Almost 80% of Mallorca's taxis will provide joint service to eight municipalities.

77% of Mallorca's taxis will provide their service jointly to eight municipalities on the island (Palma, Calvià, Esporles, Valldemossa, Llucmajor, Deià, Puigpunyent and Bunyola), all located between the Bay of Palma and the Tramuntana mountain range. This means that taxis in these municipalities will be able to pick up passengers in any other town that has signed up to the agreement and unload passengers anywhere in Mallorca. The towns that have joined the joint taxi service will also have the new single rate which has prompted the Government.

The joint service provision zone will start this Wednesday in four of the municipalities that have signed up to the agreement: Palma, Calvià, Esporles, and Valldemossa. Llucmajor, Deià, Puigpunyent, and Bunyola will do so once their respective municipal plenary sessions give the measure the final green light, as explained by the Regional Minister of Housing, Territory, and Mobility, José Luis Mateo.

When the scheme is applied in the eight municipalities—which represent nearly 60% of Mallorca's total population—more than 1,530 taxi licenses—77% of the island's total—will provide their service in a joint zone. Starting this week, the system will be implemented in Palma, Calvià, Esporles, and Valldemossa, covering more than 1,450 taxi licenses, representing 73% of the total number of taxis in Mallorca. Palma is the most heavily used (1,238), followed by Calvià (214), according to a statement from the Ministry of Housing, Territory, and Mobility.

24 hours a day, flat rate

This collaboration, agreed upon by city councils and taxi associations, is part of the measures promoted by the Government to foster relations between municipalities with the aim of "improving the service," according to Mateo. This type of joint taxi service, Mateo insisted, aims to avoid trips with empty vehicles and, in this way, "improve and increase the offering for users."

"We have created it so that users can access taxi services more easily, efficiently, quickly, and simply in these eight municipalities," the minister emphasized, underlining his intention to facilitate the provision of "the best possible service to users and improve the competitiveness of the sector." The agreement will be in effect 24 hours a day during the established season, which begins this Wednesday, July 30, in Palma, Calvià, Esporles, and Valldemossa, and will remain in effect until September 30, 2025. Furthermore, the agreement provides for the system to return to effect next year, September 30.

As the other participating municipalities approve the final agreement in plenary session and the corresponding resolution is published in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB), they will be incorporated into this special collection system. The agreement also provides for services to be provided by hand in certain locations in Palma, for example in the historic center, and in Calvià, in various locations in Illetes, Magaluf, and Peguera.

The special collection regime means that taxi services between participating municipalities will be provided reciprocally at all authorized taxi stops in each municipality, provided there is no taxi from the municipality at the stop or there is more passenger demand than taxis waiting at the stop.

Fare increase

The agreement stipulates that participating municipalities can begin implementing the fare increases approved at the end of June, which increase to €1.20 per kilometer; to €2.50 for the flag drop; and to €4.65 for the airport or port surcharge. The increase in the single urban fare, emphasized the department headed by Mateo, was promoted with the aim of "promoting joint service agreements between municipalities and contributing to an improvement in supply."

The regional minister claimed that this measure will allow for "updating and standardizing" the prices of some municipalities, especially the rates of the smallest ones, which were "outdated," according to Mateo. "Thanks to the updates, it is possible to talk about this special collection regime," he added.

New areas coming soon

According to Mateu, a new special collection scheme between Artà, Sant Llorenç, and Son Servera is "very close to being approved," and another one is being worked on that would bring together municipalities in the north of the island. The initiative is already being prepared for the taxi law throughout Mallorca.