Coach drivers plan protest on Monday

DRIVERS working for privately-owned coach companies are planning an official demonstration for this coming Monday in the Playa de Palma to protest to local government about lack of facilities for their vehicles when they transport tourists to their hotels. The drivers claim that the lack of parking space on the roads means that in order to let tourists on and off the coaches as close as possible to their hotels, vehicles have to be precariously parked in positions which could mean their being fined. Salvador Servera, head of the Balearic Transport Federation, made it clear to the media yesterday that on Monday, his members would not be taking tourists to the doors of their hotels in cases where the coaches would have to double park for allowing disembarcation because of lack of space. He asserted that this illegal manoeuvre is just one of many that drivers are forced to undertake in order to deliver passengers as close as possible to their destinations. If “caught on camera”, such activity could mean loss of license points, although Servera said that Police had not as yet taken action against drivers for such infractions. Having to “dump” passengers in this way, said Servera, will mean that the tourists will have to make their way on foot for quite a distance to reach their hotels, and of course, they will be having to carry their suitcases by hand. He announced that his association had already had a number of meetings with the City Council in Palma to try and find a solution to the problem and that another high level meeting is planned for 15th September. “The best way to resolve this issue is to sit down round a table and get some answers.” Servera said it was also up to hotel owners to help come up with a compromise. It was also their responsibility, and not just that of local government to ensure that drivers delivering and collecting tourists could so so “legally”.