The Balearic Government wanted to send a message of tranquility to the cab sector, especially in Ibiza, due to the fear of a flood of new VTC licenses. The general director of Mobility, Lorena del Valle, has assured that “10,000 new VTC licenses are an outrage” and has stressed that the Executive does not intend to approve all of them, but only “those that can absorb the territory”.
The statements come after the Taxis-Pimem group claimed to the Govern to reject the concession of these almost 10,000 authorizations, considering that their entry into service would mean “a hecatomb” and the “absolute bankruptcy” of the transport model in the Islands.
6,500 applications in Ibiza: the epicenter of the problem
As explained by Del Valle, the recent ruling of the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJIB) obliges the Govern to process 600 VTC applications submitted in 2022 that were denied, but its logic also affects more than 10,000 requests -most of them from 2023- that were suspended by the moratorium approved in 2024.
Of that block, 6,500 applications correspond to Ibiza and 3,500 to Mallorca. As already reported by La Voz de Ibiza, the island has become one of the main centers of interest for companies linked to platforms such as Uber, which have found a particularly attractive market here.
In total, between cabs and VTC currently operate about 3,000 licenses in the Balearic Islands; giving the green light to the 10,000 pending applications would triple the number of vehicles with authorization. “It is clear that 10,000 licenses will not mean an improvement in mobility,” Del Valle admitted.
“10,000 licenses will not be approved”: case-by-case processing and new regulation
The general director has clarified that the obligation imposed by the TSJIB is to process the applications, not to approve them. This implies reopening the files and examining each case “one by one“, verifying whether the requirements are met and giving solid reasons for both concessions and refusals, in accordance with European case law that has overturned the fixed ratios between cabs and VTCs when they are not justified by reasons of general interest.
In statements reported by IB3, Del Valle insisted that the Government is working to ensure that the Balearic Islands have “the licenses it needs and that the territory can absorb” and stressed that “10,000 new licenses […] will not be approved”, in reference to the complete package of applications .
The Executive relies on the law passed unanimously in 2024, which suspended the granting of new licenses until a specific cab and VTC regulation is available. This regulation, currently in the final phase of processing, will set the specific criteria for granting new authorizations and will allow the establishment of limits by island territory, one of the key demands of the cab sector in Ibiza.
