The €1.50 hiring charge levied by taxi-drivers picking up passengers at Dublin airport is likely to be scrapped by taxi regulator Ger Deering next week.
The cost of hiring taxis from the airport is one of several due to decrease from Tuesday when Mr Deering publishes his fares and rates regulations, the first national scheme.
The Commission for Taxi Regulation has had the power to set national taxi fares since last September. Fares were previously set individually by each local authority, leading to huge variance in charges around the State.
Mr Deering indicated last year that fares had been set too high in certain local authority areas, while in other counties the basic hiring charge was too low to make short journeys viable for the drivers.
His national review of the sector found that the cost of a 1km journey varied from €2.92 in Tipperary town to €6 in Ennis, while the national average was €4.51.
It is understood Mr Deering intends to set a single national fare structure but with three different tiers of tariff which would apply as the distance travelled increases.
The tariff will be regulated by the meter and will end the practice of drivers going "off meter" when hired for journeys outside their immediate jurisdiction.
Drivers will still operate within designated areas, governed by city and county boundaries, allowing them to take passengers anywhere, but only pick up custom within licensed areas.
The changes in the airport rate are likely to anger drivers, who currently pay the airport authority a 70c charge to queue for customers.
However, the National Taxi Drivers' Union hopes that other measures will improve their situation.
