Portugal Rewrites Its Ride-Hailing Law: Taxis Can Join Uber and Bolt, and Drivers Must Speak Portuguese

Portugal's parliament has rewritten the rules that govern app-based ride-hailing, approving a revision of the so-called Lei dos TVDE (the law on individual paid passenger transport in unmarked vehicles) on Friday, 17 July. The overhaul reshapes how services such as Uber and Bolt operate — and, for the first time, opens that world to the country's traditional taxi trade.

The headline change lets a licensed taxi register for TVDE activity and take fares through the digital platforms, provided the vehicle meets the platform's requirements and signs up with a licensed electronic-platform manager. In a parallel shift aimed at consumer protection, drivers on those platforms will now have to demonstrate a command of Portuguese. The bills, tabled by the governing PSD and its CDS-PP partner, passed with support from several benches, while PS, Iniciativa Liberal, Livre, PCP and the Bloco de Esquerda (Left Bloc) voted against.

A trade that feels ignored

The reception from taxi drivers was hostile. The Associação Nacional Táxis Unidos de Portugal (National Association of United Taxis of Portugal) accused the government of surrendering to the sector's multinationals and said the reform ducked the issue that matters most to them: what they describe as systematic "dumping" — selling rides below cost to suffocate competition — by the large TVDE operators.

"The most critical point, and one that met total silence from the political power in this revision, is the systematic practice of dumping," the association's leadership said. A separate drivers' group, APTAD, went further during the committee stage, accusing PSD and Chega of shielding Uber and Bolt after proposals to tighten inspection and enforcement were voted down.

The taxi sector has spent nearly a decade arguing that the platforms enjoy looser oversight on pricing and driver conditions. Letting taxis onto the same apps is presented by the government as levelling that field; the trade sees it instead as being absorbed into a model built by its rivals.

What This Means for Expats

• Getting around: If you rely on Uber or Bolt in Lisbon, Porto or the Algarve, expect to see more cars on the apps as taxis join — potentially shorter waits, though not necessarily lower fares.
• Language on the ride: The new Portuguese-language requirement is aimed at driver accountability and safety; it should not change the experience for English-speaking passengers, but it may thin the pool of eligible drivers in the short term.
• Fare transparency: The dumping row is a reminder that headline app prices can be unsustainably low; watch for corrective price rises once the market settles.
• Wider mobility picture: The change lands as Portugal reshapes public transport more broadly, from a planned national intermodal pass to higher Lisbon parking tariffs and the contest to run the Porto Metro.

The revised law still needs promulgation before it takes effect. When it does, the everyday choice between hailing a taxi and opening an app may start to blur — even if the political fight over who benefits is far from settled.