The Balearic Government agrees with the taxi sector that there need to be limits to the number of VTC licences, the type currently used by Uber in specific areas of the Balearics and which could also be used by similar services.
Applications for 10,000 new licences are at present subject to a government moratorium, but a Balearic High Court ruling in respect of a batch of 600 licences means that the government will have to process these applications. The government's view is that this number would be "ridiculous". The director-general for mobility, Lorena del Valle, said after Wednesday's meeting with taxi representatives that "it's clear the islands couldn't permit them".
Del Valle sought to reassure the taxi sector, explaining that "the processing will take into account the islands' unique circumstances". Of the 10,000 licences, 3,500 are intended for Mallorca, while the other 6,500 are for Ibiza.
She added: "I can't say that all 10,000 will be processed and handled the same way; that wouldn't be legally correct and could also be challenged." The ministry will have to review applications "one by one" and provide a well-founded justification for its response. Not all the applications, she noted, are at the same stage of the legal process.
Del Valle has reiterated the government's intention to establish limits, so that the resulting licences are "those we need and those we can absorb as a region". To this end, legal services are studying "the most legally sound formula" to respond to all the applications. She also pointed out that the VTC sector in the Balearics, "which primarily comprises small and medium-sized companies", does not want uncontrolled expansion.
This sector mainly consists of chauffeur services at the high end of the market. As to Uber, it has around 350 licences in Mallorca at present.