The Hotel Federation of Ibiza and Formentera (Fehief) lashed out yesterday against the administrations of Ibiza for their lack of foresight to adapt the taxi service “to the existing demand”, especially when the high occupancy rates recorded since last month had been predicted for months. For its part, the Taxi Federation recalled yesterday that the lack of services is occurring “on specific days and times”, such as the afternoon, and has been aggravated by the obligation imposed by the City Council of Ibiza to stop 40 taxis a day .
The hoteliers launched this direct criticism to Consell and the councils at the end of its annual meeting, held yesterday at the Six Senses Hotel in Sant Joan. In fact, it was the first message that the president, Ana Gordillo, pronounced in her press appearance before question time began.
“We must adapt to the existing demand and provide an image that corresponds to our destination”
“The problem we’re experiencing with taxis this summer is widespread and this public service is not consistent with the private service that we are giving in our sector. It is necessary to adapt to the existing demand and to provide an image that corresponds to our destination”, emphasized Gordillo.
Taxi delays
Asked about the delays suffered by the hotels’ clients, she indicated that there are waits of between “20 and 30 minutes” from the moment the call is made to the central office and the cab arrives. Likewise, she assured that “no changes have been noticed yet” with the entry of all seasonal taxis into service since June 15th.
Among the other concerns for this season, hoteliers also show their fear for the effects of air travel chaos in Europe as a whole. “It’s not our fault, but customers can leave with a bad image of our destination if in the end they can’t come or return to their homes,” Gordillo confessed.
In addition, hotel establishments are struggling to complete their staff because of the exorbitant prices of housing on Ibiza. “It is not a new problem, but this season it has increased after the two years [of the covid pandemic]. Thus, many of the employees who came every summer are no longer compensated to work on the island, so “it is returning to the practices of yesteryear to offer not only a job, but also a home,” he said.
More seasonal taxis
For his part, the president of the Insular Taxi Federation (Fitie), Toni Riera, recalled that this year the number of seasonal vehicles compared to 2019 has even increased, with 10% more on average in all Ibizan municipalities. In total, this summer there are 860 cabs in service throughout the island. However, this increase has been affected by the measure taken by the Ibiza City Council that forces all taxis to stop one day a week, in order to guarantee a rest day for drivers.
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