VTC, short for transport vehicle with driver, is the licence system by which Uber operates in Mallorca. There are some fifty Uber vehicles on the island at present, their introduction having been in early June this year to four municipalities - Andratx, Calvia, Llucmajor and Palma.
The government, which hasn't set a timetable for this change, will be amending Balearic transport and sustainable mobility legislation. But it will delay the final drafting of the text until there is judicial resolution of a Balearic decree that stipulated the thirty-minute rule. The Supreme Court in Madrid has referred this to the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court having annulled a similar decree in the Basque Country in February this year.
In the court's view, advance booking with a minimum time requirement was contrary to the principle of regulated business freedom as established by Article 38 of the Constitution.
As well as Spanish law, the regional mobility ministry is taking account of a ruling earlier this year by the Court of Justice of the European Union. This considered a regulation in Barcelona which limited VTC licences to one for every thirty taxis. The court concluded that this was contrary to freedom of establishment.
That particular judgement, says the ministry, has resulted in some 3,000 requests for VTC authorisation in Mallorca and around 8,000 in Ibiza. The ministry therefore believes that it is absolutely necessary to amend VTC regulation in the Balearics in anticipation of other court decisions likely to follow on from the European Court's ruling.
The ministry adds that the drafting of the amended legislation involves coordination with island councils and interested parties from the transport sector. One of these, clearly, is the taxi-driver community. As well as the impact that regulatory change would have in respect of Uber (or other such companies), there would be ramifications for minibus transfer services at the airports.
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I can't wait to stop stressing about finding a taxi in Palma...
We are in 2023…..it is time that modern services arrive in Mallorca as well….it will make the taxi market more transparent and efficient….
At last some common sense.