A legal opinion commissioned by the Consell de Ibiza to the professors of Administrative Law at the University of Oviedo Leopoldo Tolivar and Miriam Cueto endorses not only that the institution grant island-wide licenses to all taxis operating on the island, as already contemplated in the Transport Law of the Balearic Islands, but also to set the maximum number of authorizations “depending on the population and service needs”.
The experts point out that the Consell should “coordinate and authorize” the new licenses “with the participation of the municipalities, which could be “integrated into a body to monitor the intercity cab service”. This body would report on a “mandatory, and even binding” basis, since the granting of licenses would also affect the insular authorizations.
Regulation of seasonal taxi licenses
Similarly, the Consell could also regulate the granting of seasonal licenses that cover the peak demand of the tourist season as it is responsible in the issuance of insular permits. In this case, the insular institution would also have the power to regulate the conditions of issuance and operation of these temporary authorizations, as recognized by the Transport Law of the Balearic Islands.
The legal analysis, signed in mid-June, recognizes that the municipalities are responsible for granting municipal licenses. And as “they will continue to be so”, the professors point out that “formulas should be sought so that the municipal competences are not affected”. For example, with “a commission to monitor the taxi service“, as mentioned above, which “would allow the will of the municipalities to be expressed at all times”.
“One could even go further by means of a joint management assignment made by the municipalities in favor of the Consell”, indicated one of the conclusions of the report, which adds: “In addition to the organization, collaboration sould also be sought that respects the distribution of competences “.
It refers, in particular, to the decree-law 5/2022 recently approved by the Balearic Government to unblock the approval of the new insular order of taxi loading and unloading which includes “the obligation of the local councils” to send to the Consell the complaints made by the local police on taxi license holders of municipalities other than their own, as well as those applied in services that exceed the municipal scope and on the use of the management system of services with GPS.
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