The Balearic Business Association for Car Rental with and without Drivers (Aevab) has estimated that car rental companies in Mallorca could reduce their current fleets by 30 per cent, meaning that around 24,000 of the current 80,000 vehicles would have to be taken off the road. This was claimed by the representative of the association of car rental companies, Ramón Reus, after a meeting on Friday with the island’s Minister for Territory, Mobility and Infrastructure, Fernando Rubio, to discuss the Law on the Regulation of Vehicle Traffic in Mallorca.
Reus stressed that after this type of regulation has been approved in Formentera and Ibiza, it is now Mallorca’s turn, and he argued that he agrees with the proposals made by the Council of Mallorca.
Aevab believes that Mallorca ‘does not need so many cars’ and that this ‘has to be regulated’. He gave the example of the island of Ibiza for this limitation, where quotas have to be established for each company.
When asked about the effects that this reduction in rental cars could have on businesses, he stressed that public transport ‘will have something to say’, especially for getting to certain places such as hospitals, the university or industrial estates. When asked about this figure, Rubio indicated that at the moment they cannot specify the number of rental cars that could be taken off the road, as the regulations are currently being drafted.
He pointed out that a service will have to be created within the department responsible for managing the law and these aspects. He also stated that the Council of Mallorca is ‘reaching out’ to the sector and has already held several meetings, something he described as a ‘priority’.
Rubio emphasised that the study on the load on Mallorca’s road network specified that there could be around 120,000 surplus cars, but argued that when the law is approved, the Council plenary session will adopt an agreement setting the maximum number of vehicles that the island’s roads can accommodate. ‘This decision will have to be justified and, to this end, specific annual or biannual studies will have to be carried out to determine the situation of the roads, the volume and number of vehicles, in addition to approving the ordinance establishing the fees,’ he explained.
The draft law has already been submitted or will be submitted in the next few hours to the political groups represented in the island’s institution. It will have to be approved by the executive council - this process could take place in July - and will then be made public before being finally approved by the Council’s plenary session and sent to the Parliament.
Regarding the rejection of these restrictions by other business organisations, the island councillor stressed that they have not perceived ‘rejection’, but rather a “willingness” to work together. ‘The car rental companies have said they want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem,’ he added.
Next week, they have scheduled a meeting with the Balearic business association for car hire with and without drivers (Baleval), which Rubio said they would attend with a ‘constructive’ attitude. Asked how the tourist season is going this year, Reus said that ‘word has spread’ that the Balearic Islands are ‘very expensive’, which is why Turkey and North African countries ‘are filling up’ and in Mallorca ‘it is difficult to fill’ hotels, especially with customers ‘who do not get drunk’. As a result, bookings in his sector are currently at 70 to 80 per cent of capacity, compared to 80 to 90 per cent in previous seasons.