Pías approves the ordinance regulating the auto-taxi service

The City Council of Pías has definitively approved the Regulatory Ordinance for the auto-taxi service, the full text of which is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Zamora number 108, dated September 16, 2026 (pages 88 to 94). The regulation, signed by the mayor-president, Otilia Anunciación Castaño Álvarez, on September 15, 2026, regulates the urban transport of passengers in passenger cars within the municipal district.

The publication is carried out in accordance with article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of the Local Regime, and the ordinance is issued under the third Additional Provision of Law 15/2002, of November 28, on Urban and Metropolitan Transport of Castilla y León. For matters not provided for, said law and the National Regulation of Urban Transport Services in Light Motor Vehicles, approved by Royal Decree 763/1979, of March 16, shall be directly applicable.

Vehicle Requirements

The text defines an auto-taxi as a vehicle dedicated to the public transport of passengers in passenger cars, which must be owned by the license holder and have the required insurance policy. Vehicles must comply with the characteristics of article 6 of Royal Decree 763/1979, including among others:

• Approved brands and models, with a closed body and up to nine seats including the driver’s.
• A minimum age of two years to start the activity and a maximum of fifteen years in service, unless individual authorization is granted following a report from the Municipal Technical Services.
• A 10-centimeter red distinctive mark crossing the doors in a diagonal strip, with the Municipal Coat of Arms of 20 centimeters on the front doors.
• Fire extinguisher, spare wheel, interior lighting, and Public Service (S.P.) identification plates with a taxi roof sign.

All vehicles will be subject to an annual inspection, which may be carried out jointly with the Vehicle Technical Inspection of the Junta de Castilla y León, and must carry a duly verified and sealed taximeter.

Licenses and Drivers

Given the needs of the service, a single auto-taxi license will be granted, although the City Council may expand it by agreement of the competent body when the public interest so requires. Licenses are granted for an indefinite period and can be obtained through municipal granting or by transfer, subject to the rights of first refusal and withdrawal in favor of the City Council.

Licenses may be requested by adults with the corresponding driver’s license and salaried drivers with full and exclusive dedication who contribute to Social Security. The holder must provide a minimum service of two hours per day, and the license will be terminated, among other causes, by ceasing to provide service for sixty consecutive days or ninety alternating days per year.

Provision of Service and Rates

Drivers must follow the itinerary indicated by the passenger and may not refuse to provide service except for just cause, such as the transport of a number of people exceeding the authorized seats or passengers in a state of manifest intoxication. They are obliged to provide currency change up to 50.00 euros, to refrain from smoking inside the occupied vehicle, and to deliver lost objects to the City Council within 72 hours.

Booking may be carried out via a signal perceived by the driver or a call to the switchboard, and preference shall be given to the sick, persons with reduced mobility, the elderly, children, and pregnant women. Rates shall be those established by current regulations and may be revised ex officio or at the request of a party. Infractions are classified as minor, serious, and very serious, with sanctions of 400 euros for serious offenses and from 401 to 2,000 euros for very serious offenses.

The ordinance shall enter into force once its full text has been published in the Official Gazette of the Province and the period provided for in article 65.2 of Law 7/1985 has elapsed. An administrative appeal may be filed against the agreement before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Castilla y León, based in Valladolid, within a period of two months.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Zamora, no. 108, September 16, 2026, III. Local Administration, pages 88-94 (official reference: R-202602188).