Driving a private hire car in Ávila: a province split by Gredos, Ávila station, the AP-6 to Barajas, the Tiétar that looks to Madrid and the hospital; method and variables for doing the sums
Ávila is a province of long mountain trips, split by Gredos into two markets that barely touch. To the north, the capital and La Moraña look to Madrid and Barajas along the AP-51 and AP-6: Ávila to the airport is 125 km and about 98 min, from 167,97 €. To the south, the Tiétar valley runs down to Madrid without climbing to Ávila: Arenas de San Pedro to Barajas, 189 km. In between, Ávila station, Nuestra Señora de Sonsoles hospital and Gredos in summer. A driver's sums come from their fixed costs, the empty kilometres of each corridor and the hours they cover; the commission is published on the drivers page, with a simulator for doing them.
Written by Ridelta - Taxi y VTC · reviewed on 27 October 2026
What makes Ávila different for a driver: a mountain range in the middle and Madrid to one side?
The province works as two. North of Gredos are the capital, high on its plateau and inside the walls, the Amblés valley and the plains of La Moraña around Arévalo, with the AP-51, AP-6 and A-6 towards Madrid and the A-6 towards Valladolid. To the south, the Tiétar valley, from Sotillo de la Adrada to Candeleda through Arenas de San Pedro, has a milder climate, many Madrid second homes and a way out to Madrid via San Martín de Valdeiglesias and the M-501 that does not pass through Ávila. Between the two, the Pico pass and the Gredos crossings, mountain roads that carry snow in winter. A Tiétar driver and a capital driver almost never compete for the same job, and it is worth deciding from the outset which side of the range you work.
The rest is what each side holds. In the capital, Ávila station, on the conventional line to Madrid via El Escorial, with trains that end at Chamartín and do not reach Barajas, so early flights and late-night returns are done by car; Nuestra Señora de Sonsoles hospital, south of the city, to which the whole province comes down; and the walls, with the Santa Teresa fiestas in October and the Medieval Festival in September. In the north, Arévalo and Madrigal, with the A-6 on the doorstep and Valladolid next door. In the south, the valley villages, with no train and a bus that seldom passes. And Gredos, with the Plataforma above Hoyos del Espino, which fills at weekends in summer and autumn. The route pages publish trips from eleven origins in the province.
Which corridors carry demand in the province?
The ones linking the province with what it lacks. The first is Barajas: from the city of Ávila along the AP-51, AP-6 and the M-40 or M-50; from Arévalo, 142 km along the A-6; from Arenas de San Pedro, 189 km down the valley, without crossing the range. These are half-day jobs, with a small-hours departure for early flights and a pickup in arrivals with a sign for late-night returns. The second is the Madrid stations, Chamartín and Atocha, for AVE connections at a fixed time: from Las Navas del Marqués, the closest town to Madrid, 72 km. The third is Ávila hospital with waiting time, from every village: from El Barco de Ávila, 82 km along the N-110.
Then come the seasonal corridors. In summer and on long weekends, Gredos and the Tiétar fill with day-trippers and summer residents from Madrid: the climb to the Plataforma from Ávila, 77 km, with the return booked for the agreed time, and the Friday-afternoon and Sunday comings and goings with luggage. In October, Santa Teresa brings visitors to the capital with closures by the walls; in September, the Medieval Festival. Accommodation in Gredos and the Tiétar books pickups at Ávila station and Barajas and excursions with waiting time for its guests, and businesses in the capital book staff transfers and visits with a monthly invoice. Nobody promises how many jobs there will be in a January week in Piedrahíta: what there is is a price known before you set off and the corridors where demand genuinely exists.
Which variables go into the sums: fixed costs, empty kilometres and hours covered?
The method is the same in any province; the variables are Ávila's. First the fixed costs, the ones paid whether the car works or not: the self-employed contribution, insurance covering passengers, the roadworthiness test, road tax, the depreciation or finance payment on the vehicle and, with your own authorisation, whatever it costs to keep it valid. Then the costs per kilometre: fuel, tyres, maintenance and the AP-51 and AP-6 tolls, which a Barajas job pays and the N-110 route does not, in exchange for time. And lastly the empty kilometre, which weighs more in Ávila than in a flat province: a Barajas job has a return without a passenger unless another is booked, and a transfer from the Tiétar to Ávila hospital means crossing the Pico pass twice if the waiting time is not booked.
With those three items you do the sums per corridor: what the job pays according to the route engine, minus the published commission, minus the cost of the outward and empty return kilometres, and the remainder spread over the hours the job takes up, waiting time included. Hours covered are the last variable: a driver who is online in the small hours and on Sunday afternoons sees the early flights and the Gredos returns, which are the jobs fewest cars cover; one who works nine to five sees hospital appointments and train connections. The drivers page has a simulator that does these sums with each person's own figures, with their own vehicle or a company car, and in the preliminary call you are told the jobs done in your area the previous month, without turning them into a promise.
Which legal framework applies: Royal Decree-Law 13/2018 and regional competence?
The VTC authorisation is the hire-car-with-driver authorisation under the Land Transport Act, and Royal Decree-Law 13/2018 changed it in two ways that matter in Ávila. The first: the national authorisation enables interurban services, and urban ones, those starting and ending in the same municipality or area, depend on what each autonomous community regulates. The second: services are always contracted in advance, with a trip sheet and a filing with the Ministry's services register before each one, which the platform generates; you cannot wait at the taxi rank at Ávila station or offer the car to people getting off the train. In Castilla y León, whatever the regional government has in force on urban services is checked on its website before accepting a trip within the city itself.
For an Ávila driver the practical consequence is that almost all their work is interurban and within the authorisation: Ávila to Barajas, Arenas to Madrid, Arévalo to Chamartín, Piedrahíta to the hospital are jobs that start in the province and end in another or in another municipality. Those ending in the Madrid region are legal under a Castilla y León authorisation because the origin is here; what does not fit is stationing the car to pick up jobs originating in Madrid beyond the share the LOTT regulations allow. A valid driving licence, the authorisation in the holder's name, insurance, the roadworthiness test and the registration document are checked before the first job, and the platform warns of expiry dates; the knowledge-centre piece on regulation by region explains what changes from one territory to another.
How does a job reach your phone, what is bidding and where is the commission published?
The customer books on the website or in the app with pickup, destination, date and time and sees a fixed price before confirming; the job appears in the driver app with all the details and the amount, and you accept or decline with no penalty. Once accepted, the app navigates to the pickup, tracks the trip states and generates the trip sheet before departure. At Ávila station and at Barajas the pickup is always a customer with a booking, with their train or flight on the job, and the app follows delays. If the operator has bidding on, a partner driver can also set their price for the jobs in their area that nobody covers, within the published limits, and the customer sees it as one more option beside the house rate: it is an option, not a promise of volume, and without a bid you work at the usual rate.
The commission is not written here: it is published on the drivers page, next to the simulator, and is the same for every job in the province; the sums change depending on whether you bring your own vehicle and authorisation or drive a company car, and the simulator shows both. The settlement arrives every week with every job, the commission deducted trip by trip and the tips in full; non-payment is not the driver's risk, and late cancellations are paid under the published policy. In winter, jobs over the Pico pass, Villatoro or the Alto del León are confirmed the day before and, if a road is closed, the customer is told through the app rather than the pickup being missed. The application is sent from the drivers page, stating the area, the capital, La Moraña or the Tiétar, and whether you bring a vehicle.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Ávila to Barajas, the capital's typical job?
125 km and about 98 min with no incidents, from 167,97 € according to the route engine; it is the price the customer sees and from which the published commission is deducted. The empty return goes into the driver's sums.
Can I wait at Ávila station or at Barajas without a booking?
No. A VTC only performs pre-booked services, with a trip sheet and a filing with the register before each one; at the station and the airport the pickup is a customer with a booking and their train or flight on the job. Waiting at the taxi rank or soliciting on the platform is prohibited.
Do I work in the Tiétar or in the city of Ávila?
They are two markets separated by Gredos. The Tiétar looks to Madrid down the valley and has second-home and hospital demand; the capital has the station, the hospital, Barajas along the AP-6 and Gredos in summer. You state the area in the application and the simulator does the sums with each one's corridors.
What is bidding for a job?
If the operator has bidding on, a partner driver can set their price for the jobs in their area that nobody covers, within the published limits; the customer sees it beside the house rate and chooses. It is an option, not a promise of jobs.
Where is the commission and how do I do the sums?
On the drivers page, published next to the simulator. The sums are done per corridor: the engine's price, minus the commission, minus the outward and empty return costs, spread over the hours the job takes up; the simulator does them with your fixed costs and your vehicle.
Sources
- BOE · Real Decreto-ley 13/2018, de 28 de septiembre, por el que se modifica la Ley 16/1987 de Ordenación de los Transportes Terrestres en materia de arrendamiento de vehículos con conductor (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- Ministerio de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible · arrendamiento de vehículos con conductor (VTC): autorizaciones, hoja de ruta y Registro de Comunicaciones (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- Junta de Castilla y León · transporte de viajeros: competencias autonómicas y normativa en vigor (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- Adif · estación de Ávila: situación y accesos (consulted on 27 October 2026)
How we write, where the figures come from and how we correct an error: editorial policy.
The published commission, courtesy waiting time and cancellation policy are the settings of the drivers page and the panel on the date consulted; the regulations cited are those in force that day, and whatever the Junta de Castilla y León has in force on urban services is checked on its website. None of this promises a volume of jobs or earnings: each driver does the sums with their own costs and the simulator.