On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court in Madrid issued a ruling that overturns the current regulation of VTCs (transport vehicles with driver) in the Balearics. The court was unanimous in deciding that the system of pre-booking VTCs (a minimum of thirty minutes in advance) was unjustified.
The judges did accept that the decree law with this provision was legitimate in seeking a balance between the taxi and VTC sectors but were of the view that pre-booking was not appropriate.
The measure principally had services like Uber in mind. Antoni Bauzà, president of one of the taxi associations, responded to the court's ruling by saying that there had never been any conflict with traditional VTC-licensed operators in the Balearics. "They are long-standing companies that have their market and with which we have no problems." But this all changed with Uber, who first started operations in Mallorca in May 2023.
The ruling confirms his fears about VTCs going forward. "We have always maintained that VTCs wanted to act as taxis and they are succeeding. If passengers can stop them by raising their hand, there is nothing left to differentiate us."
"It is unfair on taxi drivers who have passed a series of training and qualification requirements and who have to contend with a whole series of regulations that the VTC sector doesn't have. The government will have to decide which model it wants."
The government's so-called taxi law was approved in February this year. It included the previous government's decree law from 2018 that stipulated the pre-booking system. In addition, the February law set out means of limiting the number of VTC licences in the Balearics.