Staff Reporter
PIRATE taxis are charging unsuspecting customers triple the official rate at Palma Airport, experts have warned.
According to Hector Prego, who runs a magazine for taxi drivers in Spain, the fraudsters tend to operate between 4pm and 11pm, mostly on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
He said: “This type of illegal vehicle is creating tension at Palma Airport which can lead to confrontational situations.”
Some taxi drivers are claiming the root of the problem is a European Court of Justice decision to scrap a rule which said a company must have at least five taxis to operate.
He added: “Now, you only need one vehicle to be able to provide this service which provides the opportunity for people to operate illegally by themselves with their own car.”
Approved vehicles should have a sticker displaying the area of Palma from which they have been granted permission to work from.
Prego explained that illegal, unvetted vehicles would not have been given one of these stickers, usually found on the vehicles bonnet or front window.
