On Wednesday, Formentera closed another season of regulating vehicle entry and traffic, with a figure that reflects the scope the system has now reached: 48,038 applications processed. Of these, 40,988 were granted authorization, while 5,393 were denied and another 1,657 were incomplete or pending documentation.
The plan, which the island has been implementing since 2019, was introduced with a clear objective: to limit pressure on Formentera during the busiest months. The evolution in recent years shows just how much the model has become one of the island’s main tools for managing mobility.
This season, 8,317 one-time permits have been issued for visitor vehicles and 1,287 more for motorcycles. In addition, 2,222 permits have been issued for vehicles belonging to residents of Mallorca and Menorca, and 572 for motorcycles. The plan also includes categories linked to the transition to less polluting vehicles: 652 permits were issued for electric vehicles and 2,336 for hybrid vehicles. The number of permits issued to residents of Ibiza was also significant: 6,282 permits for passenger cars and 1,223 for motorcycles.
However, one of this season’s new developments has been less about the number of permits granted and more about the follow-up checks carried out on some of them. For the first time, the Council has reviewed certain long-term permits to verify that the vehicles actually met the required conditions.
So far, these checks have resulted in the revocation of 122 permits for vehicles owned by residents of Ibiza and vehicles linked to seasonal workers. The reason: not having driven in Formentera for 15 consecutive days, according to the checks carried out by the authority.
The end of the season arrives as the Formentera model is once again a topic of political debate in the Balearic Islands. At the Parliament’s General Committee of Island Councils, the Council’s vice president, Verònica Castelló, outlined the experience the island has gained since 2019, when it became the first territory in the Balearic Islands to implement a vehicle regulation system.
Over the past seven years, the limit has risen from the initially set 2,450 vehicles to the current figure of 10,287. This increase in the limit has occurred while, according to the Council, a reduction of more than 2,000 vehicles in the rental and resident categories has been implemented.
The next battle is the legislative one.
The next battle now moves to the legislative arena. Formentera wants to take advantage of the parliamentary process for the new law regulating vehicle traffic in Mallorca to propose changes to certain aspects of Law 7/2019 on the island’s environmental and economic sustainability.
One of the issues the Council wants to review is the treatment of workers’ vehicles traveling to Formentera during the tourist season. The proposal is that these vehicles not be subject to a specific limit, arguing that the availability of labor is essential for the island’s economy. The rules governing second homes are also under discussion. Formentera’s proposed approach is that each property or residence is entitled to authorization for one vehicle.
The third issue concerns travel between the islands. The Regional Government wants to explore a system that eliminates the need for specific quotas for residents traveling among the Balearic Islands, while ensuring that this flexibility does not lead to an uncontrolled increase in the number of vehicles on Formentera.
The debate, therefore, is no longer just about how many vehicles can enter the island. The experience gained since 2019 has sparked a broader debate about how to manage the mobility of residents, workers, visitors, and property owners in a territory with limited physical capacity and demand that significantly increases during the summer months.
