The national ministry of development, responsible for transport affairs, is seeking to impede the sale of VTC (vehicle with driver) licences for between two and five years.
As reported in the Bulletin yesterday, the Supreme Court is now considering the case of VTC licences, of which there are said to be around 10,000 that could be sold for services such as Uber and Cabify. Around 1,000 of these licences apply to the Balearics; 700 of them to Palma alone.
The ministry wants to prevent there being speculation with these licences if, as expected, the court rules that they should be made available. The total number of VTC licences would then exceed the legal ratio to taxi licences - one VTC per thirty taxis.
It doesn't seem as if the ministry will totally prohibit the sale but will ensure that they are sold where there is a service need. Its measures follow a meeting with the national taxi association Fedetaxi and also follow protests by taxi drivers against Uber and similar services.