Betanzos approves new taxi ordinance with two licenses per holder

The Plenary of the Betanzos City Council has definitively approved the new ordinance regulating the taxi service, a text that limits licenses to two per holder and establishes conditions for accessibility, security partitions, and vehicle markings. The agreement was adopted in the session of September 29, 2026, and is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of A Coruña number 199, dated October 19, 2026, under announcement number 2026/6631. The regulation arrives more than a decade after Law 4/2013, on public transport of persons in tourist vehicles in Galicia, which required city councils to adapt their ordinances.

The text is published for the purposes of article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, regulating the bases of the local regime, and was processed under file 2025/G013/000003. The initial approval occurred by agreement of the Plenary on July 28, 2026, announced in the provincial gazette on August 12, when a thirty-day public information period was opened to submit claims. The document bears the signature of the mayor, María Barral Varela, dated October 13, 2026.

The ordinance is structured into five titles and 42 articles, in addition to three transitional provisions and two technical annexes. Its objective is urban taxi services with a municipal license, which also require interurban authorization from the Xunta; both titles are granted without a prefixed term, although their validity is subject to periodic visa verification.

Two licenses per holder and restricted transfers

Article 4 sets the maximum number of licenses per holder at two, and the holder may not also hold a taxi license in another municipality. New licenses are granted via public tender, with a binding report from the General Directorate of Transport of the Xunta de Galicia, and priority is given to seniority as a driver and previous dedication to the profession.

• Transfer of the license: only after two years from its acquisition, except in cases of retirement, death, or disability.
• Anyone who transfers a license cannot be a holder in the municipality again until five years later.
• Maximum temporary suspension of two years, by request of the holder or ex officio in forced transfers.
• Each license allows a maximum of two drivers, including the holder, with a municipal permit and BTP license.

Accessibility, vehicles, and markings

Vehicles must be white tourist cars with the Betanzos City Council coat of arms on the front doors, 15 centimeters high by 9.60 wide according to article 17, while annex II sets 9.20 centimeters wide. The regulation limits the useful life of the cars to twelve years and establishes between five and seven seats, extendable to nine in exceptional cases.

• Taximeter with invoice printer, sealed, approved and verified, located in the front center third.
• Approved security partitions: 300 mm between the partition and the rear seat, or 230 mm if the separation from the backrest is 720 mm.
• Free space under the partition of at least 150 mm to equalize the temperatures of the two compartments.
• Vehicles adapted according to Royal Decree 1544/2007 and with the UNE 41501 pictogram, with priority for people with reduced mobility.
• Interior plate of 35 x 70 mm with the license number, seats and registration plate.

Stops, shifts and rights of the users

The mandatory stop at Praza García irmáns must be covered 24 hours a day, every day of the year, with annual shifts approved by the Local Government Board: a minimum of two taxis between 8:00 and 23:59 and one taxi between 00:00 and 07:59. The City Council will assume the common telephone line and may make the use of a radiotaxi service mandatory.

Drivers must provide change for up to 50 euros and, if the user pays with an amount that requires returning more than 20 euros, the user must notify them before starting the journey. Among the recognized rights are the right to choose the route, receive a receipt with origin, destination and license number, and be accompanied by a guide dog.

Sanctions of up to 6,000 euros

The sanctioning regime classifies infractions as minor, serious and very serious, with the following amounts:

• Minor: up to 400 euros.
• Serious: from 401 to 2,000 euros.
• Very serious: from 2,001 to 6,000 euros, with the possibility of declaring the expiration of the enabling title.

Very serious infractions prescribe after three years, serious after two, and minor after one, and the procedure must be resolved within one year from the initiation agreement. Surveillance corresponds to the Local Police of Betanzos, and the tariffs will be approved after a hearing with the Galician Transport Council.

The ordinance directly affects the taxi professionals of Betanzos, who have a period of four years to adapt the vehicles to the new requirements, and also the users, who gain guarantees of accessibility, tariff information and claims. The text replaces the previous regulation and provides the municipality with its own framework to organize the service, monitor its compliance and sanction breaches.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of A Coruña, number 199, October 19, 2026, Local Administration, pp. 1-15 (official reference: 2026/6631).