A meeting with transport ministry officials, including the minister Marc Pons, and the tourism director-general, Pilar Carbonell, has not eased taxi-driver concerns over this summer's introduction of bus services from the airport to five resort areas. Jaume Mateu, the transport director-general, explained that the government does not see the bus services as being competition but as a means of improving the overall quality of transport.
The president of the FEBT association, Antonio Cervilla, said that the drivers are not against an improvement of public transport in Majorca but that they are opposed to the ministry's plan because it is only for connections from the airport to resorts. This, the drivers believe, will harm them.
Following the meeting, representatives of the different driver associations held their own meeting to consider what protest action they will take. There are currently no specific plans.
At present, the only bus service from the airport is the EMT route to Palma. Tourists wanting to go to resorts therefore have to change. Pons added at the meeting that a general government objective is to increase the use of inter-urban bus transport by 25% over the next eight years.
In Calvia, meanwhile, drivers there are unhappy about the bus services - one will go to Magalluf, another to Santa Ponsa - and are also unhappy with the town hall. It says that the mayor and other councillors have at no time asked for the bus services. However, Pons has said that certain town halls, including Calvia, had requested them.