The Formentera Office of Mobility is pleased to report that an effort to determine how local roads are used will run from Friday 5 August to Sunday 14 August. "Through a combination of manual and automatic counts using sensors strategically placed on local roads, we will tally pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles and cars, as well as bus and cab riders, to assess the current state of mobility on the island of Formentera", explained Rafael González, councillor of mobility.

Conducted in 2017, 2019 and 2021, the counts are included in the island's Sustainable Mobility Plan. "This summer's data, compared with those of previous years, will enable us to get a sense of how mobility on the island is changing and how this is affected by regulatory measures that have been put in place", added the councillor.

Counts
Tallies of individuals and vehicles will be based on the mode of transport used and conducted in the first half of August, when use of local roads is at its peak. Pedestrian and bicycle counters have been installed at six strategic points along the island's network of Rutes Verdes nature trails. Seven manual counts will be done on roads, where 15 automatic sensors have been installed as well. Users of the public bus and cab service will be counted too.

The effort will include counts and surveys in the Port of La Savina, where visitors will be counted and interviews tailored to find out how Formentera's visitors travel and whether they overnight on the island.

5 August 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The Formentera Office of Mobility reports that yesterday, as formentera.eco regulations took effect for the 2022 season, a parallel push began to flag vehicles not yet cleared to be operated on local roads under the scheme.

Of 236 number plates checked by attendants of metred "blue zone" parking areas, 199 were duly accredited and 37, mostly motorcycles, were not. A notice left on the unaccredited vehicles informs drivers they have 24 hours to obtain formentera.eco accreditation or risk fines.

Formentera.eco accreditation can be requested on www.formentera.eco, where website visitors can additionally search for a vehicle's plate number to see if it has already received clearance. Accreditation is mandatory for cars, motorcycles, vans, trucks, tractors and other motor vehicles driven on Formentera during the regulatory period.

16 June 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The Formentera Office of Mobility reports that today marks the start of the regulatory period for formentera.eco. Between 15 June and 15 September all motor vehicles driven on Formentera will have to have valid accreditation. "This is the fourth summer of application of the project and, once again, per proposal from the Consell d'Entitats, the regulatory period has been extended two more weeks and fees have trebled", explained Rafael González, councillor of mobility.

On this first day of regulation, 18,340 vehicles have associated accreditation on file. The breakdown of the figures is as follows:
- Cars [visitors]: 550 (maximum quota: 1,980)
- Motorcycles [visitors]: 60 (maximum quota: 200)
- Cars [Eivissa residents]: 107 (maximum quota: 220)
- Motorcycles [Eivissa residents]: 14 (maximum quota: 20)
- Cars [for rent]: 1,899 (maximum quota: 2,376)
- Motorcycles [for rent]: 5,496 (maximum quota: 6,160)
- Vehicles [residents]: 9,938 (unregulated)
- Other vehicles: 276 (unregulated)
Total: 18,340
(Updated at 11.00am on 15 June 2022)

During the month of June, the daily average for vehicle reservations stood at 200; in the last two days, meanwhile, some 600 requests for accreditations have been received each day. By 15 June, a total of 28,000 requests had been processed. As of today, accreditation can still be requested for every day of the regulatory period.

2022 ceiling

During the 2022 summer season, total vehicle accreditations have been symbolically capped at 19,696, a figure 12% lower than the maximum in 2019. The ceiling on regulated rental and visitor vehicles is 10,956. In 2020 the Consell d'Entitats voted to limit total accreditations by an additional 4% next year to ultimately lower the ceiling by 16% over four years.

Bookings and accreditations

Visitor vehicles must have an associated accreditation to be driven on local roads. The process is simple and can be handled on www.formentera.eco. The daily fee for cars is €3 (minimum €15); and motorcycles €1.50 (minimum €7.50).

Residents pay nothing for accreditation, but are still required to have it to drive a vehicle on the island. Cars with an associated accreditation on file for metred blue zone parking, as well as private vehicles of residents who pay the island's circulation tax, are automatically accredited. Motorists are responsible for ensuring their vehicle's accreditation has been correctly processed. This can be done by visiting www.formentera.eco; there, using the vehicle plate number, drivers can check whether their vehicle has accreditation on file.

Drivers of hybrid vehicles receive a 50% discount, electric vehicles qualify for a 100% discount and residents of Eivissa and the other islands, Mallorca and Menorca, also have free accreditation.

Information

Ferry companies that allow the transport of vehicles are informing of the regulation on their websites during the ticket purchase process. In this way, information about the rules reaches all the people who come to Formentera with their vehicle. Posters and videos explaining the project have also been distributed.

In recent weeks the Consell has also piloted an information push to encourage residents and seasonal workers to accredit their vehicles. As part of this campaign, parking attendants have scanned the number plates of five thousand vehicles parked on Formentera roads.

The councillor pointed out that, so far this season, six car rental companies have been informed that they cannot increase their fleet, rent quads or start operations on Formentera. He cast it as "an indication of why regulation is crucial: without these steps, our network of roads would have exceeded capacity already".

Controls

In the fourth year of enforcement, newly installed cameras will allow for improved implementation of the regulatory scheme. Two number plate reading cameras installed at the Hospital roundabout check that vehicles circulating on the island are properly accredited. Likewise, there are two control cameras on Carrer Almadrava in La Savina, and a Consell vehicle (100% electric) equipped with two cameras for the same purpose. The cameras read the number plates of vehicles on roads and check if there is an associated formentera.eco accreditation on file.

The law provides for penalties of at least €1,000 euros for driving a vehicle that lacks accreditation.

15 June 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera

The Formentera Office of Mobility is pleased to report that from tomorrow 15 June until 15 October, two streets in Es Pujols –the stretch of Avinguda Miramar extending from the Carrer Espalmador juncture to the sea, and the stretch of Carrer Punta Prima extending from Avinguda Miramar to Carrer Xaloc– will be closed to vehicle traffic between 8.00pm and 6.00am.

Motorists may drive on the two streets the remaining hours of the day, but only to load and unload goods; parking on the roads is prohibited. Rafael González, councillor of mobility, said the measure, put in place the second straight year, "is about delivering a boost to businesses in this part of Es Pujols, particularly in late afternoon and evening when things begin to get busier". "The goal is to keep vehicles outside the urban area and let pedestrians gain presence, as has already happened in other towns of Formentera", added González.

Parking

In addition to blue zone parking on the ring road, last summer two overflow lots were created on the outskirts of Es Pujols: one with spaces for 150 cars and 160 motorcycles to the southeast and another with spaces for 60 cars on the ring road. This year a new parking area with capacity for 65 motorcycles has been added on Carrer Espalmador. Parking in these three areas is free of charge.

The Formentera Office of Tourism has put out a map of Es Pujols including all of this information and made it available on their website and in Tourist Information Points. It will also be distributed to businesses in the area.

Every day, artisans at the town's summer market, El Mercat des Pujols, can load and unload material during two free 30-minute periods of parking in the lot below Plaça Europa. Vouchers are available at the parking lot office.

People with reduced mobility may park in the Plaça Europa lot at no charge. Vouchers are available at the same office.

14 June 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera