Thousands of taxi drivers strike over new charges

Thousands of taxi drivers across the State have begun a 24-hour work stoppage in protest at planned changes over fares.

Pickets were placed at taxi ranks at 5am in every county in the voluntary dispute.  National Taxi Drivers' Union president Tommy Gorman told ireland.comhe had been out speaking to members on the picket lines today.  He believed approximately 95 per cent of drivers were taking part in the strike action.

"There were always 2,500-3,000 drivers who were not members of any organisation so we cannot control whether or not they work," he said.

"But I think if I saw 40 or 50 cars on the road that would be all."

Mr Gorman acknowledged there would be inconvenience to members of the public.

"We gave a clear indication last Monday that this action was going to take place, so we gave plenty of notice.  Obviously there is going to be inconvenience and we do apologise for that."

Mr Gorman said the union will tomorrow examine correspondence received from the Taxi Regulator's office last Friday with a view to opening talks on the controversial areas of the proposed reforms in the industry.  However, he believed there was no point in sitting down to talks if there was not "flexibility" on the contentious issues.

The pickets were also placed on the rank at Dublin airport, where 2,000 drivers operate. Unions say they are likely to participate fully as they would be hardest hit by the changes.

At Dublin airport, bus companies have put contingency operations in place to meet the increased demand and hackney drivers will be operating as normal.

The taxi drivers are protesting over a new national taxi fare which comes into force in September. Extra charges for luggage and a €1.50 hiring charge for picking up passengers at Dublin airport will be abolished.

The strike is a joint action by Siptu, the NTDU and the Irish Taxi Drivers' Federation, which between them represent around 14,000 of the 17,000 drivers nationwide. They claim that taxi regulator Ger Deeling has failed to recognise their concerns about the abolition of charges.

The taxi regulator's action plan was the culmination of a process commenced under the Taxi Regulation Act 2003 and involved widespread consultation with all stakeholders, including drivers and unions that began in 2001, he said.

President of the National Taxi Drivers' Union Tommy Gorman said the proposed standardised taxi fare would result in a loss of income for taxi drivers in parts of the country where there was a minimum charge of €6 per day and €6.50 per night.

"Those areas would show a 22pc loss. We can understand putting a national fare structure in place but is it fair to ask people in these nine areas to work at a reduced rate when oil prices are rising all the time," he said on RTÉ's Morning Irelandprogramme. "Now to ask them to work for less in a climate where we're paying more to operate, you can't operate a taxi without fuel." Mr Gorman said he believed about 85 per cent of taxis operating out of Dublin Airport were on strike today.

Some drivers were operating to the airport but were not picking up fares there.

Taxi drivers are objecting to the planned abolition of a 70c charge to customers for a pick-up at the airport and they also reject plans to abolish a charge they currently impose for luggage.

Taxi regulator Ger Deering said what was really happening was a "re-balancing" of fares.

"The minimum charges around the country range from €2.80 to €6 and this would be from one provincial town to another.

"There are 36 different fares around the country. Consumers were saying they were very confused and they couldn't understand this.

"They wanted and drivers wanted less hardship in having to explain the fares to people. So what we're doing is re-balancing fares and it's not as simple as to say that someone will lose 22 per cent.

"For example, if someone is currently on €6, that means there's probably a longer distance included, and what they're actually doing is discouraging taxi use." "My primary concern is the taxi industry and particularly taxi passengers.

"If I allow a situation where any authority, any organisation simply puts on a charge and that charge is automatically passed onto the customers, we could have this charge replicated right across the country at all transport terminals."

"This charge has been agreed between the taxi unions and Dublin Airport. I understand, from Dublin Airport, that there is some flexibility around the charge. But that is a matter between Dublin Airport and the taxi unions."

"What I have to do is ensure that charges can't just simply be imposed on taxi customers." "There will be a taxi service throughout the country. A lot of taxi drivers have contacted us and said they want to provide a service."

A spokeswoman for the Dublin Airport Authority said there were currently no taxis at the rank in the airport and there was a picket at the main entrance.

"We have got a lot of customer service people on the ground and signage to indicate the alternative forms of transport," she said.

"It's mostly passengers coming in to the airport who are not aware of the situation.  We understand both Dublin Bus and Aircoach have put in place extra services and the buses will fill up fairly quickly."