This operation was carried out in collaboration with the local police and took place in various parts of the island.
A total of nine pirate taxi drivers reported for illegal transport; seven VTC reported for infringements in the search and collection of clients who have not contracted the service; two taxis reported for non-compliance with the loading order and one driver who tested positive for drugs and could not be reported as an illegal taxi due to the lack of cooperation from the taxi drivers is the balance of the first joint operation carried out by the Inspection Service of the Department of Transport of the Consell Insular de Eivissa together with the local police of the island’s town councils, which has counted, as a novelty, with the participation of private detectives infiltrated as clients.
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Nineteen reported in the first operation with private detectives infiltrating transport inspections
As announced by the Minister of the Department of Mobility and the Fight against Intrusion, Mariano Juan, to strengthen the inspection and detection of illegal activities, private detectives have also been involved in passenger transport, and this is the first operation in which they have taken part. The detectives, infiltrated in Whatsapp groups or by other means, contact the driver and contract the service. Once in the vehicle, the detective, in constant communication with the Council inspectors and the local police, determines a place where the illegal vehicle stops, where the agents are waiting for them and stop the vehicle to carry out the inspection.
This operation has been carried out at various points on the island over three days. In Santa Eulària, members of the municipality’s Association of Salaried Taxi Drivers also collaborated with the inspectors and local police to explain a specific problem in a tourist area of Santa Eulària, as well as to report the presence of pirate taxi drivers.
The island’s Director of Transport, Roberto Algaba, was present during these controls and highlighted the ‘good results’ achieved by using private detectives as infiltrators, an action ‘which we are considering incorporating definitively’. One of the aspects that Algaba highlights about using private detectives in inspections of illegal transport is ‘the surprise effect for the offender, who never knows at what moment they may take a service that will lead directly to an inspection and sanction’, as unlike roadside controls where the presence of law enforcement officers is visible, in this case, it is the officers who go to where the detective tells them: ‘the pirate taxi driver is not expecting it’.
The good results of this service of infiltration of private inspectors have allowed the Department of Transport to evaluate the possibility of bidding for the service for the next season.
The good results of this service of infiltration of private inspectors have allowed the Department of Transport to evaluate the possibility of bidding for the service for the next season.
The Department of Mobility of the Consell de Eivissa, recalls that the Treasury services of the Consell collected nearly 500,000 euros in 2023 (499,533.06 €) in transport fines, 36% more than in 2022 when 363,268.10 € were collected. The number of vehicles immobilised in 2023 also increased by 72%, from 62 in 2022 to 107.