Holidaymakers arriving at the airport were sometimes faced with a lack of taxis. | Gemma Marchena

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The Balearic Council of Land Transport met on Monday to assess the tourism season and concluded that a lack of transport during the peak months damaged the reputation of Mallorca and the Balearics both overseas and nationally.

The Balearic government's minister for mobility, Josep Marí, said: "As a government, we are concerned about the situation we experienced this summer in the transport sector with difficulties in covering services. We are committed to drawing up a plan of measures for the coming season to guarantee passenger transport."

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There were complaints over the summer in Palma and in the resorts. Given these, the minister is seeking agreement on ways to improve transport services, to optimise resources and guarantee good customer service. These involve public transport, coach operators, taxi drivers and the VTC sector (vehicles with drivers for hire).

"In order to be more effective, greater agreement must be reached between town halls in terms of transport, especially so in the case of Mallorca, in order to provide a better service to residents and tourists," stressed the minister, who acknowledged that complaints had not only come from the public, but also from travel agencies, tour operators, hoteliers and operators themselves. In the latter case, these were due to a lack of drivers.

With regard to taxis, Marí called on town halls to facilitate the granting of more temporary licences for next summer and to hold more selection contests. He added that there will be no increase in the number of VTC licences.