Sir, - I am a taxi driver in Dublin. I wish to object to the decision (March 4th) of Dublin City Council, to issue 200 taxi licences in Dublin. I would also like to address some of the adverse comments made in relation to the taxi service in Dublin.
There are approximately 800 public houses in Dublin. In addition to pubs, there are hotels, sports clubs, etc., all of which sell alcohol. These establishments close at the same time and up to 200,000 people spill onto the streets at once, the vast majority having travelled by Dublin Bus and DART earlier - they then proceed to blame taxi drivers when they find it difficult to obtain transport home.
In summer time the pubs close at 12 midnight and the last bus and DART leave at 11.30 pm! I imagine if every pub in any city on the continent put all their customers on the street at midnight with no public transport available, they would not have a taxi system to cope with such a situation. In relation to Councillor Tom as Mac Giolla's remark at the meeting on March 4th, that we are now a modern European capital city... If we are such a modern European city, why does the law insist on having up to 200,000 people running around the streets at midnight like headless chickens, with no public transport available?
Why do people complain about waiting for taxis? Should they not have a choice of bus, DART or taxi after "closing time"? After all, they pay for the bus and DART in heavy subsidies whether they avail of public transport or not. A taxi costs the tax payer nothing in subsidies. Dublin Bus and DART are trying to minimise their role in public transport by passing the buck to taxi drivers.
Imagine having to wait the equivalent of 7 1/2 working days for a DART e.g., from 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve until 9 a.m. on December 27th (60 hours) or 4 1/2 working days for a bus, from 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve until 9 am. St Stephen's Day (36 hours). In order to avoid public criticism, Dublin Bus and DART did not publish their timetable for Christmas 1995 in the newspapers, instead they issued a timetable for their "service". This Christmas service timetable was available only from their office. Who picks up all the flack for this non service from the heavily subsidised statutory transport body? Taxi drivers of course.
In relation to pub closing time, some publicans don't want to close later as long as they can open a room at the back, or upstairs, put up a few coloured lights, spin a few records and charge up to £15 into their "night club". These so called "night clubs" put all their customers out at 2.30 a.m. Here we go again, no bus, no DART, let's blame the taxi drivers! People have been brain washed into thinking that the taxi service is a statutory transport body.
there are certain publicans in Dublin, who at Christmas time call for more taxis, due to the drink/driving laws being enforced at Christmas. These publicans and their customers have no qualms about packing pub car parks with their vehicles after Christmas. People drink and drive all year round leave their car at home for a couple of weeks at Christmas, and then blame taxi drivers when they can't get a bus or a DART home. How many lives would be saved if every drunk driver, dangerous driver, and downright lunatic was not put on the road all at the same time? It's about time we had flexible pub closing and let people decide for themselves when they want to go home.
People should not have to get a bus or taxi to their local pub, but in the greater Dublin area e.g., Tallaght, Clondalkin, etc., you cannot open a pub within a mile of an existing pub. This encourages people to drive to their local "barn". Camden Street has more pubs than Tallaght, the third biggest urban area in the country. The sale of taxi plates attracts a lot of comment. How much would it cost to enter the pub "Golden Circle" in places like Tallaght? If publicans, and their staff don't want to work later, and the local authorities want to raise revenue, why don't they issue 200 pub licences to people who will work later, at a cost of £25,000 each. I would gladly exchange my taxi licence for a pub licence anywhere in Dublin.
Some years ago there were 150 new taxi licences issued in Dublin, 50 of these were wheelchair licences. It is proposed that all new taxi licences be wheelchair accessible. A wheelchair vehicle can cost, with interest, up to £20,000. Dublin Bus even after all their subsidies, out of a fleet of 850 buses, have no buses suitable for a wheelchair bound passenger. Another example of taxi drivers being forced to carry the can for the failures of the transport body.
If you were a tourist coming to Dublin and went into the city centre at midnight "closing time", and observed people having consumed 4 or 5 drinks in a short space of time, you would think we were a nation of drunks! This "closing time" scenario is not common in Europe. "The scarcer it got the thirstier people become" (Al Capone).
The constant criticism of the taxi service cannot be justified until such time as: (1) People can decide for themselves as to what time they wish to go home after a night out. (2) They have a choice of what mode of transport they wish to take, bus, DART or taxi, after all they have paid their bus fare and DART fare in subsidies.
Taxi drivers should not be made scapegoats for our out of date licensing laws and the failure of Dublin Bus and DART to provide a proper service. - Yours, etc.,
Parkhill Way, Kilnamanagh, Dublin 24.