Until now, taxis and TVDE lived in separate regimes. The revision of law 45/2018 brings them together on one concrete point: taxis will be able to register for the TVDE activity and pick up trips through apps such as Uber and Bolt. The convergence is neither total nor symmetrical, and it was one of the points that drew the most resistance during the parliamentary debate.
On what conditions a taxi can join the platforms
To operate as TVDE, the taxi must meet the requirements applicable to TVDE vehicles and register with a licensed electronic platform manager. In other words, holding a taxi licence is not enough: the vehicle and the service become subject to the TVDE rules whenever the trip is made that way. In practice, a taxi driver who also wants to work through the app keeps their taxi licence and adds a TVDE registration to it.
When operating as TVDE, the taxi can no longer use the instruments proper to the classic service. According to the available information, in that service it cannot use taxi ranks or BUS lanes, and the price follows the platforms' fare rules, not the taximeter. It is the same car, but with two distinct ways of working, each with its own rules.
flowchart TD T[licensed taxi] --> A[classic taxi service] T --> B[registration in the TVDE regime] A --> A1[taxi ranks] A --> A2[taximeter] A --> A3[BUS lanes] B --> B1[registration with a platform manager] B --> B2[TVDE vehicle requirements] B --> B3[no ranks and no BUS lanes in this service]
A convergence that is not reciprocal
The law opens the TVDE regime to taxis, but keeps the barrier in the reverse direction. A TVDE vehicle still cannot provide a taxi service: it cannot pick up customers in the street, it cannot use the ranks and it cannot charge by the taximeter. TVDE vehicles also still cannot use BUS lanes. The asymmetry is deliberate: the taxi can extend its activity to the platforms, but the rules that protect the taxi service remain reserved for taxis.
This difference helps explain why the taxi sector reacted in a divided way. For some, the possibility of working through the apps is an opportunity to capture more trips. For others, taxis entering a field already occupied by TVDE does not solve the competition they consider unfair, and it adds complexity to a regime that was already hard to police.
The opposition of sector bodies
The integration was contested on several fronts. The IMT and the AMT opposed it, considering that these are distinct regimes that should not be mixed. The AMT specifically warned that taxis entering and leaving the regime could cause confusion in the records and make enforcement almost unworkable. The APTAD described the equivalence as irresponsible. Taxi associations have complained from the outset about unfair competition from TVDE, and went as far as calling for limits on the revision of the law.
On the TVDE drivers' side there was also opposition, with demonstrations against the integration. The Secretary of State for Mobility, Cristina Pinto Dias, acknowledged that the convergence between the two regimes raises challenges. It is, in essence, a change that displeases parts of both sides: neither do taxis feel protected, nor do TVDE drivers readily accept new competitors entering their field.
What changes, in practice, for the taxi driver
For those holding a taxi licence, the central novelty is the option to add a TVDE registration and also work through the apps, without losing the traditional activity. What does not change is the essence of the taxi service: the ranks, the taximeter and access to BUS lanes continue to exist, but only when the driver works as a taxi, not when they accept a trip through the platform.
what you can do
- register the taxi for the TVDE activity, meeting the TVDE vehicle requirements
- register with a licensed electronic platform manager
- keep using ranks, taximeter and BUS lanes in the classic taxi service
- work under both regimes with the same vehicle, each with its own rules
what you cannot do
- use taxi ranks or BUS lanes when making a trip under the TVDE regime
- charge by the taximeter on a trip picked up through the app
- join the platforms without meeting the TVDE vehicle requirements
Still awaiting publication and regulation
The revision was signed by the President of the Republic on 18 August 2026 and only takes effect after publication in the official gazette (Diário da República). Some details of the integration will still depend on later regulation.
Practical cases
I am a taxi driver and want to start working on Uber too. Can I?
allowedYes. Your taxi can register for the TVDE activity, provided it meets the requirements applicable to TVDE vehicles and registers with a licensed electronic platform manager. You keep the taxi licence and work under both regimes with the same car.
I am on a trip picked up through the app. Can I fetch the next one from the taxi rank?
not allowedNot in this service. When operating under the TVDE regime, the taxi is subject to that regime's rules and cannot use taxi ranks or BUS lanes. The ranks remain available when you work as a classic taxi, not when you accept trips through the platform.
I am a TVDE driver and see a customer hailing in the street. Can I stop and take them?
not allowedNo. The convergence between the regimes is not reciprocal. A TVDE vehicle cannot provide a taxi service, which includes picking up customers in the street, using ranks or charging by the taximeter. That kind of service remains reserved for taxis.