The Cabildo of Lanzarote, through the Transport Inspection Service, directed by the councilor Miguel Ángel Jiménez, has reinforced its vigilance against the worrying growth of illegal passenger transport that is offered through social networks and digital platforms under names such as “Uber” or other similar ones. These practices, lacking any type of control or administrative authorization, are being subject to an exhaustive investigation that currently maintains 44 lines open for alleged very serious infractions.
More than 40 different telephone lines linked to offers of unauthorized transport have been detected, which demonstrates an organized and expanding activity that represents a real risk for the safety of users, and serious unfair competition for the professional sector of taxis and discretionary passenger transport.
The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, has pointed out that from the Cabildo “we are acting firmly to eradicate these illegal practices and we ask citizens for responsibility”. “We are facing a problem of security and legality, since these false services do not guarantee the training of the driver, nor the conditions of the vehicle, nor the coverage of insurance,” he said.
For his part, the Councilor for Transport, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, warns that “these services operate outside of all regulations and represent intolerable unfair competition for the legal taxi. We are acting firmly, reinforcing inspection campaigns in coordination with local police and the Civil Guard, and applying the corresponding sanctions.”
The vehicles that provide these services without authorization do not pass the required technical controls, the drivers may lack training or even a valid license, and in the event of an accident, crime or any incident during the journey, neither the driver nor the vehicle are liable before the law, leaving the user in a situation of total defenselessness.
The Cabildo reminds that, according to Law 13/2007 on the Regulation of Road Transport in the Canary Islands, providing transport services without authorization is a very serious infraction that ranges from 4,001 to 6,000 euros and the immobilization of the vehicle. In addition, the simple offer of the service through social networks or unregulated platforms is already grounds for sanction.
“We want to make a call to the population to exclusively use authorized public transport services and refrain from hiring services offered through means that do not guarantee the legality of the service,” explained Jiménez.