The island, it needs saying, has the highest level of vehicle ownership in Spain - in relative terms based on population, that is. Figures from the Balearic Statistics Institute put this number, according to a report last month, at 837,240. These were all vehicles, and so motorbikes, vans, trucks, buses, etc. as well as cars registered in Mallorca. The number of cars is 584,042.
But to this total can be added all the vehicles that enter the island from March/April to the end of October. These aren't exclusively hire cars (of course not), but the vast majority are. No one can say with certainty how many hire cars there are at any given time. An estimate for this year was around 95,000, but this was for the Balearics as a whole and not just Mallorca.
A proposal for combating congestion, which focuses solely on vehicles not registered in Mallorca, comes from opposition party Més. They are proposing a toll charge. This wouldn't be for all roads, just for those with some of the highest traffic densities, e.g. MA-1 Andratx-Palma, MA-13 Sa Pobla-Palma and the MA-10 main road in the Tramuntana Mountains.
Jaume Alzamora, party spokesperson at the Council of Mallorca, believes that this toll "will contribute to the reduction of the use of private cars as well as improving the efficiency of public transport".
According to Alzamora, this would be in line with EU policies in respect of transport and mobility, tourism, the environment and energy. He points to a toll system for non-residents that already operates in EU countries such as Portugal.
Highlighting the fact that no tax is paid for thousands of vehicles using Mallorca's roads, he says that revenue from this toll would be for road maintenance, including municipal roads. The proposal is to be presented at the Council of Mallorca's next plenary session.
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Having just driven down from UK to Mallorca for a few days. I have to pay to use the French motorways, and I would be happy to pay a contribution for the upkeep of these roads in Mallorca, which are a lot better than those I drive on in the UK. The question is where the tax would be collected, and for island registered cars to prove they are at a registered island address. Also, put a seperate hire rent a car tax as well, if there is not one already. Finally, where I live, one can get a bit homesick when driving, even now not having to avoid the potholes still.