Taxi Driver Online

Taxi regulator has 'lost control;


THE TAXI regulator is "turning a blind eye" to the thousands of illegal taxis plying for hire throughout the State, the president of the National Taxi Drivers Union (NTDU), Tommy Gorman, has said.

The regulator, Kathleen Doyle, has "totally lost control of the industry" Mr Gorman told an Oireachtas transport committee yesterday. "I have never seen the taxi profession in such an appalling state. It is now on its knees."

There were insufficient numbers of enforcement officers to catch drivers operating without licences, he said and he called for a moratorium on the issuing of new licences to the industry.

Ms Doyle told the committee that 33 per cent of the prosecutions it took against drivers in 2008 were in relation to operating without a licence, but in the majority of cases this was because the licence had lapsed rather than people never having had a licence or having had a fraudulent licence.

She said she did not have the power to introduce a moratorium or cap on taxi numbers. "I do not have the power to introduce any quantity restrictions on an industry which has been operating in a liberalised market since 2000... Any changes in that regard would be a matter for the Minister for Transport."

The chairman of the committee, Fianna Fáil TD Frank Fahey, said he accepted Ms Doyle did not have the power to introduce a moratorium, but he asked did she not think there were now too many taxis on the roads. "Do you have any concern for the people, the drivers, the people involved in the taxi industry?... Do you really believe you are going to be able to continue on as you are?"

Ms Doyle reiterated that she had no power to restrict taxi numbers, but she did accept some drivers found it harder to make a living.

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Interesting.....she didnt answer the question, but did say she accepted drivers found it harder to make a living.

I could have told them that.

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Did they ever have control?

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Arguably they did when they regulated numbers?

regards

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Yes they did but they failed to understand their own legislation so in that respect they were only in control through the ignorance of others who collectively failed to understand the law.

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

It's all or nothing with taxis now


I know we all love having 40,000 taxis on our streets this Christmas. If I'm waiting more than a minute I'm giving out, which is a stark contrast to when we had only 2,000 taxis.

However, when a veritable traffic jam of empty taxis saw me putting my hand out last night, there was an F1-style sprint from the lights to try to get to me first.

The winner ended up pulling a crazy manoeuvre -- doing a u-turn at 60 miles an hour across a single white line.

When I told the driver I wouldn't feel safe with him driving, I got the brunt of his obvious frustrations, having thought he won the race!

It's now clear we've far too many taxis than we need. There is increased traffic, increased pollution, and more drivers not knowing where they're going. The Government made a mess of deregulation but nobody is calling stop -- why? Is a minute really too long to wait for a taxi?

S CROSBIE FINGLAS

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Taxi driver locks car when asked to move by Gardaí

Concern at lack of spaces at Crowe Street rank


Dundalk Taxi Owners' Association is withdrawing its support for the Irish Taxi Regulator following an incident in the town centre on Saturday night.

A taxi driver was arrested after he locked himself in his vehicle and refused to move on from where he was parked in front of the courthouse after being requested to do so by two gardai. The man was eventually arrested.

A number of other taxi-drivers who were also parked outside the courthouse did move when asked.

Mr Kevin Brady of the Dundalk Taxi Owners' Association has blamed the lack of sufficient taxi rank space and the issuing of licenses for an increasing number of taxis as being at the root of the problem which regularly sees taxis parked along The Square at peak times.

He said: 'Members of the taxi industry in Dundalk must understand and be mindful that members of the Gardai are required to carry out specific local traffic management enforcement tasks.

'The lack of suitable, properly provided taxi rank space is creating unnecessary, unwarranted, conflict between drivers and the Gardai.'

He complained that there are not enough spaces for the town's growing number of taxis at Crowe Street and claimed that the one at The Demesne was unsuitable while no-one is around at Carroll Village once the shopping centre closes.

Mr Brady says that the setting up of the Taxi Regulators office four years ago has led to standards 'hitting rock bottom'.

'It is now possible to rent a taxi licence for as little as € 180 per week,' he claims. 'As the pool of customers is spread out to an ever-increasing number of taxis in Dundalk, ultimately incomes go down and therefore standards drop.'

He said that the Taxi Drivers Association in Dundalk was withdrawing its support for the Office of Taxi Regulation and called for its functions to be transferred back to Dundalk Town Council, to be assigned complete powers of PSV enforcement.

Town Clerk Mr Frank Pentony admitted that there isn't enough room at the Crowe Street rank but pointed out that there are two other ranks at 'Lucy Soraghan's corner' at the Demesne and Carroll Village which drivers haven't used.

' We do have plans as part of the Town Centre Transport Study to relocate some of the ranks and create new ones but I can't put a date on it.'

- Margaret Roddy

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Would those renting rather pay double that then?

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IDFIMH

Why pay to rent a licence? I thought the Irish had binned all restrictions.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Taxi drivers fear for future

A LOCAL taxi driver has told Southside People how the economic downturn is forcing him and his colleagues off the road and out of business.

Paul O’Brien from Ballyfermot has been a taxi driver since 1995 but he is now looking for a job outside the taxi business.

And the National Taxi Drivers' Union (NTDU) said things were so bad in the industry that its members were now increasingly turning to the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) for help with their finances.

Before the deregulation of the taxi industry in 2000, there were approximately 2,700 licences in the country. But since then the number of plates has increased massively to about 21,000.

Mr O’Brien explained how it is now becoming increasingly difficult to earn a living as a taxi man.

“In the last year and a half to two years we are earning below the minimum wage and it has gone ridiculous,” he said.

“It deteriorated rapidly in 2008. From June onwards people stopped going out and companies started cutting back on taxis.

“I went out last Saturday evening at 11.30pm. I drove around Ballyfermot up the South Circular Road and into the city until 1.30am and I did not get one fare. There were taxis parked everywhere.

“It would be a crime to allow a man who is going to get redundancy this year to invest in a taxi plate because he is going to lose his money. I am getting out of the business and I am looking for a job outside driving taxis now.”

Last month the Oireachtas Committee on Transport heard that the income of taxi drivers had fallen by 30-50 per cent since the start of the economic downturn. The committee was also told that there are currently some 13,223 taxi licences in Dublin

But taxi deregulation, one of the most controversial Government decisions of the past decade, may be temporarily reversed in 2009 in an attempt to save jobs in the overcrowded taxi market.

The Oireachtas committee is expected to call for a three-year moratorium on the issuing of taxi licences.

Tommy Gorman, president of the National Taxi Drivers' Union (NTDU), said members of his union were now increasingly turning to the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) for help with their finances.

“There are a lot of taxi drivers that are three or four months behind in their mortgage payments and all of them are turning to MABS for help,” he said.

“Something has to be done about the current situation. It is very serious and a moratorium will have to be brought in for three years. This business is saturated now and there is no living in it anymore.

“It is difficult for drivers to discharge their daily liabilities from home such as mortgages. Some of them are trying to pay for cars and they are falling behind.”

Fine Gael candidate for the local elections in the Drimnagh area, Phillip Nolan, is urging the Government to issue a moratorium on the issuing of taxi licences.

He said a number of taxi drivers he had spoken to recently said they were finding it difficult to survive since the beginning of the economic downturn and that the oversupply of taxi licences in Dublin was exacerbating the problem.

Mr Nolan said: “I met a man in Ballyfermot before Christmas and he explained to me that he has two kids and he drives a taxi full time. He told me he was barely earning the minimum wage.

“Then I was talking to someone else and he was saying that all taxi drivers are struggling. He said they are sitting on the rank for hours and not getting any business.

“There is no point in putting more plates into an already saturated market, so that’s why I have called on the Government to place a halt on issuing new taxi plates.”

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Good.

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IDFIMH

PROPOSAL TO REGULATE TAXIS IN GALWAY

There is a proposal to introduce local regulation of taxis in Galway city.

At a meeting of the Joint Policing Committee in the city this week, it was the general view that taxi de-regulation is causing severe problems in the city.

Councillor Niall Ó Brolcháin says taxi de-regulation was useful in Dublin, but is not appropriate in Galway city.

Councillor Ó Brolcháin is calling for taxis in Galway to be regulated by the City Council in conjunction with Gardaí.

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

1,000 taxi drivers for city protest


Traffic, parking and racism problems on the increase

UP TO a thousand taxi drivers are expected to take to the streets this Saturday to push for a three-year moratorium on issuing new licences.

Taxi drivers and dispatchers from around the country will march from Eyre Square to the Cathedral where a public rally will be held to highlight their plight.

The Galway Taxi Association is behind the move which is designed to pressurize the Government into curbing the number of taxi licences issue by the Commission for Taxi Regulation. The Association insists there has been a 30% fall in business due to the large increase in the number of drivers since deregulation.

According to the Commission for Taxi Regulation, 1,100 taxi licences currently operate in Galway City – 401 extra for both the city and county were granted in 2008 alone. A further 20 will have been issued in the city in January.

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Have they a maximum age limit on the cabs?????? or a minimum age that they will not licence over at first licence

Galway taxi drivers may hold further protests

GALWAY TAXI drivers are to seek support from colleagues around the country in a protest against deregulation.

Some 400 drivers and their families marched through Galway on Saturday, saying the market has been flooded with new taxis since deregulation.

Enda O’Rourke, of the Galway Taxi Association, said drivers are struggling to make a living and want a ban on new licenses. “We have a dysfunctional Cabinet running the country and taxi drivers seem to be a long way down the queue in having their plight dealt with.”

Galway drivers were joined by colleagues from other parts of the west in the march. There are 1,100 taxis in Galway city and over 400 new licences were issued for Galway city and county in 2008.

Local politicians from all major parties addressed the rally.

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin