Council plans to reduce number of horse-drawn carriages

by Irene Taylor
THE Palma city council wants to reduce the number of horse drawn carriages on the streets and to do so it is prepared to pay 30'000 euros for each of the ten licences which will be withdrawn this year. The measure is expected to be approved at a council meeting next Thursday.
At the moment, there are 50 carriages, although three of them are not operative at the moment. They ply their trade along the Playa de Palma and the old part of the city.
Carlos Veramendi, the councillor in charge of transit and transport, said that up to now there had been no regulations governing the carriages. “What we want to do is reach agreement with each of the carriage drivers who wants to accept the proposal,” Veramendi said yesterday.
He added that there were several conditions which had to be fulfilled: there must be no outstanding fines, the licence must have been in use over the past two years, and the carriage must have passed its obligatory inspection.
After the proposal is approved on Thursday, carriage drivers will have two months in which to reply.
Preference will be given to those who operate in the centre of Palma rather than Arenal, and the age of the carriage and the driver will be taken into consideration. Veramendi also said that a driver who was at the bottom of the list could also agree to hand in his licence for a lower sum.
Although this year only ten licences will be withdrawn, Veramendi said that the scheme could continue next year.