Confessions Of An Illegal Taxi Driver In Spain

Mijas Mayor Josele González is trying to stamp down on illegal taxi services.

The Mayor has held meetings with the local police and the official taxi services to discuss enforcing regulations to stamp out the practice and warned that several unofficial taxi ranks popping up.

We at the Euroweekly News have looked into the issue today and spoke with an illegal taxi driver who didn’t wish to be named.

We asked: “How does it work and why do people use you instead of official taxis?”

The driver replied: “Price, simple as that, the official taxis are more expensive so undercutting them is really easy. All you have to have really is have a decent car and advertise your services in local Facebook groups. The response is always amazing, especially during the peak holiday season.”

“We then asked how much he makes if he is undercutting prices and is it cost-effective?”

“Too right, I can pull in around €300 a day sometimes whilst only laying out €50 a day on fuel, it’s a great way of making easy money here instead of working for a very low Spanish wage,” he replied.

“So aren’t your passengers concerned that you are not properly insured?” we asked.

“They are not bothered in the slightest, they know the score when they book me. I drive carefully and they appreciate that. I’ve never had an accident.  As long as the price is right they are happy and I do warn them if we ever get pulled by the police to say they are family friends and I’m just doing them a favour.”

We then questioned how many illegal taxi drivers operate in Spain?

“Hundreds mate all over Spain, just look in the Facebook groups that cover all areas down here and on the Costa Blanca, some bar owners I know even support their businesses by running a taxi operation for their customers. My pal in Benidorm makes more money running his customers around than he does selling beer! it’s widespread, I reckon if you go to the airport you will see plenty of cars lurking around the corner waiting for their fare to arrive.”