Jason Moore08/04/2023 10:56
TW
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There are renewed fears of a major shortage of taxis on the island this summer with all parties blaming each other for not doing enough to resolve the problem. Calvia, home to the popular resorts of Palmanova, Magalluf and Santa Ponsa, is one of the areas where the problem is most pronounced because there are so few taxis. Even though the area has hundreds of hotels and is visited by millions of tourists, there are just 200 taxis and they are unable to cope with the demand, leading to long delays.

Last summer the tourist industry said that the shortage of taxis led some tourists to miss their flights. Also, there were incidents at hotel receptions with some tourists waiting for up to 90 minutes for a taxi. "I witnessed fights between tourists because they were waiting so long for their cabs," one hotel receptionist has said.

The leader of the opposition Partido Popular, who is bidding to become the next Balearic President, Marga Prohens, has said that the Balearic government has done nothing to ease the problem. Some have called for strict guidelines on taxi pick-ups to be scrapped. At the moment, only Palma taxis can collect passengers at the airport but they are not able to pick up clients in any other areas of the island.