The Tourism Federation of Lanzarote, as well as Asolan, have presented a document of considerations within the framework of the public consultation opened by the Cabildo to develop the Regulatory Regulation of the Sensitive Areas of the island, which will be key to moving towards a more sustainable, efficient and adapted mobility model to the current reality of Lanzarote.
FTL and Asolan view the start of this process very positively. It is included in the Canary Islands Transport Law for 20 years, but has not yet been developed in Lanzarote. They ask for "determination to complete it, as it will provide answers to the problems that the taxi service on the island has been suffering, especially in the areas that concentrate the largest number of users."
"Sustainable mobility is also that which works effectively and responds to the needs of the population and the tourist destination, and we cannot allow another period of high demand, such as the upcoming Christmas season, to find us without effective solutions," Pérez highlighted.
Likewise, the president of the Tourism Federation and Asolan, Susana Pérez, also emphasizes "the urgency of implementing the digital platform lanzarotetaxi.net" and has urged the town councils to join, since "this tool will facilitate the coordination between licenses, the management of demand, and the reduction of waiting times."
Modernizing legislation and service
In the document of preliminary considerations sent to the Cabildo, the FTL also points out that "the promulgation of the Sensitive Areas Regulation is an unparalleled opportunity to begin modernizing the legislation regulating mobility on the island of Lanzarote, especially for tourism, in order to turn it into a sustainable activity."
In this regard, he recalls that "the current regulations governing land transport activity date back twenty years," when sustainability "was not considered a fundamental axis." For this reason, he asks that it be adapted to current needs and standards, combining environmental protection with efficiency in transport, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the principles of the World Charter for Sustainable Tourism, signed in Lanzarote in 1995.
In the case of the taxi service, it states that it is necessary to "favor the provision of services with an intermunicipal scope," regulating the possibility that taxis licensed in a certain municipality "can pick up clients on return trips to their place of origin, thus avoiding empty trips and therefore little or not sustainable."
Likewise, the Lanzarote Tourism Federation and Asolan have urged local administrations and the Island Council to work together to guarantee a just transition towards a green mobility model, where technological innovation, energy efficiency, and quality of service are fundamental pillars.