Uber in Mallorca

Uber started operations in Mallorca in early June. | Pilar Pellicer

Andrew EdePalma07/07/2023 07:19
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The Balearic mobility ministry has been inundated with requests for VTC (transport vehicle with driver) licences. This has followed a European Court of Justice ruling in respect of the regulation of these licences at a regional level in Spain.

Jaume Mateu, who is the acting director general for transport, says that requests for VTC licences in Mallorca have been received over the past couple of weeks as a result of the ruling. "But all licence requests are being administratively denied because current regulations in the Balearic Islands allow us to do so."

The Council of Ibiza has also been receiving requests. Between it and the ministry, which handles the requests for Mallorca, there have been over 2,000.

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In Mallorca and Ibiza there are nearly 400 VTC licences plus 50 temporary ones that were issued for this summer. According to Mateu, the arrival of Uber in Mallorca last month was due to the fact that it is using licences granted to Ibiza.

The Court of Justice has ruled that Spanish restriction of VTC licences, which are necessary for services such as Uber, is contrary to European law.

The ruling focused specifically on policy in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, where a state limit of one VTC permit for every 30 taxis is applied. It opens up the possibility of demanding an additional licence to the one provided for at national level if this is considered "necessary for the proper management of transport, traffic, public space and the protection of the environment".