Madam, - I have been a taxi-driver in Dublin for the past 14 years. I am appalled at the apparent inability of either the current taxi regulator, Kathleen Doyle, or the Government even to recognise how the business has been decimated since deregulation back in 2000.
This week we had the announcement that taxi fares are to increase by 8 per cent from November, with additional costs to take a taxi during the Christmas and New Year period. The regulator seems to believe this will help to offset the massive increases in the cost of running and maintaining a taxi.
Prior to deregulation in 2000 I used to earn a consistent and worthwhile wage. I worked reasonable hours, had a second driver working the night shift on my licence (so the car was on the road for about 20 hours each day), and thoroughly enjoyed my work.
Today I worked a 10-hour day shift. I had eight fares in that period with gross takings of €69. My petrol expenses were €25, so my take-home pay for 10 hours' hard driving on Dublin's congested streets was a mere €44! This is before I take into account the wear and tear on my vehicle and maintenance costs. So the stark reality is that I earned €4.40 an hour, far below the minimum wage.
Although not every day is as bad as this, I now consider it a "good" day if I manage to clear €80 after expenses. Is this because I am a bad taxi-driver? I think not. The reason is very simple: there are now so many taxis on the streets of Dublin that it is impossible to get parked on a rank. So most taxi-drivers now have to resort to cruising the streets looking for fares, not only adding to their costs, but also to the carbon emissions in the city. The undeniable truth is that there are too many taxis now plying for hire, with the result that it is now virtually impossible for a driver to earn a reasonable wage.
I am more than happy with the fare structure as it now stands. What is required from the taxi regulator and the Government is not an increase in fares but for some method to reduce the number of taxis.
The current situation can only get worse with the news that the country is now officially in recession. For it seems that one of the first things workers who are made redundant think of these days is to buy themselves a taxi licence under the false impression that they will be able to earn a good living. They will be joining thousands of part-time drivers who simply use their taxi at the weekends and at peak periods to supplement their good incomes as firemen, postal workers, gardaí, etc. This "double jobbing" is something the taxi regulator and Government could tackle immediately.
May I close by appealing to anyone thinking of entering the taxi business to think again. They'd earn more money cleaning tables in a fast-food restaurant. - Yours, etc,
KEN JOHNSTONE,
Cromwellsfort Road,
Walkinstown,
Dublin 12.