Alex Trelinski
TAXI waiting times could be eased at Alicante-Elche airport with the creation of 24 new cab licences after an outcry over shortages during the summer.
Elche now has 228 permits- in effect one per 1,000 residents- but that ignores the huge numbers using the airport.
The city’s Public Services councillor, Claudio Guilabert, said: “We will notify the new drivers so that they can buy vehicles to start work as soon as possible.”
READ MORE:
- Major resort on Spain’s Costa Blanca suffers taxi shortage chaos: Tourist influx sees population triple in summer with people waiting hours for a cab
- Queues for a taxi at Alicante airport are lasting up to two HOURS: Plan is launched to crack down on waiting times
- Alicante airport smashes all-time passenger record for September
The city also plans to ask for an additional seven licences from the Ministry of Transport.
The number of airport cabs has not kept pace with record passenger numbers at certain times during the summer.
Queues of up to two hours formed in June – especially in the late evening.
However, the new licences cover the whole Elche area, meaning it will be down to individual cabbies to work out where they want to be and when they choose to work.
Taxi shortages have boosted pirate operators dealing with mainly British clients looking for cut-price trips to and from the airport in an uninsured vehicle.
The Benidorm Policia Local recently pulled over a white van used for illegal transport which had a dangerous and defective tyre.
Parts of the interior were sub-standard and dangerous to passengers, leading officers to name it in honour of a fairground ride known as El Tren de La Bruja (The Witch Train).
