Taxis play a strategic role within the public transport ecosystem of Barcelona, complementing mass transit and serving key urban nodes such as the airport, the port, and major intermodal hubs. However, managing a large and complex taxi system requires a clear, continuous understanding of how the service actually operates on the street.
To support evidence-based decision-making, CENIT, the Innovation Unit in Transport at CIMNE, is leading a new programme of analytical studies for Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB) focused on the metropolitan taxi sector. The work provides public authorities with robust, independent analysis to monitor sector performance and inform tariff reviews and mobility policy.
Long-term monitoring built on real operational data
The project builds on CENIT’s long-standing collaboration with metropolitan taxi authorities and its experience managing the Taxi Observatory in Barcelona. At its core is the systematic use of anonymised taximeter data, complemented by institutional and socio-economic datasets, to produce a continuous and representative picture of taxi activity across the AMB.
The CENIT team are responsible for designing and implementing the full analytical framework, including the ongoing collection and processing of taximeter data from a sample of monitored vehicles; the production of monthly and annual Observatory reports on sector performance; the analysis of productivity, occupancy rates, revenues, and operational efficiency; the estimation of the average annual income of taxi drivers to support the annual tariff revision process, and the development of dashboards and business intelligence tools for historical analysis.
All data are handled under strict confidentiality and data protection protocols, ensuring full compliance with GDPR requirements. According to CENIT project manager Paco Gasparín, the project “strengthens the technical basis for taxi regulation by translating continuous, real-world operational data into objective indicators that can be directly applied in tariff setting and mobility policy decisions.”
From indicators to strategic understanding
Beyond individual metrics, the studies aim to explain how supply, demand, and operating conditions interact over time. By analysing patterns by hour, day, season, and location, the project helps identify structural trends such as changes in demand intensity, levels of empty running, or shifts in driver productivity.
The analyses allow public authorities to track the recovery and evolution of the sector over time while assessing the efficiency of the service in different operating conditions. The study also focuses on quantifying the economic sustainability for drivers and evaluating the environmental externalities linked to taxi operations.
Supporting transparent and informed governance
By consolidating high-quality data and rigorous analysis into a stable observatory framework, CENIT’s work supports a more transparent and objective governance of the taxi sector in metropolitan Barcelona. The project enables policy decisions to be grounded in observed evidence rather than partial or ad hoc information.
Ultimately, this approach reinforces the role of data as a key enabler of sustainable, efficient, and resilient urban mobility — ensuring that the taxi service continues to adapt to changing travel patterns while maintaining its essential role within the metropolitan transport system.
