Sir, - I am concerned with conclusions being drawn from Trinity College Dublin's centre for urban and regional studies report on taxi deregulation. This survey was commissioned by the National Taxi Drivers' Union, which has a interest in the conclusions drawn and the way in which they are presented. It is interesting that the survey did not collect any data on fares.
Much has been made of the fact that Saturday-night waiting times in Dublin have not improved since deregulation. Waiting times at queues are not a very useful measure of the level of service being provided. It may well be the case that many more people are queuing for taxis now that there is some chance of actually getting one, and that the throughput of these queues is significantly greater than before deregulation.
The conclusions being drawn might not be an indication of bad policy, but bad science. - Yours, etc.,
Colin Manning, Cork Institute of Technology.