The tourism season brings all manner of vehicles to the streets of the resorts, and in Playa de Palma the presence of so-called “bicitaxis” is leading to open warfare between their operators and taxi and horse-carriage drivers.
This will be the third consecutive season that the bicitaxis will have operated, and according to police sources, they do so without any regulation.
As far as other service providers are concerned, they act as a form of public transport which is exploiting a loophole in current legislation.
The local police confirm that they have produced several internal documents which have been sent to the department for transport at Palma City Council, but as yet they have not been given any specific instructions to act against the bicitaxis.
If you are not familiar with them, the bicitaxis are pedal-powered and operate principally along the coastal frontline between balnearios two and six, blowing horns to attract tourists, but they can just as easily move to other parts of the resort in order to pick up potential customers. There are at present seven such vehicles, sold as “Rickshaw Tour”, specialising in offering a tour of the area, but what the other service providers point out is that they in fact provide a means of transporting passengers from A to B at low prices.
War between “bicitaxis” and taxi drivers in Playa de Palma
Taxi drivers are angry over unfair competition.