Using Uber in Ibiza - anno 2025

djcedrice

New Member
I heard that Uber has not been active in Ibiza for very long and that in 2024 there were few uber drivers. also the system did not work that well....How is 2025 so far? Any improvements? Anyone experiences the last week?
 
only thing I am seeing so far is that apparently it's way more expensive than the official cabs.
 
i rarely used taxis when i lived in ibiza but i don't have a high opinion of the ones i did get into. i actually saw the application form for san jose taxi drivers (the last mayor there owned a taxi) and the first question was not
can you drive a car?
or have you got a license?
or do you have even a tenuous grasp of the geography of the island (I shouldn't have to be giving directions from ibiza or san an to san jose as i've had to do in the past)
but
do you speak catalan?

there was a certain amount of protectionism of their own also, as anyone who doesn't speak catalan can attest

and as for uber, they may have been allowed to operate now, but in the interests of fair competition, they are only allowed to take bookings for 30 minutes after the 'call.' not immediately like taxis.

in answer to the op, i've no idea if the situation has improved.
 
i rarely used taxis when i lived in ibiza but i don't have a high opinion of the ones i did get into. i actually saw the application form for san jose taxi drivers (the last mayor there owned a taxi) and the first question was not
can you drive a car?
or have you got a license?
or do you have even a tenuous grasp of the geography of the island (I shouldn't have to be giving directions from ibiza or san an to san jose as i've had to do in the past)
but
do you speak catalan?

there was a certain amount of protectionism of their own also, as anyone who doesn't speak catalan can attest

and as for uber, they may have been allowed to operate now, but in the interests of fair competition, they are only allowed to take bookings for 30 minutes after the 'call.' not immediately like taxis.

in answer to the op, i've no idea if the situation has improved.

enforcing Catalan has nothing to do with protectionism. It's the official language. If a native Catalan speaker wants a cab, they shouldn't have to use Spanish (let alone English)
 
i'm pretty certain that most ibicencos would have no problems speaking with their oncologist (or any other medical professional) in spanish if there was one.
restricting the labour market to one group is protectionism whichever way you look at it, and in the case of ibiza has led to inferior services and staff shortages.
make ibiza great again!
 
sorry, but that's not true. People have spoken Catalan without any problems for hundreds of years and the only problem is people refusing to learn it, egged on by a militant PP-VOX that has an irrational hatred of the language. I've used public and private healthcare in Spanish and Catalan and people will switch between the two and there's no problem. If a Spanish speaker prefers to be attended in Spanish, that will happen. Catalan speaking medical staff don't get all militant about it.
 
in ibiza any medical professional with the correct qualifications and spanish speaking can work in the private hospital. in the public hospital they must also speak catalan. because the vast majority of professionals in spain do not speak catalan, this has led to positions remaining unfilled in ibiza and an inferior service provided. it's why i said ibicencos wouldn't mind speaking in spanish to an oncologist - because the hospital is short of them.
 
in ibiza any medical professional with the correct qualifications and spanish speaking can work in the private hospital. in the public hospital they must also speak catalan. because the vast majority of professionals in spain do not speak catalan, this has led to positions remaining unfilled in ibiza and an inferior service provided. it's why i said ibicencos wouldn't mind speaking in spanish to an oncologist - because the hospital is short of them.

Until 2023, you needed a B2 in Catalan but then the new rightwing regional government did away with it. The allegation that health services declined due to language policy is hotly disputed. No doctor anywhere in Spain would ever refuse to address a patient in Spanish, especially in an emergency.
 
ah, so i'm a little out of date. nevertheless the principle is the same. if you're understaffed and patients have to wait 3 times longer, then the service isn't up to scratch.
i've no idea why it's hotly disputed, the hospital directors here begged for the language qualification to be removed so they could get the staff.
 
Catalan is very easy for native Spanish speakers to learn. I cannot believe that serious medical professionals would let a few evening classes put them off chasing their career goals in Baleares. Anyone who relocated did so for other undisclosed (probably economic) reasons, the real issue. I've myself attended intermediate level Catalan evening classes with Romanians, South Americans and others who managed just fine. Nobody moaned about it and everyone just got on with the course.
 
The Americans will fall for it, so might not be a bad thing come peak season maybe?
I bumped into a couple of Americans a few days ago. They were open, pleasant, cheerful, excited to be in Ibiza, were wearing purple/brownish (post- hippie) clothing, and presumably somewhere on the alphabet.

One has to be careful around these types. Before you know it, you'll have made some new friends.
 
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