No fare for temporary Ibiza taxi drivers

Discussions between the local government and Ibiza taxi drivers continue, as they have done for years. The problem is that there are not enough taxis at the peak of the season. The government wants to hand out another 150 licences, the taxi drivers are concerned about who will get them.

This is symptomatic of the the way the island's economy is hopelessly skewed around a few weeks of hyperactivity. People and businesses have to make enough over a few weeks to survive for the rest of the year. You can understand why the taxi drivers are concerned as it's a delicate balancing act between having enough to ensure punters aren't waiting too long and having too many so the drivers can't make a living.

At the moment the balance is clearly wrong which is why there are so many pirate taxis around from July to September. The drivers of these vehicles are not insured and may be unsafe. But, at 6am outside a club on the other side of the island from your hotel, who cares?

The other part of the problem is there doesn't seem to be an equivalent to a “mini cab” or other licensed private hire service in Spain. The limos that ferry superstar deejays, models and millionaires round the island are technically as illegal as the clapped-out pirate taxis outside Pacha. The theory is that Kate Moss and co should wait for a taxi or a bus like everybody else.

What do you do with a shipwreck?

Ibiza has another problem without an obvious right solution. The Don Pedro sank in July after hitting a small island just outside the Ibiza Town harbour. It didn't turn into the ecological disaster that it threatened. A couple of beaches were closed for a few days and the oil doesn't seem to have damaged any of the environmentally fragile areas close by.

Today it's been announced that a robot is being used to find if there are any traces of oil left on the ship. The next stage is to remove solid debris including a large consignment of used car batteries. Once that's finished a decision will have to made on what to do with the wreck.

If it's raised experts reckon that it'll break in two. Leaving it would provide an attraction for tourist divers – the council actually looked at the idea of deliberately sinking a ship for just this purpose. But nobody seems sure what the long-term risks are of leaving the wreck on the seabed.

For once the decision to set up a committee of interested parties to examine the situation does seem to be a sensible course of action rather than an excuse for putting off a difficult decision.

My next post will no doubt be looking at the Ibiza weather and the damage done by the storms.