The PSOE municipal group in Alicante City Council has demanded that the local government, run by the Partido Popular (PP), finally approves the municipal ordinance to regulate tourist tuk-tuks in Alicante, following more than a year of unfulfilled announcements and promises whilst these vehicles operate without control.
The demand from the PSOE comes after the National Markets and Antitrust Commission (CNMC) questioned the restrictions and penalties imposed by Alicante City Council and the Generalitat Valenciana on tuk-tuk companies, as part of campaigns launched to fine these operators. The PSOE points out that the government led by Mayor Luis Barcala took advantage of the Low Emission Zone ordinance to introduce restrictions on the circulation of these vehicles through the Old Town, despite still failing to approve a specific regulation that actually orders this activity in the city.
Socialist councillor Raúl Ruiz noted that this situation highlights the chaos and permanent improvisation with which the municipal government is managing the proliferation of tuk-tuks in Alicante. Ruiz denounced that Barcala has been improvising with tuk-tuks for too long, first promising an ordinance that never arrives, and now intending to solve the problem solely through fines and partial bans. He added that Alicante needs clear rules, not sudden brainstorms.
The councillor recalled that back in June last year, the local government assured the full city council meeting that the ordinance was practically prepared, and that months later it even announced restrictions to prevent these vehicles from circulating through the Old Town. Ruiz insisted that the reality is that everything remains exactly the same, leaving the city without regulation, without control, and with a legal vacuum caused by the inaction of Barcala’s government.
The Socialist group considers the situation in the area around the Port of Alicante to be especially serious, where these vehicles even position themselves in front of the taxi rank to catch cruise passengers as soon as they disembark. Ruiz criticised that today, tuk-tuks have the privilege of standing right in front of the port’s own taxi rank to catch clients, describing it as the perfect image of the absolute lack of control that exists in Alicante.
Furthermore, the Socialists warned about the problems of coexistence and road safety generated by these vehicles in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic, as well as doubts regarding the safety conditions under which some of them operate. Ruiz concluded that the City Council has spent too much time looking the other way while Alicante operates without clear rules for this type of vehicle, and stated that they cannot allow continued improvisation with tourist mobility, public space, and the livelihood of taxi drivers.
