At Friday's cabinet meeting, the Balearic Government will issue regulations in the form of a decree that is intended to prevent a flood of licence applications by ride-hailing services such as Uber.
There is urgency because a moratorium on the granting of licences expires on Sunday. Some 10,000 VTC licence applications would have to be considered; these are the licences which are needed by Uber and similar operators.
In parliament on Tuesday, the mobility minister, José Luis Mateo, stressed that the islands do not have the capacity for this volume of licences. But he didn't specify how the government plans to implement the mechanism to prevent a massive influx of ride-hailing services in the Balearics. This is the main legal question following court rulings which have overturned certain limitations that were previously adopted.
The latest draft for the regulations is based on measures such as the Human Pressure Index as well as air pollution and traffic congestion criteria. The taxi sector, for one, has said that these are confusing.
The Consultative Council, which advises the government and other public authorities on legal matters, has given its opinion and has warned against establishing quotas and ratios as these could be seen to contradict jurisprudence. The Council has also observed that the wording could create serious difficulties in application.
The taxi sector will also be covered by new regulations. Its representatives argue that these fail to protect the taxi sector and subject it to stricter requirements than ride-hailing services.