Castuera definitively approves the taxi ordinance with four licenses

The Castuera City Council has made the Ordinance regulating the taxi service final, as no claims were filed during the public exhibition period. The provisional plenary agreement was adopted on July 30, 2026, and its full text is now published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz on Friday, September 18, 2026, under Announcement 3638/2026. The regulation governs the public transport of passengers in passenger cars with a capacity equal to or less than nine seats, including the driver, provided within and from the municipal district.

The ordinance is issued under article 25.2.g) of Law 7/1985, of April 2, on the Bases of the Local Regime, Royal Decree 763/1979, of March 16, which approves the National Regulation of Urban Transport Services in Light Vehicles, and Decree 277/2015, of September 11, which regulates interurban public transport services in passenger cars in Extremadura. Its publication complies with article 131 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure.

The text repeals the previous taxi ordinance, published in the BOP of Badajoz on February 10, 2023, and will enter into force once fully published and after the period provided for in article 65.2 of Law 7/1985 has elapsed. A contentious-administrative appeal may be filed against the agreement before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Extremadura, based in Cáceres, within two months from the day following publication. The announcement is signed by the mayor, Francisco Martos Ortiz.

Four licenses, one adapted

The municipality will have four taxi licenses, one of which may be designated for the provision of adapted services for people with reduced mobility. The license authorizes the service with a specific vehicle, the identification of which appears on the title itself, and requires simultaneously obtaining the authorization that enables the interurban transport of passengers.

To obtain the municipal driving permit, it will be necessary to:

• Be over eighteen years of age and hold a valid driving license as required by the traffic code.
• Have no criminal record.
• Not suffer from any illness that prevents the normal exercise of the profession, nor consume narcotics or chronically drink alcoholic beverages.
• Be up to date with obligations to the state, regional, and local treasuries and with Social Security.

Licenses are granted by competition, following a public call that guarantees free competition, or by transfer in specific cases: death of the holder, illness, accident or force majeure, and seniority of more than five years in favor of a salaried driver. Holders must begin providing the service within sixty calendar days from the granting.

Obligations of drivers and claims

Drivers must follow the shortest route to the destination marked by the traveler, unless the latter states otherwise, and may not refuse to provide a service requested in person or by telephone without just cause. Just cause is understood to include, among others, the applicant being pursued by the Police, the requirement to transport more people than authorized seats, a traveler being in a state of manifest drunkenness or intoxication by narcotics, or the service having to be provided via impassable roads.

During the provision of the service, they must carry:

• Vehicle documentation: license, plate with the license number and seats, circulation permit, insurance policy and receipt.
• Driver documentation: corresponding driver’s license and municipal driving permit.

Additionally, smoking is prohibited inside the vehicle when occupied, with a mandatory indicator sign, and objects forgotten by travelers must be deposited at the corresponding municipal office. Each vehicle shall carry a complaints book available to users: the holder must mandatorily send a copy to the City Council within 48 hours following the claim and will then have 10 days to present arguments. Lost objects shall be delivered to the Local Police offices within 48 hours of their discovery.

Sanctions of up to 3,000 euros

The text defines minor, serious, and very serious infractions. Minor infractions include refusing to provide a service without just cause, not carrying the required documentation, failing to provide change, disrespecting the traveler, lack of personal grooming or vehicle cleanliness, and smoking inside. Serious infractions are considered to be following the longest route, not respecting the work schedule, providing service without passing mandatory inspections, failing to comply with the tariff regime, lacking mandatory insurance, forging the enabling title, and repeating a minor offense within the same year. Very serious infractions include committing three serious offenses in one year, abandoning the traveler without justified cause, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and retaining abandoned objects without reporting them to the authority within 72 hours.

The amounts are fixed as follows:

• Minor sanctions: warning and a fine of up to 750.00 euros.
• Serious sanctions: fine from 751.00 to 1,000.00 euros.
• Very serious sanctions: fine from 1,001.00 to 3,000.00 euros.

Adapted vehicles and transport of minors

Vehicles adapted for the transport of people in wheelchairs must have a clear floor space of at least 120 centimeters in depth and 80 in width, a minimum clear interior height of 140 centimeters in the area occupied by the wheelchair, and an access door 135 centimeters high by 80 wide, with adjustable anchors and a three-point seat belt. Ramps and lifting platforms shall have a minimum load capacity of 250 kilograms and maximum slopes of 20% and 12%, respectively.

Passengers may be accompanied by guide or assistance dogs without an increase in the price of the service. Drivers shall provide approved child restraint systems suitable for the size and weight of minors who do not exceed 135 centimeters in height, who in any case must not travel in the front seats. Any advertising on the interior or exterior of the vehicle is prohibited unless express authorization is granted by the body competent to issue the license.

The entry into force of the ordinance replaces a text in effect since 2023 and establishes for the first time a complete and updated framework for taxi activity in Castuera, with clear rules on licenses, tariffs, accessibility, and the sanctioning regime. Taxi drivers and users thus have a single document that sets their rights and obligations, from the obligation to attend to requested services to the guarantee of adapted transport and child restraint.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz, no. 179, September 18, 2026, Local Administration, pp. 2-9 (official reference: Announcement 3638/2026).