The Cabildo of Lanzarote has announced this Thursday that it is processing a fine of more than 4,000 euros against a vehicle stopped for illegal passenger transport in Arrecife this past Monday.
The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, Oswaldo Betancort, has emphatically expressed his "firm commitment" to eradicate illicit practices in island transport. “We are not going to allow intrusion to put the safety of our residents and tourists at risk, nor to damage the livelihood of families who strictly comply with the law," he stated. He also assured that “the island's highest institution will act with full force and in coordination with security forces to remove those who operate outside the law from the roads.”
The Cabildo of Lanzarote and La Graciosa is reinforcing control over the activity of certain vehicles operating illegally on the island. These actions are specifically focused on combating unauthorized drivers and also the so-called "pirate taxis," who clandestinely pick up passengers in public areas or illicitly arrange transport services through unofficial mobile applications and instant messaging services like WhatsApp.
Protection of residents and tourists
The island institution makes a direct appeal to both residents of the island and tourists to completely dismiss the use of these illegal services and to use authorized means of transport.
In this regard, the minister of the Transport and Mobility area, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, highlighted the real danger that users assume when getting into these cars. “We want to clearly denounce that these vehicles lack any technical or safety guarantee, reminding that they neither guarantee the condition of the car, nor do they pass the specific inspections for the transport of people; while the skill of their drivers has no validation whatsoever. Furthermore, users are exposed to payment fraud and lack the mandatory insurance coverage for passengers, guarantees that the official sector does offer,” he pointed out.
The recent interception in Arrecife of a repeat offender driver who was transporting an excess of passengers in a private car, constitutes the first action within a framework of reinforced collaboration between the Transport Inspection of the Cabildo and the Local Police of Arrecife. In this regard, Jiménez congratulated the officers for their work and highlighted that “this joint operation marks the beginning of a coordinated and forceful line of work: we are going to progressively reinforce and multiply inspections to detect and remove from the roads any vehicle that offers services as a means of transport without the regulatory authorization”.
Heavy sanctions to curb illegal competition
Furthermore, the Cabildo's Inspection Service reminds offenders that, in accordance with Canary Islands transport regulations, these types of actions for intrusion are sanctioned with fines of between 4,001 and 6,000 euros, in addition to proceeding with the immediate immobilization of the vehicle. These sanctions are processed independently of claims for subsidiary civil or criminal liability that may arise in the event of a traffic accident.
Finally, the island institution insists on denouncing the flagrant unfair competition that this type of clandestine transport exerts on the regulated taxi sector. This illicit activity directly attacks the island's local economy, but above all, it represents a serious and unacceptable comparative disadvantage for those legitimate professionals who, every day, face hard and long working days at the wheel, self-employed and salaried workers who rigorously and punctually comply with all their tax obligations, the corresponding specific civil liability insurance, and the constant technical and license reviews required by law.