Just completed a week in Istanbul (5th visit) where they welcome tourists with open arms. They had a bad year last year with the troubles and many local shops and hotels then closed. They are recovering this year however. I suggest caution in the way Politicians treat tourists. Hire cars are not the problem. And yes I have owned a property 33 years on the Island !
The ridiculous “taxi” rules. The airport taxis return empty handed to the airport !!! Absolute ECO MADNESS, not to mention how rude it looks to a visitor when they hail the empty cab and it just drives past.
Not putting the rail link to the airport and instead wasting the money on a seriously under-used line to the University is a prime example of dim thinking and a victory for the over-powerful taxi lobby.
A lot more public transport is needed. On a cloudy day in the summer you cannot get a space on a bus to Palma from the Calvia area. Also more airport bus routes and increase the frequency
School trips are a major problem. I’ve always found that during the summer holidays, especially August, the roads in and around Palma are generally traffic free.
Perhaps if the bus companies enhance their services all year round and give the Drivers enough time to do the route maybe public transport would improve. Better to have a bus waiting at a stop for a minute or two than them rushing to keep to a timetable which is not workable. I’m an ex London Bus Driver so I might in a way know what I’m talking about...
Many locals run into serious problems getting to work in Palma in the summer, as public transport fills up very quickly with tourist passengers and buses swoop past stops if they are already full. Palma is very busy in the summer and public transport is one solution, but it needs greater capacity during the busy periods.
An estimated 70,000 hire cars brought on the island during the summer months, (50,000 are illegal, according to MDB report). Of course it’s a tourist issue, perhaps there are just too many.
'train services are first rate on the island' I agree with 99% of what you are saying in this article, bu not that bit. The metro doesnt cover nowhere near enough of Palma, it doesnt actually cover any of the city centre other than Plaza España, and it is madness that it doesnt run to the airport. As for the train itself, going as far north as only Sa Pobla is pointless. Perhaps even a link for the airport to join this line and continue to Alcudia, and a rail option from the airport to the major resorts.
and parking? where is there parking in Palma? with so any cars something has to be done. public transportation is the solution, the only salutation. Thank you