At least 19 % of these services have not been carried out in the most depopulated areas, owing to the impossibility of covering the costs of medium- and long-distance journeys.
The National Roadside Assistance Alliance, the organisation that brings together the roadside assistance tow-truck sector, has this week focused on depopulated rural Spain, although it is an issue it has been warning about for weeks. The problem, as is the case generally, is the high costs borne by companies in the sector, which make it unviable to provide the service requested by insurers, motoring clubs and travel assistance platforms.
It is estimated that this summer 19 % of these services were not carried out more than 60 kilometres from the operating bases of assistance companies; that is, medium- and long-distance jobs. This affects so-called "empty Spain", and is essentially due to the shortage of tow-truck drivers, on the one hand, and the high costs of making drivers available for journeys of this kind, on the other.
The most depopulated areas have seen more than 120,000 assistance jobs go unattended so far this summer, the Alliance explains. The insufficient pay for tow trucks on these journeys adds to the time they take up for drivers, which companies in the sector cannot cover.
These are not profitable jobs, the Alliance explains
Xavier Martí, the Alliance's spokesperson, has made it clear that this is a "situation of jobs going unattended that occurred over the recent Assumption bank holiday weekend in the Lleida Pyrenees, and which is going to recur frequently in other areas such as the two Castiles, Aragon and Catalonia, as well as in various parts of the Cantabrian coast".
Insurers, motoring clubs and roadside assistance platforms require services which, in these cases, go beyond the areas assigned to assistance companies. As there is no other provider, they fall back on their usual roadside assistance companies, while giving priority to their commercial interests – above road safety, which could only be guaranteed by the swift removal of broken-down or crashed vehicles from the roads.
According to Martí, the lack of service in depopulated areas is the direct responsibility of insurers and intermediaries. Not only have they failed to revise their rate tables in line with fuel price increases, but they are also staying outside the law, failing to apply the last two decree-laws published by the Government (in force since 2 March and 2 August, respectively).
Confidence in the next round of meetings
Although the situation is tense, the Alliance's spokesperson is confident that the meetings – which began last July – will resume imminently to address the work agenda. For now, he is calling on the intermediaries to act responsibly. "In the assistance sector we would not want this issue to bring back the agenda of conflict instead of the dialogue that has been started, but we are not prepared to let our assets and the viability of our companies be gambled with any further."
This week the Alliance has called several internal meetings in order to keep working towards dialogue and agreement, preventing further increases in the conflict and discontent in the sector, which is growing steadily. Effort from all sides is needed so that every user can continue to receive the quality service they deserve.
The National Roadside Assistance Alliance is made up of the following regional and national associations and business organisations: ABEAC (Balearic Islands), ABEAC (Basque Country), ASCA (Catalonia), AMEAC (Madrid), ANESAV (National), ASCALEAC, (Castile and León), ASEDA (Andalusia), ASEGA (Galicia), AGRUAXA (Salamanca), ASEXTEAC (Extremadura), GRUPO CARTER (National), CEPAS (National), FEGRUAL (National Federation) AGREGA-GRÚAS and REAC (National Group).