Madrid and Barcelona Taxi vs Uber

I can only speak to Madrid, as my experience in Barcelona is out of date.
-The only times I've tried to use Uber the cars were far and slow, and I canceled the rides when I hailed a taxi on the street.
-Cards, always. When nearing my destination tell the driver "Pago con tarjeta, vale?" I say this not for approval, but to advise the driver, in case he needs to boot up the card machine.
-I only rarely take cabs in town. The city center of Madrid is compact, and walking is a much richer experience. When I do have to cover some ground quickly, I prefer the Metro as a "live like locals" experience—unless I'm hauling luggage at rush hour.

A bit of background:

As you might know, Barcelona hosts every year the Mobile World Congress now in February. The MWC brings around 130,000 visitors to the city just for this congress. It's one of the "big 5" in the city -so to speak- every year and for a week demand for taxis and other public transportation means is at its high.

Around the time of these large congresses and fairs is when the unions, especially those related to public transportation (cabs, metro, buses, trains...) attempt to force the government (either the City Hall or the Catalan Government, be the case) to accept their demands by threatening with strikes and collapsing mobility in the city centre and around the grounds of the exhibition complexes.

In the case of the MWC, since the first edition back in 1987, there have been a couple of instances -if I recall correctly- in which there wasn't an "agreement" between gov and unions and that particular week was a bit chaotic mobility-wise in certain parts of the city. This year, again the cabs threatened a strike so the Catalan government has temporarily lifted the ban on services like Uber --we call them VTCs here- and also has allowed VTCs from outside Catalonia elsewhere in Spain to work in Catalonia during this period.

THEREFORE, yes, Uber is available right now but I am not sure for how long (cause the issue about their legality has been dancing around for several years now in this city, having been made illegal by the City Hall, then having it revoked by a Court, then again illegal, then.... )

Still, I have no part in it but I honestly have to say that with the 11,000 taxis available in Barcelona I always felt I had enough of a good service when I needed one. On top of that, now you also have services like Cabify, which operates legally in the city.

Difference between taxis and VTCs
So you know, the main difference between taxis and the VTCs is that a taxi can be called in the street just by raising your arm when you see one with the roof pilot lighted green (meaning it's empty and available). With such an amount of cabs, it's unlikely you'll have to wait much if you stand on any major street or avenue. Also, there are taxi stops every few hundred meters where available taxis are waiting for customers. A VTC can only be summoned by calling/or using the app, and making a reservation in advance. The minimum is 15' in advance (that's set by the City regulations).

Usage of credit cards
All taxis are equipped with ccard readers.

How to identify a taxi
All taxis in Barcelona are painted yellow and black.... thus unmissable and spottable a mile away.

In Short: Uber's service in Barcelona is spotty at best due to its ambiguous legality. Better to use taxis in Barcelona, they are plentiful, efficient, and cheap.

Thank you SO MUCH Scudder, Enric and Carlos. The information you provided is extremely helpful and makes me feel better that I won't have an issue with taxis/credit cards (so much easier than cash). Appreciate your insight.

I try to keep at least some cash on me for taxis in Spain. Taxis are crazy easy to get and cheap if you are from the US. I used Taxis for late nights in Madrid and I used them to get to and from the train stations in Sevilla/Granada. Just look for the official ones. They are clean and professional.

I’m going to Barcelona in a couple of months so I emailed my hotel with this question. They replied that I can use Uber or Cabify apps so I’m going to download Cabify in case I have a problem with Uber.

One more note on cabs in Spain (and much of Europe): there are taxi stands, or cab ranks dotted around the city. They’re guaranteed places to get a ride. But drivers respect the sister, and wont pick you up outside a stand if your near one.

Def wise to ask where is the nearest to your accommodation. I’ve never looked for a map of taxi stands, but wouldn’t be surprised if there’s one online.

We are in Madrid today and just came from Sevilla. Cabs are plentiful and cheap. A Sevilla cabbie tolds us the general feeling among them is that Uber are "piratas" (pirates) because they feel Uber skirts regulations and don't pay their fair share in taxes.