Taxi drivers bearing brunt of passenger ‘anger’ over late night waits, Oireachtas committee told

Taxi drivers have been left to bear the brunt of the public’s “anger” over a shortage of taxis during busy periods late at night in Dublin city centre, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Several groups representing taxi drivers told the Oireachtas Transport Committee there was a risk several thousand drivers would be forced to leave the industry in the coming years.

Jim Waldron, from the National Private Hire Taxi Association, said around 5,000 drivers were facing “hardship and stress” as their vehicles neared the maximum age limits set by the National Transport Authority (NTA).

Mr Waldron said the current vehicle age limits would lead to drivers leaving the industry, or others taking on “major debt” to buy newer vehicles. “There is the fear of people being driven out of the industry,” which he told the committee would lead to longer waiting times for the public during busy periods.

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There was also a risk of drivers under financial pressure having to work longer than was safe, putting themselves and passengers at risk, he said.

The taxi driver associations called on the NTA to extend the maximum vehicle age beyond the current 10 year limit, as long as vehicles were still roadworthy.

David McGuinness, from the Tiománaí Tacsaí na hÉireann taxi driver representative group, said around 2,000 drivers had left the sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“To me the most worrying thing about that is not too many of them have come back, so that gives an indication of the lack of confidence in the industry from drivers,” he said. Former drivers were reluctant to return due to high costs, safety fears, and the growing sense of vulnerability in the sector, he said.

Ruairí Ó Murchú, Sinn Féin TD, said a major issue was there was “not enough taxi drivers when someone wants a taxi”, particularly late at night. He said anecdotally this was due to many drivers refusing to work after midnight, due to fears for their safety.

This meant remaining drivers were “taking the hit on people’s anger” over lengthy waiting times during busy periods at night, Alan Cooley of the Irish Taxi Drivers Federation said.

Kevin Barrett, from the Taxi Alliance of Ireland, said another issue was an increase in illegal taxi operators taking business from licensed drivers. In some cases these illegal operators were caught and fined by the courts, but were then “back out the next night”, he said. Gardaí and the NTA did not have enough resources to clamp down on the practice, he said.

Richard Boyd Barrett, People Before Profit TD, said any move to deregulate the industry to allow for the wider use of ride-sharing services, such as Uber, would decimate the sector. Mr Boyd Barrett said allowing those without taxi licences into the industry would create a “cowboy situation” that posed safety risks to customers.