Baleària has presented to the Formentera Council a proposal for the implementation of a single, global, and shared quota of vehicles on the island that does not establish differences between those accessing by sea and those coming from the rental sector. According to the shipping company, the initiative aims to correct what the company refers to as discrimination against maritime transport within the current regulatory system, while also seeking to ensure a model aligned with the principles of sustainability, free competition, and equity.
The company maintains that the saturation of the roads in Formentera does not depend on the access channel of the vehicle to the island. In Baleària's view, a car occupies the same space and generates the same impact on the road network regardless of whether it arrives onboard with its owner or is rented by a passenger accessing by air. Based on this, the shipping company considers that the current system of differentiated quotas does not respond to real criteria of load capacity or sustainability.
Baleària points out that the current model generates distortions in practice, as the quotas assigned to vehicles accessing by maritime transport are recurrently exhausted, while rental vehicles continue to join the circulation without the same limitation. This dynamic causes, according to the company, that numerous maritime transport clients face the daily impossibility of boarding their vehicle, even though the total number of cars in circulation on the island continues to rise.
The shipping company argues that this segmentation penalizes maritime connectivity, restricts the freedom of citizens to choose their mode of transport, and shifts the cost of regulation to a single economic segment. Furthermore, according to Baleària, it constitutes discrimination against other modes of access and discourages a means of transport that the company considers more sustainable and less polluting.
Baleària's proposal suggests that the maximum limit of vehicles in circulation in Formentera should apply regardless of the access channel. Once this limit is reached, the quota would be exhausted for all channels equally, without sectorial reservations or exceptions. The shipping company proposes that this unique quota be managed through real-time monitoring systems, which would allow control over adherence to the maximum sustainable capacity of the island and ensure equitable treatment among operators. The company also warns that maintaining separate quotas poses legal risks, as it affects principles such as equality, proportionality, and competitive neutrality.
Along with the implementation of the single quota, Baleària has presented a series of complementary measures. Among them, the exemption of the quota for residents and seasonal workers, the exclusion of the departure day from the quota calculation, adjustments so that vehicles that ultimately do not board are not counted, and the exclusion of vehicles corresponding to short-term stops. The shipping company also proposes the exemption of quota for hybrid and electric cars, the exclusion of vehicles with stays equal to or greater than seven days, an equitable distribution of tax burdens regardless of the access channel, and the implementation of a certified management system that ensures the application and effectiveness of the model.
Baleària has conveyed to the Formentera Council its willingness to collaborate on improving the mobility management system on the island.