The PSOE criticizes the government's lack of willingness to address the demands of the taxi sector

Cristina Escoda, spokesperson for the Socialist municipal group, has criticized the lack of willingness of the People's Party (PP) government's Councilor for Mobility to find a solution that would meet the demands of Benidorm's various taxi associations. These demands focus on increasing the number of licenses, both for ordinary and adapted vehicles which Benidorm City Council has rejected.

Escoda recalled that the proposal offered by the local government, in a meeting with the city's three taxi associations, was to maintain the current number of licenses at 232, but offer the possibility of converting 11 of the current vehicles into adapted vehicles, increasing the number to 25, with the incentive of having more permitted hours, thus making it easier to offset the investment required to modify the vehicles. This solution, according to the Socialist spokesperson, will not solve the problem since the changes will not be swift nor will they prevent customer complaints this summer. “As the taxi drivers themselves point out, the city's image is very poor during peak season, with long lines at the stops. A problem that would not be alleviated by the councillor's proposal,” she stated.

The councillor emphasized that, by Valencian Law 13/2017, Benidorm complies with the taxi ratio because the number of registered inhabitants is used in the calculation. However, it is also true that the city welcomes an average of 250,000 visitors per month, including residents, tourists, and visitors. On the busiest day of the year, it can reach 365,000 people, according to data from the "Analysis of Tourist Flows" report presented by Mayor Toni Pérez a month ago.

With these figures in hand, Escoda continued, “We believe the need to issue more licenses is more than justified and that the Popular Party government takes the sector's demands seriously.” In this regard, she indicated that a thorough study of the city's needs should be conducted and new licenses should be granted progressively.

Finally, the Socialist spokesperson expressed her support for the workers belonging to the Taxi Workers' Union, who continue their protests every Friday outside City Hall to make their demand for an increase in the fleet visible and to overcome the PP government's refusal to do so.