One of the images for the planned tram system in Palma, Mallorca

One of the virtual images for the tram system. | Trambadia

Andrew EdePalma12/11/2022 08:35
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Biel Moragues, president of one of Mallorca's taxi associations, accepts that competition from the Palma centre to airport tram is "inevitable" but adds that taxi drivers have themselves being calling for improvements to public transport. This is because taxis end up being criticised if there delays or shortages, precisely because of a lack of public transport.

Although the tram journey will take around half an hour and therefore be slower than by taxi, "there will be people who turn to it because it is cheaper". Ticket prices weren't specified when the project for the tram was presented on Thursday, but it was made clear that they would be line with other means of public transport.

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The taxi drivers' concern isn't about the competition but the route. Moragues worries about the "traffic chaos" that may result and problems with dropping off and picking up customers along the Avenidas. He argues that the tramline should be in the centre of the road or that there is an overpass. As it is, the plan is for the tramline to be on the right of the road. "We'll see how taxis and buses are able to move because of the tram."

Residents of El Molinar, Coll d'en Rabassa and Can Pastilla are meanwhile pleased by the plan. In El Molinar, Alejandro Segura says: "I think it's wonderful. We will have a road that will be practically pedestrianised and we will gain mobility thanks to the tram."

The president of the Coll d'en Rabassa residents association, Joan Forteza, says that traffic calming of C. Cardenal Rosell will lead to "a revitalisation of an area where shops have been closed for years". In Can Pastilla, he doesn't foresee any traffic problems, "but we are concerned about a lack of parking".