As we approach the end of August, at the culmination of another main holiday period, Torrevieja Council is trying to rectify the unfortunate image presented by the city’s main taxi rank, during the late-night rush hour on Avenida de la Libertad, altogether too little and, certainly for the 2024 summer season, too late.
The same picture is repeated night after night, and has been since the beginning of July between the hours of 10pm and 1am . Dozens of users, including many families of tourists with young children, wait resignedly for a free vehicle to take them to their hotels or back to their holiday apartments. Taxis are rarely available throughout the day at the rank, with the queues during the late night-time slot, often 20 or 30 metres long.
This is simply yet another of the embarrassing scenes that summer leaves in the centre of Torrevieja which has remained unchanged for many years. Some respite for the elderly has been provided in recent days, although insufficient for the demand, the placement of four benches so that, at least, people with mobility difficulties, can face the wait while sitting down.
As in other tourist towns on the Alicante coast, Torrevieja has a significant shortage of taxis between June and September, and finding a free one from a service that operates 24 hours a day for almost all of the more than 80 licenses, is nigh on impossible.
The Council has started the administrative process to create 16 new taxi licensee in the coming months, however, and thus comply with the ratio of one taxi per thousand inhabitants.
At the moment, the city has a supply of 84 taxis in operation but despite the population exceeding one hundred thousand inhabitants, the number of licenses has been frozen for almost a decade.
