The proposal by Dublin taxi drivers to introduce taxi-sharing from next Friday and over the Christmas holiday period in an effort to reduce long queues is illegal, according to Dublin Corporation.
The Office of Director of Traffic, Dublin Corporation, has expressed concern at the announcement by the Irish Taxi Drivers' Federation and the National Taxi Drivers' Union.
In a statement last night, the corporation said the local authorities in the Dublin area were committed to introducing a taxi-sharing scheme, but stressed that this required a change in the regulations and adequate consumer protection to be built into the fares structure.
"There is no legal basis for setting up taxi-share ranks as proposed."
Outlining the law relating to taxi hire, the corporation said a taxi may only be hired by one individual and payment for additional passengers was the responsibility of that person. The metered maximum fare structure applied in all cases within the Dublin taximeter area.
"It is not legal for the taxi driver to charge separate fares outside this structure to a number of passengers sharing the same taxi. It would appear, however, that the proposal now is to remove the existing fare controls and for individual taxi drivers to make private arrangements with passengers. There is also a concern that individuals who cannot or do not wish to share taxis may experience particular difficulties in obtaining taxis."
The "Time for Sharing" pilot promotion was announced at the St Stephen's Green taxi rank yesterday by the Irish Taxi Drivers' Federation and the National Taxi Drivers' Union. They said this rank, with others at Foster Place and at Lower Abbey Street would facilitate taxi-sharing from Friday.
The arrangements would be in place until the end of December, including the night of New Year's Eve, the taxi groups said.
Announcing the scheme, the ITDF president, Mr John Ussher, said it was based on a passenger agreeing to allow taxi-sharing. "It will be up to each passenger to decide if they want to share the vehicle," he said. "As 400 new seven-seater taxi plates have now been granted and are on the street, we hope we can play our part in greatly reducing the queues at taxi ranks this Christmas."
Taxi drivers from both organisations are to be circularised on pricing arrangements, it has been confirmed.
Meanwhile, both organisations said they had played an active role in the Taoiseach's recently established Taxi Forum. It has agreed to a further 820 new wheelchair-accessible taxis being on Dublin's streets by 2004.
The Fine Gael spokeswoman on traffic, Ms Olivia Mitchell TD, said she welcomed the taxi-sharing initiative but the public should be quite clear as to their rights. There was no provision whatsoever in law for additional charges simply because a taxi was shared by two or more people with different destinations.
The schedule of charges for taxis was strictly regulated and structured to take account of distance travelled and the number of passengers carried. There should not be any deviation from those charges, she said.