, and is a great reason to use Uber or another tracked taxi service when it’s available!
🚩 Fake Tickets
If your taxi / Uber/car service driver is dropping you off at a train or bus station they might offer to buy the tickets for you. There have been some reports of tourists who give money to either their taxi driver or someone their taxi driver put them in contact with at the station, giving them fake tickets and taking their cash!
There is Uber Eats in Spain. It’s available in most larger cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, etc. Do know that Uber Eats is its own app in Spain, which needs to be downloaded separately from the taxi Uber app. Another very popular food delivery app in Spain is the “Glovo” app, which also works in most major cities.
Different Types Of Uber
Here are all the different types of Uber available in Madrid, where Uber is most prolific in Spain. Keep in mind that in most smaller cities only Uber X or Uber Taxi will be available!
🚕 Uber Taxi – Uber Taxi is the most commonly used Uber service in Spain, it’s where you can call a metered traditional taxi to your location through the Uber app.
🚘 Uber X – This is the standard Uber service that’s most commonly used all over the world.
🚐 Uber Van – A higher-end service for up to 6 passengers.
🚙 Uber Comfort – Larger cars with more legroom.
🐶 Uber Pet – Uber X cars that allow pets.
👨👩👦 Uber Kids – Uber X cars equipped with car seats.
🥂 Uber Black – Higher-end version of Uber X.
🛴 Uber Lime Scooter – Rent a Lime Scooter through your Uber App! This is similar to how Citibike operates in NYC through the Lyft app.
🚲 Uber Lime E-Bike – You also have the option to rent an E-Bike through Lime on your Uber app.
⏰ Uber Black Hourly – Hire a private driver + a higher-end vehicle by the hour.
