Taxi services struggle to cope with demand

Taxi services are overwhelmed and struggling to keep up with demand, according to the president of a local taxi service.

Public transport services and taxi services are overwhelmed during high season, according to a statement made by Biel Moragues, the president of Taxis-Pimem, one of Mallorca´s local taxi services. In an interview with Cadena SER he claims that the situation is out of control and he is endeavouring to find a solution.

Othman Ktiri, the CEO of OK Mobility, suggests that more hire cars are brought in, but Moragues is adamant that this is not the solution, highlighting that roads across the island are already struggling to cope with the volume of traffic, and pointing out how detrimental this is, both to local residents and visitors wanting to explore and enjoy the island. He insists that public transport services need to be re-evaluated and improved in order to provide some kind of relief, particularly in Palma, taking into account the Metro – which he says lacks capacity – and the planned tram system, as well as buses and taxis, the latter two of which desperately need more drivers.

Demand from tourists is simply too high for taxi drivers and other services to cope

Moragues says the problem is connected to the sheer number of tourists, who also exhaust other commodities such as water consumption and cause problems in the housing sector since many locals still rent their properties out to tourists illegally, a fact he claims is proven by the quantity of calls the taxi company receives requesting a taxi to areas of Palma where no hotels are present.

Moragues is also standing up for his profession by seeking the truth around a complaint from a local woman about the behaviour of taxi drivers, which was reported without evidence or details of the alleged offence [Pere Morell, Diario de Mallorca, 14/08/2024]. The Taxis-Pimem president is concerned that there is an ongoing campaign against taxi drivers and reminds people to respect the presumption of innocence, when there is no proof to the contrary, emphasising that `with Uber in the middle, you can´t trust even half of the information´.