Drivers of unmarked vehicle transport services (TVDE) across the country are being mobilized for a national strike against the fare imposed by Uber.
During two periods of the day, from 07:00 to 10:00 and from 17:00 to 20:00, drivers threaten to “turn off the Uber app and operate only on Bolt, protesting the platform’s abusive practices, which charge commissions above those permitted by Law No. 45/2018, financially suffocating thousands of drivers in Portugal”.
“This strike is to enforce the law in Portugal. Currently, we are working with very low fares where Uber keeps more than half of the value of our work,” says Tiago Sousa, leader of the movement promoting the strike.
The Portuguese Association of Unmarked Vehicle Transporters (APTAD) has already stated that “this strike arises as a form of protest against the extremely low earnings that the Uber platform continues to impose on drivers.”
“At the beginning of 2025, APTAD sent to the electronic platforms and the Mobility and Transport Authority (AMT) the real cost values per kilometer and per minute for TVDE operators, advocating for them to be implemented as a minimum reference for sustainability. The platforms completely ignored these values, continuing to operate at prices well below the real costs of operation,” APTAD added in a statement.
The association further adds that “it supports and will always support all initiatives that bring visibility and public pressure to the real structural problem of the sector: the miserable rates practiced by TVDE platforms, which drain any prospect of fair profitability for drivers and operating companies.”
