Sir, - Recent letters about the provision of taxis for people with disabilities prompt me to reply with the following information. I understand the frustrations of Mr Brangan (July 16th) and Mr Creedon (July 23rd). The situation in Dublin must be very difficult to accept, given that the 50 licences which were supposed to be issued to facilitate the transport of people with disabilities, apparently do no such thing.
As a taxi owner/driver in the city of Galway for almost 14 years, I have spent considerable time (and some money) investigating ways that would allow me to afford the expense of providing a truly accessible wheelchair taxi service for all who wish to avail of it. So far without success.
Your readers should be aware that we in Galway have so far (disgustingly) no "wheelchair accessible" taxis. And our city manager, Mr Joe Gavin, "does not see the Corporation becoming involved in providing such a taxi service or subsidising it." (His comment was contained in a letter to me dated October 6th, 1995.)
I have over the past couple of years approached Ministers in the Departments of Finance, Social Welfare, Environment and Enterprise and Employment. All similarly showed no interest in assisting me financially with my proposals for the provisions of such a service.
My ongoing research into the ways that other governments and local authorities deal with this situation has so far provided me with the following information: in Australia, the federal government insists that 10 per cent of taxis be "wheelchair accessible" and subsidise these. In Canada, Quebec's Ministry of Transport can provide up to 75 per cent of the costs associated with putting a new vehicle in service, up to a maximum of $20,000. In Sweden, all municipalities provide a special transport service subsidised by the community, for those unable to use the mainstream public transport system. This special transport service is carried out by taxi operators.
In the UK, local authorities outside London can provide funding to operators willing to provide accessible taxis under section 106 of the 1985 Transport Act. Darlington Urban Council did just this in 1995, by making £25,000 available to encourage taxi drivers in their town to buy specially modified taxis.
All of London's 20,000-plus fleet of black taxis will have to be wheelchair-friendly by the year 2000. This is made possible by the fact that these specialised vehicles are manufactured in the UK at a reasonable cost; in Ireland, where there is no manufacturer, such vehicles are very expensive to import, are much more costly to maintain, and, for that reason are beyond the reach of most taxi drivers.
Despite setting up an inter-departmental committee to review the operation of small public service vehicles in 1988 (which reported in May, 1992), the then Minister for the Environment could do no more than pass the buck down to local authorities who would have the responsibility of managing the State's taxi services, but without any specific recommendation other than suggesting: "(d) Financial incentives should be offered to encourage both taxi and private hire operators to change over to wheelchair-accessible vehicles on a voluntary basis." (Inter-Departmental Report on Taxis and Hackneys, May, 1992).
Surely the cost of providing such badly needed a public transport service should not be allowed to fall on the shoulders of individuals, but be properly funded from a socially conscious public purse (with perhaps some support from corporate bodies - witness the advertising carried on many London cabs). - Yours, etc.,
Derrick Hambleton,
Kingston, Galway.