The robotaxi travels from Zagreb to Madrid without passing through Barcelona

The robotaxi, the autonomous car, the electric one that goes alone, is already a reality in Zagreb. In Europe this service is also found in London, but in no other city is it as consolidated as in the Croatian capital. About thirty of these vehicles already roll here.

And soon they will also work in Madrid. Other cities where people will be able to travel without a driver are Munich, Zurich and Manchester. Its implementation in Barcelona is not on Uber's agenda. The lack of harmony with the administrations and the pressures of many taxi drivers leave the Catalan capital out of the plans of this multinational. Today Barcelona is a disturbing hornet's nest.

In Zagreb these vehicles still circulate with an operator in the driver's seat in charge of taking the wheel if necessary. This is a preliminary phase. This story began in the United States ten years ago. There traffic and its regulations are less convoluted. In addition to Zagreb and London, Uber and its partners here and there also currently offer supervised autonomous cars in Las Vegas, Riyah and Dallas. And now with no one in the driver's seat in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Austin and Atlanta.

Uber is finalizing the corresponding mapping and testing in Madrid to obtain the latest approvals from the Community of Madrid and the General Directorate of Traffic and begin marketing this service before the end of the year in Sanchinarro, Las Tablas, Arturo Soria and Hortaleza, as well as in Alcobendas. The company has not yet revealed how many cars it will deploy in this area. And he hopes that robotaxis will operate in Madrid without any operator in 2027.

In several experimental trips in Zagreb, La Vanguardia was able to verify that the anxiety that this service can arouse quickly disappears. The robotaxi does not exceed the speed limits, lets people pass at pedestrian crossings and remains silent the entire journey. A couple of dozen cameras and radars allow those responsible for the service to be aware of everything that is happening around the vehicle.

Verne, one of Uber's partners in Zagreb, also boasted these days of a very futuristic prototype, even without a steering wheel, packed with screens and ultra-connected. It also has a review system to find out if the passenger did something during the trip that requires extra maintenance work. You miss, however, the typical interior rearview mirror to take a look during the trip.

In any case, Uber understands that the main virtue of this service is to improve the offer at the times and places where it is weakest, such as early mornings on weekends in many urban centers. And it remains to be seen how much money fleet managers can save by cutting drivers. No one says for now how far they intend to go.

Meanwhile, Barcelona still travels to the 90s, to the times without apps. The Generalitat is still processing the new law on the transportation of passengers in vehicles with up to nine seats, the also called taxi law and in some circles the Tito law, a regulation called to sweep away from the metropolitan area competition to taxis for rental cars with drivers, also known as VTC, which use the Uber, Bolt and Cabify apps to attract customers.

And this regulation in the making does not contemplate the autonomous car. "Given that the Sustainable Mobility Law already provides for this vehicle - says Marc Tarres, a jurist who is analyzing the processing of this rule -, the new law should at least provide for a subsequent regulatory development. The implementation of these cars will have effects on drivers." And it was supposed to be approved in the spring, but no one expects it this year.

"The autonomous vehicle makes this regulation even more urgent," says Tito Álvarez, the founder of Élite Taxi, from his refuge in the Caribbean. "We must guarantee public control. We cannot wait for multinationals to concentrate business and discover that we have lost the ability to intervene."

Recently, eight taxi drivers' associations expressed their opposition to this new taxi law and questioned Tito's representativeness, and also demanded that the Generalitat start from scratch and take their opinion into account. "The taxi is a very diverse sector - they say -. We want to be heard." And as everything delays, the city becomes cloudy.

Furthermore, Muhammad Bilal, from Aurora, the largest group of VTC drivers, warns that they are one step away from taking to the streets. "The judges are agreeing with us, annulling the restrictions that the administrations are trying to impose on us. There are more than 3,000 of us who are waiting for our judicial rulings. If the administrations continue to punish us, we will protest as necessary."

Bilal also denounces that many of his colleagues are harassed by some groups of Asian taxi drivers who sweep their cars and force their clients to get off. Since Tito is away, they appear on the Barcelona asphalt more uncontrolled than ever. Before there were fewer spontaneous rampages.

In this context, Barcelona does not seem the best setting to develop cutting-edge initiatives.