Teide Transport Under Threat
The Canary Islands Professional Association of Rental Car Companies (APECA) issued a stark warning this Wednesday: a blanket ban on access to Teide National Park would effectively eliminate transportation within this protected environment. The association expressed deep concern over measures announced by the Canary Islands Government and the Tenerife Council to restrict park access, highlighting the subsequent risk to over a thousand direct jobs and increased legal uncertainty for sector businesses.
Defending Professional Transport Services
APECA strongly defends chauffeur-driven rental services, which are explicitly recognized as shared mobility in the draft Sustainable Mobility Law. “We’re talking about a high-occupancy model accompanied by professionals that guarantees safer visits and greater respect for the environment,” states the association. “This should be promoted as part of the solution, not eliminated.”
Seeking Balanced Regulation
Regarding self-drive rentals, the business association acknowledges the need for stricter regulation to limit pressure on the park through access quotas, peripheral parking with shuttle services, and advance booking systems. However, they insist that “going from 100 to zero isn’t management—it’s giving up on finding a balance between sustainability and economic development.”
Alarm Over Shuttle-Only Proposal
The association points to statements by Minister of Ecological Transition Mariano Hernández Zapata as particularly alarming. His assertion that “anyone wanting to visit Teide during peak hours must do so exclusively via shuttle buses” has set off warning bells throughout the industry. APECA responds that “you cannot eliminate a regulated, sustainable service like chauffeur-driven rentals with a stroke of a pen without first implementing control systems, quotas, and reservation mechanisms.”
Call for Consensus on Time Slots
Similarly, regarding Tenerife Council member José Miguel Ruano’s proposal to establish time slots where all mobility would rely on buses, APECA indicates that such time frames must be defined using objective, consensus-based criteria rather than being imposed unilaterally. “Decisions cannot be made behind closed doors without including those of us who work daily in the island’s tourist mobility,” warns the association.
Proposed Solutions Ignored
APECA reminds authorities that they have spent years proposing advanced management measures, including technological license plate and occupancy control systems, conditional access for low-emission vehicles, and stronger penalties for misuse of park spaces. However, they lament that they have not been permitted to participate in developing these plans to date.
Excluded From Planning Process
“We have attended Council meetings, but these have been merely explanatory, not real working groups,” emphasizes the association. “We’re learning about measures through the press or informal conversations, and to this day we still don’t have an official draft we can analyze.”
Seeking Common Ground
APECA has communicated its concerns to the Tenerife Business Federation (CEOE Tenerife) to strengthen a unified position before institutions. “We want the same thing as the administration: to preserve Teide and guarantee its future,” concludes the association. “But this can and should be done without destroying jobs or tourism competitiveness. Intermediate models exist worldwide that demonstrate sustainability and development can go hand in hand.”
