This week's foreign media Mallorca and Balearic alarm-raising headlines had to do with cars. Tourists cars are to be banned from the Balearics, said one headline. This stemmed principally from a piece in La Vanguardia, the Barcelona-based national paper which, given its location, takes a keen interest in that city's tourism affairs (of which there are many) and thus considers other destinations by means of comparison.
The background to all this is familiar enough. The regional government, especially Biel Barceló, has been making reference to overcrowding and saturation for several months. A ban or a limitation on cars has been most spoken about in respect of Formentera. As the island has no airport, it can get overrun by the volume of vehicles: this was certainly how things were being described last summer.
A ban on the entrance of cars to it and to the other islands would be extremely difficult to enforce. It would run up against challenges from the ferry operators and its legality might be questionable. The Balearics are part of Spain, so how can you stop other Spaniards moving freely? And that's before one gets to other European nationalities. The example is cited of Capri, where non-resident vehicles are banned during the summer, but Capri is really tiny and is also right next to the mainland. The comparison, even with Formentera, isn't as strong as some might think, not least because of the differing nature of the islands' governmental administrations.
Another measure is some form of tax. The possibility of this was raised some weeks ago, with imported hire cars being its target along with tourist vehicles. While a charge on hire cars might be possible (as a way of dissuading agencies from bringing ever more cars onto the islands' roads), one for private vehicles would come up against European law. Toll roads are perfectly legitimate but tariffs to simply use roads are not.
The number of vehicles on the road, especially in high summer, is obviously a reflection of the number of tourists, and as this number continues to rise and is expected to rise again this summer, the whole issue of human saturation has arrived centre-stage in Balearics' tourism politics and possible policies.
On 10 August last year, the population of the islands exceeded two million. This was the total population. One can of course ask how the number is arrived at, but assuming that it has some legitimacy it would have acted as confirmation of how much human pressure there can be on any given day in high summer. This maximum value has risen every year since the turn of the century except for one small blip downwards in 2009. In 2000, the maximum, also on 10 August, was 1,543,160. So, tourism has contributed to a rise of over 460,000, has it?
Well no, because the registered population increased by almost 280,000 between 2000 and 2015. Tourism, therefore, has added under 200,000 over the same period, though even here one has to be aware of the caveat that not all this additional number is made up by tourists.
Nevertheless, the increase is significant, and last year's maximum represented an increase of over 40,000 on 7 August 2014, when the population reached its maximum. This wasn't the largest rise since 2000 but it was one of the larger, and crossing the two million mark might be said to have been a crossing of a psychological barrier. Two million are too many, however ill-defined too many might be. Which is of course the nub of the issue. How many people can the Balearics cope with? How many should they cope with?
Saturation, human pressure, overcrowding are going to be themes of this coming summer, even more so than last year.
This said, we already have the sound of the doubting voices ringing in our ears. Despite current tourism performance, there is the familiar, typically anecdotal denial. Businesses are reporting a bad start to the season: the normal response to what statistics would suggest otherwise. Somewhere between the anecdotes and the statistics lies the truth, though it's anyone's guess as to what that might be.
Anyway, for what it's worth, a survey by the Gadeso research organisation here in Mallorca reports that a half of hoteliers expect this season to be better than last year. With all the visitors we can supposedly anticipate this season, one would have thought that they would all be expecting a better year. But maybe the other half see themselves threatened by holiday rentals. They may actually be right.
Showing posts with label Cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cars. Show all posts
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
At The MOT Centre
There were no posts yesterday because of a very early start on account of having had to go with a documentary film crew into the Tramuntana mountains and an equally late return.
In bygone years in Ealing, West London, there was a garage just round the corner. It was run by a bloke who looked like Jack Dee. His name wasn't Jack and I can't for the life of me now remember what it was, but no matter. Jack, let's call him this, was a bit of a wide boy. He was always snappily dressed, which seemed out of place with the grime of a garage, but there were the secondhand motors to sell as well. You half expected Alexei Sayle to pop his head around an old Cortina and, in a Liverpool-Cockney accent, enquire if you had got a new motor. Not that I ever acquired a new motor from Jack. Mine was a maintenance acquaintance.
When the day would come for the MOT, the journey was short to Jack's garage. I say it was round the corner; it was more like a hundred metres away. Jack, resplendent in suit and colourful tie, would take the key and in the time it took to walk back the hundred metres, the mechanic had probably finished whatever it was he was supposed to do. I mean, you were never quite aware as to how a garage functioned, and you certainly weren't required to be present when the MOT was being conducted.
Despite his boyish width, Jack and his men never found an engine that needed replacing as a condition of passing the MOT. He was an honest broker in a garage world of scoundrels, and I presumed that the folding notes he was handed in exchange for the MOT all-clear were scrupulously earned. The MOT was a stress-free and trouble-free exercise, and it was just round the corner, to boot.
Recently, I came across an article which highlighted the stress of the local MOT test (otherwise known as the ITV test). Of things that one might compare between here and back there, the MOT test is one of the few that might be said to be more pleasurable back there. Hand over the car and the keys, and leave them to it, and, remembering with fondness Jack and his wide but strangely honest ways, I am inclined to agree.
Not, I would like to make clear, that there is anything dishonest about the Mallorcan ITV/MOT. Thoroughness may not be one of its greater virtues, certainly not by comparison with the MOT of the new-age Jacks since testing procedures were tightened up, but anything a touch dodgy is a tad difficult when you, often the car owner unless you have had the good sense to get someone else to go through the rigmarole, are part of the process.
Maybe it is a rare desire for transparency that has determined the nature of the ITV test. In a land not usually noted for its participatory ways - democratically at least, if we are to believe mostly any political party which hasn't recently been in power - the ITV positively discriminates in favour of participation. You, the driver-owner, remaining at the wheel throughout, are the star of the show. Well, almost.
Maybe there is a certain stress involved. Perhaps it stems from the regimental method of organisation: cars and their drivers in a line waiting to be called to meet the inquisitors of ignition, the examiners of emissions. Or perhaps it is as a result of a sudden hankering for Jack and for his proximity and so not for having had to drive some twenty kilometres in order to undergo this vehicular interrogation.
The inquisitor asks if I speak Spanish. Yes. Perhaps it would be advisable to play the old soldier and say no because, despite a familiarity and it being pretty obvious what is required, the nerve can desert you. Was it like this for Jonathan Trott facing Mitchell Johnson? Why would you indicate left when he has clearly said right? (This seems a fairly unnecessary check given that no one typically uses indicators.) Why, when it's the emissions bit, are you pressing the brake pedal and not the throttle? (Mitigation, it is an automatic, and instinct - for starting the engine - does rather take over.) And what's all this business with being thrown around like you were in a roller-coaster chair and not a car?
When the inquisition is over, the chain at the end of the testing lane is unchained. Why do they have one? Do they think you are going to make a bolt for it? But a sigh of relief can be expelled and then a further one when the lad in the booth does his stamping and hands over the little sticker. See you in two years time, he didn't say. Not if I can help it. What's the best advice for handling the ITV? Buy a brand new motor at least every four years.
In bygone years in Ealing, West London, there was a garage just round the corner. It was run by a bloke who looked like Jack Dee. His name wasn't Jack and I can't for the life of me now remember what it was, but no matter. Jack, let's call him this, was a bit of a wide boy. He was always snappily dressed, which seemed out of place with the grime of a garage, but there were the secondhand motors to sell as well. You half expected Alexei Sayle to pop his head around an old Cortina and, in a Liverpool-Cockney accent, enquire if you had got a new motor. Not that I ever acquired a new motor from Jack. Mine was a maintenance acquaintance.
When the day would come for the MOT, the journey was short to Jack's garage. I say it was round the corner; it was more like a hundred metres away. Jack, resplendent in suit and colourful tie, would take the key and in the time it took to walk back the hundred metres, the mechanic had probably finished whatever it was he was supposed to do. I mean, you were never quite aware as to how a garage functioned, and you certainly weren't required to be present when the MOT was being conducted.
Despite his boyish width, Jack and his men never found an engine that needed replacing as a condition of passing the MOT. He was an honest broker in a garage world of scoundrels, and I presumed that the folding notes he was handed in exchange for the MOT all-clear were scrupulously earned. The MOT was a stress-free and trouble-free exercise, and it was just round the corner, to boot.
Recently, I came across an article which highlighted the stress of the local MOT test (otherwise known as the ITV test). Of things that one might compare between here and back there, the MOT test is one of the few that might be said to be more pleasurable back there. Hand over the car and the keys, and leave them to it, and, remembering with fondness Jack and his wide but strangely honest ways, I am inclined to agree.
Not, I would like to make clear, that there is anything dishonest about the Mallorcan ITV/MOT. Thoroughness may not be one of its greater virtues, certainly not by comparison with the MOT of the new-age Jacks since testing procedures were tightened up, but anything a touch dodgy is a tad difficult when you, often the car owner unless you have had the good sense to get someone else to go through the rigmarole, are part of the process.
Maybe it is a rare desire for transparency that has determined the nature of the ITV test. In a land not usually noted for its participatory ways - democratically at least, if we are to believe mostly any political party which hasn't recently been in power - the ITV positively discriminates in favour of participation. You, the driver-owner, remaining at the wheel throughout, are the star of the show. Well, almost.
Maybe there is a certain stress involved. Perhaps it stems from the regimental method of organisation: cars and their drivers in a line waiting to be called to meet the inquisitors of ignition, the examiners of emissions. Or perhaps it is as a result of a sudden hankering for Jack and for his proximity and so not for having had to drive some twenty kilometres in order to undergo this vehicular interrogation.
The inquisitor asks if I speak Spanish. Yes. Perhaps it would be advisable to play the old soldier and say no because, despite a familiarity and it being pretty obvious what is required, the nerve can desert you. Was it like this for Jonathan Trott facing Mitchell Johnson? Why would you indicate left when he has clearly said right? (This seems a fairly unnecessary check given that no one typically uses indicators.) Why, when it's the emissions bit, are you pressing the brake pedal and not the throttle? (Mitigation, it is an automatic, and instinct - for starting the engine - does rather take over.) And what's all this business with being thrown around like you were in a roller-coaster chair and not a car?
When the inquisition is over, the chain at the end of the testing lane is unchained. Why do they have one? Do they think you are going to make a bolt for it? But a sigh of relief can be expelled and then a further one when the lad in the booth does his stamping and hands over the little sticker. See you in two years time, he didn't say. Not if I can help it. What's the best advice for handling the ITV? Buy a brand new motor at least every four years.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Huge number of vehicles without insurance in Mallorca
According to data supplied by Tráfico, there are some 236,000 cars in the Balearics that have no insurance; 26% of the total number of vehicles. Economic hard times have led to the number without insurance soaring. And it is not just cars; 13% of "motos" also have no insurance.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Put Up A Parking Lot
Well, with slightly less than a fanfare and not even the hooting of a celebratory car horn or several, the new parking area in Puerto Pollensa yesterday became a tarmacadamed reality. No more of that wrecking the suspension on bits of old rock on what was there before (the suspension-wrecking can still be achieved in Puerto Pollensa thanks to the superbly dilapidated state of some of the roads). Now, 110 cars can enjoy the luxury of white-lined parking on the plot opposite the new school. Except there won't be 110 spaces once the art, or should that be science, of Mallorcan parking is on show. This follows a mathematical principle of why let one space do, when two will do just as well. The white lines are mere guidelines to the parking of vehicles, guidelines that steer the car to come to rest either side of the white line, thus occupying two spaces. Perhaps at driving school, they don't explain that you are meant to park inside those two parallel lines, not on top of one of them. Still, once you have tried and given up squeezing into what little space has been left, you will be able to admire the 48 trees that will be sprouting up, almost one tree for every two cars or, given the exactness of the local parking technique, more like one car per tree.
Nevertheless, this parking lot is welcome. Unlike Puerto Alcúdia (in the port that is) which has a fairly large parking area, Puerto Pollensa does not. I have largely given up driving around, hunting for a street parking space. It is altogether quicker to park a distance away and walk, that distance away meaning either on the side roads of the bypass to Formentor or by the Puerto Azul and Oro Playa hotels. One of the problems in Puerto Pollensa is that, since they started filling every available bit of land with buildings, the car population has grown accordingly, and there is nowhere to house it - as it were. 110 slots, fine, but still not nearly enough.
And while on Puerto Pollensa's parking, does anyone have the faintest idea what the deal is with the parking by the nautical club? Some while ago, they introduced this crazy system whereby the driver was meant to place a piece of paper in the windscreen on which he or she had written the time of arrival. This all required that a pen or pencil and piece of paper were immediately to hand, and also that the sign saying that the driver should do this had actually been observed, which it normally had not been. The fact is that there is still a sign there and that parking is meant to be limited to an hour and a half, but no one bothers. Or maybe they just gave up as it was a totally bonkers idea, and someone finally realised that it was bonkers. If they really want to limit parking time, why not install a ticket machine?
And ... Word is that Barrie, recently departed from The Smugglers, has now taken The Highlander. Don't know. Thought he was going back to England.
QUIZ
Kajagoogoo, and Kajagoogoo were produced by Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran. So where does the name Duran Duran come from? Oh, and for those still on title questions - who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Nevertheless, this parking lot is welcome. Unlike Puerto Alcúdia (in the port that is) which has a fairly large parking area, Puerto Pollensa does not. I have largely given up driving around, hunting for a street parking space. It is altogether quicker to park a distance away and walk, that distance away meaning either on the side roads of the bypass to Formentor or by the Puerto Azul and Oro Playa hotels. One of the problems in Puerto Pollensa is that, since they started filling every available bit of land with buildings, the car population has grown accordingly, and there is nowhere to house it - as it were. 110 slots, fine, but still not nearly enough.
And while on Puerto Pollensa's parking, does anyone have the faintest idea what the deal is with the parking by the nautical club? Some while ago, they introduced this crazy system whereby the driver was meant to place a piece of paper in the windscreen on which he or she had written the time of arrival. This all required that a pen or pencil and piece of paper were immediately to hand, and also that the sign saying that the driver should do this had actually been observed, which it normally had not been. The fact is that there is still a sign there and that parking is meant to be limited to an hour and a half, but no one bothers. Or maybe they just gave up as it was a totally bonkers idea, and someone finally realised that it was bonkers. If they really want to limit parking time, why not install a ticket machine?
And ... Word is that Barrie, recently departed from The Smugglers, has now taken The Highlander. Don't know. Thought he was going back to England.
QUIZ
Kajagoogoo, and Kajagoogoo were produced by Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran. So where does the name Duran Duran come from? Oh, and for those still on title questions - who?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Sunday, March 30, 2008
It's A Gas, Gas, Gas
Two coincidental but quite illuminating pieces from "The Bulletin" point to the part played by transport in polluting Mallorca. Much of it is self-evident, but it does highlight how dependent the island is on motorised transport. The head of the natural gas foundation points out that people here are "unused to using public transport" and that this public transport is "underdeveloped". He also says that the fleet of rental cars has risen by 40,000 in the past four years (from 20,000 to 60,000), though it is a bit unclear to where he is referring. In the other piece, it is said that this fleet increased from 20,000 to 65,000 between 1992 and 2007. As always, a bit of editorial inconsistency, but the point is still clear - there has been a substantial rise. Moreover, the number of taxi licences (in Palma) has not increased since the early '80s and the number of school buses has decreased.
Mallorca is an island built on the motor car. It has the highest ownership of cars per head of population in the whole of Europe. It is largely understandable though. Outside Palma, even were the metro actually operating (which it is still is not), the public transport network is not good. Trains are largely useless, though the proposed extension from Sa Pobla to Alcúdia would be welcome. Buses can be ok, but when they press the reserve buses into service during the summer, you want to try driving behind some of the exhausts that belch out filth.
As a result, the idea of converting buses to natural gas, in Palma at any rate, is also welcome. Natural gas is on its way to the island, which should be an advantage not just for some transport but also for household consumption which still relies on the vapour-full butane gas, though God knows what this might mean in terms of pipeline laying and therefore ever more roads and streets being ripped up in order to create the infrastructure.
However much the authorities may wish to see a move towards public transport, they will have a heck of a job. This is four or five vehicle per household land, not just two. And where, one might well ask, would any further public transport be built? At the same time as concern is being expressed regarding the growth in the island's population (demanding more housing etc), the pressure on land use comes from all manner of needs - and don't forget the strength of the eco-lobby that would put obstacles in front of most land development. Natural gas may be useful, but only up to a point.
QUIZ
Yesterday - Alicia Keys. Today's title - where's this from?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Mallorca is an island built on the motor car. It has the highest ownership of cars per head of population in the whole of Europe. It is largely understandable though. Outside Palma, even were the metro actually operating (which it is still is not), the public transport network is not good. Trains are largely useless, though the proposed extension from Sa Pobla to Alcúdia would be welcome. Buses can be ok, but when they press the reserve buses into service during the summer, you want to try driving behind some of the exhausts that belch out filth.
As a result, the idea of converting buses to natural gas, in Palma at any rate, is also welcome. Natural gas is on its way to the island, which should be an advantage not just for some transport but also for household consumption which still relies on the vapour-full butane gas, though God knows what this might mean in terms of pipeline laying and therefore ever more roads and streets being ripped up in order to create the infrastructure.
However much the authorities may wish to see a move towards public transport, they will have a heck of a job. This is four or five vehicle per household land, not just two. And where, one might well ask, would any further public transport be built? At the same time as concern is being expressed regarding the growth in the island's population (demanding more housing etc), the pressure on land use comes from all manner of needs - and don't forget the strength of the eco-lobby that would put obstacles in front of most land development. Natural gas may be useful, but only up to a point.
QUIZ
Yesterday - Alicia Keys. Today's title - where's this from?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Second-Hand Car Spiv
Looking to sell a car? Well if you are and you live in Alcúdia, you won’t be able to try and flog it by means of a “for-sale” sign stuck in the window and with the car parked in the street. Thus reports “Euro Weekly” in its latest issue.
Apparently this is not legal. I wouldn’t know. But the town hall says not legal, so not legal it is – I’ll take their word for it. One of the other lines of thinking is that, by stopping people parking cars in streets with for-sale signs on, this will alleviate the parking problem. This is nonsense. Were it the case that whole fleets of cars were being left with their “se vende” notices, then there might be an argument. But there are not. The parking problem is a problem of a lack of parking not the odd car for sale.
Two of my neighbours in the recent past have had such signs in their cars. They have parked their cars outside their houses. Where else should they park them? When they drive off and park elsewhere, they are perfectly entitled to do so. What difference does it make if there happens to be a for-sale sign? A car has to be parked somewhere whether it’s for sale or not.
There is another argument; that by displaying a sign in public the attempt at transaction becomes subject to control by the local authority. In other words, one would need a licence to offer for sale. That’s more like it. The town hall would want a piece of the action, which they will not get because they’re banning the practice. One can understand the town hall’s thinking here though, even if it is stretching a point. If one looks to sell a car via a magazine for instance, one contracts with the publisher to do so. The town hall, it can justifiably argue I suppose, is acting as a means of promotion and distribution in the same way as a magazine is; it should therefore be contracted with as the sales channel or deny that channel if it so chooses.
There are other vehicles that are left parked in streets; vehicles that publicise this and that. They occupy parking spaces and are often left for lengthy periods. Maybe they have a licence to do so. It had never occurred to me that they might have to before this business with cars for sale came up. But if not, do not the same rules apply? A restaurant wishing to advertise itself through a magazine contracts with that magazine. The town hall already imposes a system of licensing if a restaurant (or other) wishes to hand out promotional material on the street (albeit this is often flouted and not just on the streets, it also happens on the beach). It is the same principle of contract one would guess.
Maybe there is a simple solution for the person looking to sell a car. Drive into neighbouring Muro and park there. There has been a for-sale 4x4 parked in the road by Smiths and Posh Paddy for a while now. It is situated on the Posh Paddy side of the road going away from Alcúdia. The boundary between Alcúdia and Muro divides that road, so Muro would be where it was parked. Possibly. So if anyone’s interested … There you go, I act as a sales channel, and it doesn’t cost a cent.
And a brief weather note. Apart from a sudden downpour three days ago, the weather has been amazing. January, and it really is beach weather. No kidding.
QUIZ
Yesterday – Herb Alpert or The Beatles. Today’s title – this is a song by which major English group of the ‘60s and ‘70s? The whole lyric for this song is one of the most hard-hitting the group’s singer ever penned.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Apparently this is not legal. I wouldn’t know. But the town hall says not legal, so not legal it is – I’ll take their word for it. One of the other lines of thinking is that, by stopping people parking cars in streets with for-sale signs on, this will alleviate the parking problem. This is nonsense. Were it the case that whole fleets of cars were being left with their “se vende” notices, then there might be an argument. But there are not. The parking problem is a problem of a lack of parking not the odd car for sale.
Two of my neighbours in the recent past have had such signs in their cars. They have parked their cars outside their houses. Where else should they park them? When they drive off and park elsewhere, they are perfectly entitled to do so. What difference does it make if there happens to be a for-sale sign? A car has to be parked somewhere whether it’s for sale or not.
There is another argument; that by displaying a sign in public the attempt at transaction becomes subject to control by the local authority. In other words, one would need a licence to offer for sale. That’s more like it. The town hall would want a piece of the action, which they will not get because they’re banning the practice. One can understand the town hall’s thinking here though, even if it is stretching a point. If one looks to sell a car via a magazine for instance, one contracts with the publisher to do so. The town hall, it can justifiably argue I suppose, is acting as a means of promotion and distribution in the same way as a magazine is; it should therefore be contracted with as the sales channel or deny that channel if it so chooses.
There are other vehicles that are left parked in streets; vehicles that publicise this and that. They occupy parking spaces and are often left for lengthy periods. Maybe they have a licence to do so. It had never occurred to me that they might have to before this business with cars for sale came up. But if not, do not the same rules apply? A restaurant wishing to advertise itself through a magazine contracts with that magazine. The town hall already imposes a system of licensing if a restaurant (or other) wishes to hand out promotional material on the street (albeit this is often flouted and not just on the streets, it also happens on the beach). It is the same principle of contract one would guess.
Maybe there is a simple solution for the person looking to sell a car. Drive into neighbouring Muro and park there. There has been a for-sale 4x4 parked in the road by Smiths and Posh Paddy for a while now. It is situated on the Posh Paddy side of the road going away from Alcúdia. The boundary between Alcúdia and Muro divides that road, so Muro would be where it was parked. Possibly. So if anyone’s interested … There you go, I act as a sales channel, and it doesn’t cost a cent.
And a brief weather note. Apart from a sudden downpour three days ago, the weather has been amazing. January, and it really is beach weather. No kidding.
QUIZ
Yesterday – Herb Alpert or The Beatles. Today’s title – this is a song by which major English group of the ‘60s and ‘70s? The whole lyric for this song is one of the most hard-hitting the group’s singer ever penned.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
