The mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda, announced on December 27, at the meeting held with the taxi sector of the municipality in the Casa de la Cultura Benito Pérez Armas, the upcoming expansion of the fleet with ten new licenses.
"A decision made based on the conclusions of the socioeconomic study requested by the Council to analyze the situation of the sector,” Noda pointed out, which has determined that "the optimal number of licenses is 77, ten more than currently exist."
"The new tourist places that our destination will offer and the more than probable docking of cruise ships with the Playa Blanca Port expansion project justify the improvement of the service,” they point out from the City Council.
Noda, accompanied at the meeting by the Councilor for Transportation, Fátima Viñoly, and the Councilor for Tourism, Ángel Domínguez, explained to a large representation of the professionals of the sector in the municipality, among whom was Juan Manuel Pomar, president of the Taxi Drivers Cooperative North and South of Lanzarote, that "the main conclusion reached by the study, after analyzing the evolution in recent years and in the different municipalities of the island, both of the population data -taking into account the fixed and floating population- as well as the number of existing licenses and other factors that intervene, is the need to rectify the ratio of licenses per 1,000 inhabitants of Yaiza and equate it to that of the rest of the tourist municipalities, going from the initial 2.03 to 2.33, which determines that the optimal number of licenses to offer a good service goes from the 67 that it currently has to the 77 that are estimated necessary."
The new infrastructures, among the determining factors
"The study has taken into account both current and foreseeable needs in the medium and short term, assessing population increases, the number of overnight stays and passengers in ports, as well as the new accommodation places, services or infrastructures" that Yaiza will soon have. “Yaiza is the most investing municipality in Lanzarote and we have a leading tourist center in the Canary Islands, such as Playa Blanca, determining factors to offer better services,” the City Council points out.
The report highlights the upcoming full operation of the Port of Playa Blanca, the Sports Pavilion or the new hotel under construction, as well as the continuous request for collaboration of taxis to the neighboring municipality of Tías or the usual demands of tourist establishments.
Given the interest shown by the taxi sector regarding the possible arrival of cruise passengers to Playa Blanca, the mayor stressed the strategic importance of the port and confirmed that “it is technically prepared and small or medium-sized cruise ships will arrive” because “it is something that we have taken into consideration from the beginning.”
For his part, the head of Tourism, Ángel Domínguez, also wanted to point out another factor to take into account, such as "the current trend in the municipality of tourism with greater purchasing power with families who prefer to hire a taxi service to visit the island compared to the bus tours offered by tour operators.”
"The communication to the assembly of the decision to expand the number of licenses is a necessary prior step to be able to initiate the pertinent procedures for its creation, but this meeting with the professionals who provide service in the municipality also served to address concerns of the sector related to shifts, stops or advertising that they incorporate, among others, and discuss possible improvements,” they point out from the City Council.
Currently there are 11 stops in the municipality, all of them in tourist areas of Playa Blanca and Puerto Calero except for the one located in the town of Yaiza. The fleet has a total of 67 taxi licenses, of which 55 correspond to ordinary licenses and 12 to adapted taxi licenses, these last ones having mechanisms for people with reduced mobility, far exceeding the 5 percent required by Royal Decree 1544/2007. The last expansion of licenses was carried out in 2018 with the incorporation of six new units, going from 61 to 67.
