The taxi association which is a member of the Confederation of Balearic Business Associations has delivered a report to the Balearic government which highlights alleged illegal practices by Uber drivers.
The report for the association was prepared by a firm of private investigators. It is now in the hands of the government's director-general for mobility, Maria Lorena del Valle. The president of the association, Antoni Bauzá, says that it will be up to her and her department to take decisions based on the report's findings.
"Any transport company must comply with regulations. It cannot be that some of us have to comply with certain obligations and others do not." Bauzá hasn't specified the irregularities, merely saying that there are several things, but it is believed that one of them is not observing the 30-minute rule, the minimum time for advance bookings of an Uber vehicle; all bookings have to be made in advance.
Biel Moragues, president of another taxi association, demanded immediate government action in the summer because of non-compliance with this particular rule. He also called for inspections by the employment ministry, as there were suspicions that Uber was using false self-employed drivers or was hiring workers for activities different to those that they were actually performing. The hiring of false self-employed workers is part of a case that the taxi sector in Barcelona has raised against Uber.
There has been controversy ever since Uber launched its service in Mallorca in June - specifically for Palma, Calvia, Andratx and Llucmajor. While the taxi associations have made their complaints, Uber drivers have made their own - constant harassment by taxi drivers.