TOURIST TAXIS IN PALMA WON´T “TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE”

PALMA is to have its own fleet of “tourist taxis” with specially set rates and predetermined routes to show visitors around the historical and commercial sectors of the city. The drivers, with the aid of pre-recorded material, will be able to act as guides for those prefer an individual approach to seeing the sights.
This new tangent in city transport was presented yesterday by the mayor of Palma, Catalina Cirer, along with Tourism deputy, Francisca Bennassar; her counterpart in Commerce, Sebastia Sanso; and in Transport, Carlos Varamendi. The service which will be out on the streets of Palma within a fortnight. The City Council predicts that this form of sightseeing will appearl particularly to those visitors who are known as “blue tourists”: those who arrive in Palma Port on cruise ships, or charter craft. Their time to see the sights is limited and a tourist taxi would prove ideal for such a group. Francisca Bennassar said that approximately 1.7 million people arrive in Palma every year by sea, and that a study revealed that such visitors prefer to see the city “under their own steam”. The tourist taxes will offer three guided trips: one through the historic centre of the city which will last an hour and cost 30 euros; another more extended tour which on top of the historic centre route, will include visits to Bellver Castle, the Pueblo Español, and the Miró Foundation museum - this will last two hours and cost 55 euros; and a third which will combine visits to both historic and commercial attractions during a period of three hours at a cost of 75 euros. The price includes the whole service and is not payable per person. “Residents in Palma will be eligible for a 20 percent discount on presentation of their identity cards” said Carlos Varamendi. Gabriel Moragues, head of the taxi drivers' branch of the Majorcan small and medium-sized businesses association, PIMEM, said that any of his members wanting to act as tourist guides would have to submit their vehicles - which should not be more than five years old - to a special technical revision and ensure that their cars had adequate air conditioning. No new licenses would be granted for this particular service to drivers who did not already have a registered taxi, but currently operational taxi drivers could apply on a voluntry basis to act as guides. Moragues highlighted the fact tht the tourist service operates within a fixed price system which eliminates the possibility of some “not-so-honest” drivers taking vulnerable visitors “for a ride”. The tourist taxis will carry a special identifying marker and will be fitted with a multi-lingual informative CD system with headphones. Available languages will be Castillian, Catalan, English, German, Italian and French.