The Government is making new taxi and ride-hailing licenses conditional on traffic congestion and air quality
In the Balearic Islands, more than 10,000 applications for VTC (private hire vehicle) authorizations were submitted during 2023.
PalmThe Balearic Islands Government Council has approved the first regional regulation comprehensively governing taxi and ride-hailing services (VTCs) in the Balearic Islands, twelve years after the enactment of Law 4/2014 of June 20, on land transport and sustainable mobility in the Balearic Islands, which this decree implements. As explained by the Minister of Housing, Territory, and Mobility, José Luis Mateo, at the press conference following the Government Council meeting, no new licenses may be granted when traffic congestion levels or certain air quality thresholds are exceeded. He noted that temporary licenses may be granted exceptionally when justified by mobility needs and following a report. The regulation establishes, for the first time, uniform, objective, and updated criteria for granting or denying new licenses and authorizations, based on the level of traffic congestion and air quality, while also ensuring the mobility of residents and visitors to the Islands. These objective criteria, based on the general interest, will allow for the regulation of the number of taxi and ride-hailing licenses in the islands' limited and protected territory. The text aims to provide legal certainty, unify criteria, and equip the competent authorities with the tools to regulate the sector according to parameters of environmental sustainability, transport management, protection of natural areas, and the general interest. The Decree consists of 63 articles distributed across three titles—Title I, Common Provisions; Title II, Taxi Services; and Title III, Ride-hailing Services—five additional provisions, four transitional provisions, one repealing provision, and one final provision.
The drafting of the Decree began in January of last year, following consultation, and was submitted to public hearing and information proceedings last July. The Balearic Land Transport Council, with representation from the taxi and ride-hailing sectors, issued its report last September and continued the drafting process with the report from the Consumer Council and the opinion of the Economic and Social Council of the Balearic Islands. At the end of January, the opinion of the Balearic Islands Advisory Council was received, with essential observations that have been taken into account in the Decree approved by the Governing Council.
The Decree concludes the process initiated with Law 1/2024, of February 16, on improving the regulation of transport services with vehicles of up to nine seats in the Balearic Islands. This law made significant modifications to the regulation of taxi and ride-hailing services and established a temporary suspension of the granting of licenses last year through Decree-Law 2/2025, of February 21, suspending authorizations for the rental of vehicles with drivers and taxi licenses.
10,000 applications for ride-hailing authorizations
In the Balearic Islands, more than 10,000 applications for VTC (private hire vehicle) licenses were submitted during 2023, a volume considered "disproportionate and environmentally unsustainable" compared to the 2,529 taxi licenses and 739 VTC licenses currently in existence. In this context, Mateo explained that the new Regulation—which ends the suspension—establishes the objective criteria that municipalities and island councils must apply to process applications within their respective territories. Specifically, the regulation sets objective criteria for denial and stipulates that the competent authorities may not grant new licenses or authorizations if, within the corresponding municipal or island area, traffic congestion levels exceed those experienced within their territorial jurisdiction, or if air quality exceeds the limit values for PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) or O₃ (ozone).
Regarding air quality, the latter criterion concerning limit values does not apply if the vehicle is a zero-emission battery electric vehicle (BEV), a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), or a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (HICEV). In this case, the authorization only permits the provision of taxi and ride-hailing services.
