“The Regional Government is not communicating with us, and we do not understand why. We have sent several meeting requests, and none have been attended to so far,” stated Valter Pereira, vice-president of the National Movement TVDE Association, which organized the protest.
On September 12, the Madeira executive (PSD/CDS-PP) published a resolution in the region’s Official Journal, temporarily suspending the granting and issuing of TVDE operator licenses (individual and remunerated passenger transportation in uncharacterized vehicles through an electronic platform) in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, as well as the issuance of TVDE driver licenses, for a period of six months from the entry into force of the decree.
Valter Pereira indicated that this measure initially affected approximately 80 individuals awaiting license issuance.
“This means that people who invested to obtain their TVDE driver certification in the Autonomous Region of Madeira found themselves unable to perform their duties and recover their investment in training,” he explained.
The vice-president warned, however, that despite the executive’s resolution, driver training courses in the sector are still being provided.
“This is one of the major errors of the Regional Government,” he stated, adding, “First, they should have suspended the new training courses, and then issue the project resolution.”
The TVDE drivers’ protest commenced with a vehicle assembly near Estádio dos Barreiros, proceeding in a caravan to the center of Funchal, stopping in front of Quinta Vigia, the seat of the Regional Government’s Presidency, and then moving to the square in front of the Madeira Legislative Assembly, finishing on Rua do Seminário, where the Regional Directorate of Land Transport is located.
The honking rally caused some traffic disruption, although no incidents were reported.
According to data from the National Movement TVDE Association, there are 425 registered companies in Madeira in the sector of individual and remunerated passenger transportation using uncharacterized vehicles through an electronic platform, with 740 drivers and 300 vehicles.
The Regional Government’s resolution to suspend the issuance of new licenses prompted the involvement of the Republic’s representative to Madeira, Ireneu Cabral Barreto, who requested the Constitutional Court (TC) to successively assess the legality of the decree.
“The Republic’s representative believes that, according to the Political-Administrative Statute, the Regional Government does not have the competence to limit the TVDE activity to operators and drivers who are already exercising it,” he mentioned in a statement on Thursday, emphasizing that “the inaction of the Republic’s bodies in this matter cannot be substituted by the Regional Government through a resolution.”
The Madeira executive remains steadfast, dismissing potential unconstitutionality of the measure.
On September 19, the president of the Regional Government, social democrat Miguel Albuquerque, told journalists that “in a region with geographical limitations, every sector must match the territory’s size and specifics.”
The aim of the suspension of new TVDE licenses is, as he said, to assess the operating conditions and impacts on road safety and traffic constraints, as well as competition with the taxi sector.
In 2021, the Madeira parliament had approved an executive decree limiting TVDE operations to 40 vehicles and 16 companies in the autonomous region, but the measure was declared unconstitutional by the TC in January 2024, after which the sector experienced exponential growth.
