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Taxi drivers ‘struggling’ in Ennis

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NEW laws for the taxi sector will not make a difference to problems due to the over-supply of taxis in Ennis, unless 100 taxis are taken off the streets. That is according to Ennis taxi driver and representative of the Irish Taxi Drivers Federation, Martin White, who said drivers in the town are “struggling”.

MEP Jim Higgins insisted this week that the planned new taxi regulations announced by Minister for Public Transport Alan Kelly will mean a “natural decrease in the number of taxis on Ennis streets to more sustainable levels”.
However, while taxi drivers have welcomed some of the new measures, plans to ban the selling on of taxi plates have been criticised by Mr White, claiming drivers will have to bear the cost of abiding to the regulations.
According to Mr White, “They haven’t a hope of cleaning up the act in Ennis. The Government created the problem when they deregulated the taxis and now they are trying to regulate it again but the expense of that is falling back on the taxi drivers.
“To be realistic, the only way to sort out what’s happening in Ennis is to take out 100 taxis. We have 200 taxis here in Ennis now and we started out with 18. There isn’t a living to be made anymore. We are all struggling here. One driver last night was working for four and a half hours and made six euros.”
He went on, “I’m so upset with this new law coming in in October that we cannot sell our plate anymore or give it back. No taxi driver in Ireland is going to agree to that. We welcome some of what Mr Kelly has said but for taxi drivers out there who paid out of their own cash for a plate to not be able to sell their plate or hand it over to their son or daughter is ludicrous. There are people who have paid €100,000 for their plates.”
He suggested that a “buy-back” system be implemented for drivers wanting to get out of taxi driving.
“There is €22 to €24 million that was handed over from the regulators office. Out of that, why don’t they set aside €2 million every year and buy back the taxis from those who want to get out of it, the real, genuine people that are in this game and fighting for survival and trying to make a living out of it, which I can tell you is impossible. Even the weekends now are gone, no-one is socialising in any town.”
Among the measures to be introduced include taxi drivers having to accept credit cards and also new more tamper-proof taxi plates.
“This is going to cost the taxi drivers, who aren’t subsidised by anyone but ourselves. How can we afford to put credit card machines in our cars when we can’t make a living?” asked Mr White.
He welcomed some of the proposed measures. “It’s good he’s dealing with cowboy drivers but, in fairness, Ennis is run fairly good and there wouldn’t be many cowboys operating out of here. Mr Kelly has made a few changes that we think are good. People who are double jobbing, who have jobs and are coming out at the weekend with their taxis and coming out for the ripe pickings, that has to be stopped.”
He concluded, “When CIE go to bed at night, who do the people rely on to get them from A to B, only the taxis. Likewise, we depend on the people. Only for them, we wouldn’t have no jobs either. But it’s getting worse because nobody has the money.”

 

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