Taxi service is out of control, say unions

The State's taxi service is now "out of control". and some taxis and drivers represent a danger to the travelling public, taxi drivers' unions claimed yesterday.

The unions were supported by Fine Gael TD Ms Olivia Mitchell, a member of the Dublin local authorities taxi committee, who said it was now clear that deregulation had "swapped numbers for safety".

Both the drivers and Ms Mitchell called for the immediate appointment of a taxi regulator, while the SIPTU trade union has called a meeting for next Tuesday to plan a campaign of action by drivers.

Last night the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan repeated his promise to have a regulator appointed on an interim basis as soon as possible.

Commenting on recent attacks on passengers by taxi-drivers, the vice-president of the National Taxi Drivers' Union, Mr Vincent Kearns, said deregulation of the industry had given rise to low standards in both drivers and cars.

He insisted that since deregulation of the industry in November 2000, when the High Court ruled that effectively the State had no right to limit the number of licences issued, the total of serious attacks reported to the Garda had increased dramatically. He also claimed known criminals had entered the profession and said drug-related arrests of drivers had increased dramatically.

Mr Kearns said the average age of Dublin's fleet had risen considerably, and old, left-hand-drive and imported second-hand cars dating from the 1980s could now be seen plying for business in the capital.

"Since deregulation we have seen a driver found dead in his car from a drugs overdose in Eccles Street, another found dead near the Mater Hospital, six major drug finds associated with taxi-drivers and at least eight reports of serious sexual assaults.

"I wouldn't like to say that the taxi service now represents a danger to the travelling public, but the fact is that in some cases it does".

The Irish Times has reported on 129 attacks on members of the public travelling in taxis since November 2000, including one concerning the man at the centre of the X case, who was jailed for sexually assaulting and kidnapping a 15-year-old girl.

The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, has promised the appointment of a regulator for the taxi-driver sector, but the department was unable to say yesterday when this might happen.

According to Mr Kearns, however, "no other industry, be it aviation, electricity of telecoms, has been opened up without a regulator in place. It is now a free-for-all".

SIPTU taxi-drivers will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday in Erin's Isle Hall, Finglas, Dublin. They will consider what action to take "to bring pressure on the Minister to establish the promised agency to regulate the taxi industry".

According to a SIPTU Dublin taxi-drivers' branch official, Mr Jerry Brennan: "Our members are obviously very angry that recent reports concerning taxi-drivers reflect on their integrity.

"The fact that two taxi-drivers were allegedly involved in criminal activities highlights the need for greater control of the issuing of Public Service Vehicle licences in consultation with the Garda.

"Standards have now completely collapsed within the industry.

"Prior to deregulation, the Garda vetted new entrants to the industry, but since deregulation they have had to deal with a greater number of applicants, and on at least one occasion their decision not to grant a licence was overturned by the judiciary. Our members have been calling for proper regulation of the industry for over a year now," he added.