WORLDWIDE TAXI FOCUS from Ireland
TAXIS FOR IRELAND COALITION TO ADDRESS SUPPLY SHORTAGE
A newly-formed Taxis for Ireland Coalition has called on the Government to address the taxi supply shortage. The coalition was formed by six organisations from the tourism, hospitality and enterprise sectors. They wrote to Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and the Transport Minister, Eamon Ryan, to appeal to the Government to acknowledge the ongoing crisis, as they say the “extreme shortage” of taxis in cities, towns and rural areas across the country has been affecting the Irish public, economy, tourism, and hospitality businesses for years. Seven out of ten people across the country find it difficult to get home from pubs and restaurants in their area, surveys conducted by the group found. Some publicans are even operating an “informal taxi service” to get customers home. Coalition members, such as the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Uber, Bolt, and the Vintners Federation of Ireland, have undertaken four surveys this year, which led to the conclusion that the public has a very poor view of the availability of taxis. More than 63% of publicans described their local taxi service as either poor or non-existent, a survey finds. Another survey finds that 68% of 1,000 people surveyed who either took or attempted to take a taxi in the last three months said that action should be taken to increase the number of taxis. From a survey of more than 1,000 people living in urban Ireland, 58% agree there is a taxi shortage in Ireland. Meanwhile, 60% of regular taxi users were doing so for night-time socialising. Some 81% believe the availability of public transport at off-peak periods is poor or average. The coalition say taxi services are a significant part of Ireland’s public transport, particularly during peak times and busy social periods such as the approaching Christmas season. Although the Coalition has acknowledged the work of the National Transport Authority in this area, such as a driver recruitment campaign or increasing fares, they have not resulted in increasing taxi availability, which should be treated as a matter of urgency, they added.
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TAXI BOSSES SLAM PLANS FOR DRIVERS TO ‘POLICE’ DUBLIN CENTRE
Taxi industry leaders have criticised prop- osals for cab drivers to keep revellers safe by helping to police the capital. Dublin City Council officials intended to fully pedestrianise new civic space planned in the city but the November 23 riots sparked a re-think. The authority may now assess if taxis can be allowed into areas earmarked to be pedestrian zones at night to maintain “passive surveillance”. Administrators believe cabbies occupying the city will guard against leaving large, empty spaces for anti- social behaviour. The policy change recently emerged during a Dublin Chamber of Commerce briefing about the proposed City Centre Transport Plan. But taxi industry leader Vinny Kearns warned while taxi drivers have historically been the “eyes and ears” for gardai, they cannot be expected to police the city. Mr Kearns, of Expert Taxis, told Dublin Live: “Taxis might have a place in policing but their main job is getting people from A to B. They can be the eyes and ears of gardai and report things to them, but they cannot be expected to police the city. “The safety of Dublin city centre is for gardai but the guards have been grossly under resourced.” Under Dublin City Centre Transport Plan, cars would be banned from some city centre roads to free up more space for pedestrians, cyclists and buses. Dublin Chamber spokesperson Aebhric McGibney said: “The debate about the use of public space once it has been pedestrianised is an important one in the context of the riots. There certainly is a piece around the safety in the city and passive surveillance.” Dublin City Council ’s head of traffic, Brendan O’Brien, said: “It may be better to have taxis in an area so people are not walking through a big empty space.” The Irish Parking Association chairperson, Keith Gavin, warned that activity has decreased since
the
coronavirus pandemic started in 2020 and businesses are relating this directly to the increase in anti-social behaviour. He said: “We have seen what has happened since Covid as the city centre footfall reduced. As the level of activity in the area reduced, the safety of the city centre deteriorated rapidly.”
JANUARY 2024 PHTM
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