TAXI INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES have said drivers are avoiding peak periods of demand or leaving the job altogether because they are concerned for their safety in “violent” cities at night.
Over the summer, revellers in Dublin reported a significant shortage in the number of taxis available at the end of their nights out in the city centre. A survey by the National Transport Authority earlier this year found that 93% of licensed drivers were working but only 29% were working Friday and Saturday nights.
Jim Waldron of the National Private Hire and Taxi Association (NPHTA) said the main reason drivers have given for avoiding nighttime work, particularly over weekends, is safety.
“A lot of drivers won’t work nights now, across the country the cities in particular have become very violent places,” he told The Journal.
“Even in terms of the public feeling safe, there seems to be very little visibility of guards on the streets. For years now we’ve been calling for a liaison officer so the guards can work with taxi drivers on safety issues but it’s fallen on deaf ears.
“If you ask drivers, most of them will have had some kind of incident and if they’ve been attacked sometimes they just go home, they don’t even report it.”
He said the new requirement to accept card payments, introduced at the start of this month, was also increasing the risk of conflict between passengers and drivers if a card does not work or Wifi drops out and the driver’s machine does not function.
His comments were echoed by David McGuinness, chairperson of the taxi driver representative organisation Tiomanai Tacsai Na HEireann (TTnH), who told The Journal that, while he hasn’t noticed a particular increase in passengers using credit or debit cards to pay their fares, he expects it will cause “friction”.
“Every so often because the signal drops you’ll have to say to the passenger that you need to move the car 20 feet up the road to get the signal, so that’ll cause a bit of friction,” he said.
“We had put in proposals with the National Transport Authority to have some kind of pre-approval on cards before a journey starts but they rejected that.”
McGuinness said he has also been hearing from drivers about their concerns relating to safety.
“Even though there have been some serious assaults on taxi drivers, I don’t remember the last time one was brought to court or there was a criminal conviction,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the guards’ fault, it seems like it may be treated differently in the courts, if someone had a few pints on them at the time it excuses the behaviour.”
He said drivers are often isolated when these incidents happen, without a way of quickly seeking assistance.
“If there’s an incident on a bus or train, there’s nearly an instant response from the guards or security but we’re on our own out there,” he said.
It’s not just at night, it happens all times of the day. I had an experience two weeks ago in broad daylight, I dropped off passengers and ended up in the middle of a drug deal gone wrong. My priority was to get myself and the car out of there, it was mayhem.
Taxi driver Tony Rowe, who is chairman of the National Transport Assembly Committee, said he has been engaging with officials to encourage a change to seatbelt regulations for drivers.
He told The Journal that many serious assaults in taxis begin with passengers pulling the driver’s seatbelt up around their necks to overpower them.
“If you go up the road to Newry, taxi drivers are exempt from wearing a seatbelt for that very reason, it makes them vulnerable to assaults,” he said.
“It’s something that’s going under the radar. I know of a driver who was savagely beaten in a car, a seatbelt was used in that attack. He’s left taxi driving now and he’s working as a security man, he says it’s less dangerous.”
Oireachtas committee
A number of taxi driver representative organisations addressed the Oireachtas Transport Committee yesterday, including the National Private Hire and Taxi Association (NPHTA) and Tiomanai Tacsai Na HEireann (TTnH).
Driver safety was one issue raised during the meeting.
Representatives also explained to the committee that there are a number of other factors that are pushing drivers out of the industry or discouraging new drivers from coming in.
Jim Waldron told committee members that the rule requiring drivers to have a car that is less than 10-years-old should be loosened.
Representatives at the start of the Covid pandemic had requested a five-year extension for all vehicles.
Waldron said if the government wants to keep drivers in the industry they need support and time to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
“Used cars costs have increased 60% according to car magazines,” he said. “Fuel costs have reached an all time high. Service costs have risen and use of cashless payments mean less take home pay for drivers despite the recent fare increase.
“Taxi drivers are facing the same cost of living challenges as all other sectors. These conditions are screaming out for a further extension of age limits to allow drivers time to recoup losses and build a financial footing to move forward with a newer vehicle preferably electric.”
A relaxation of this rule would also give drivers more time to procure electric vehicles, he said, which are currently in short supply.
David McGuinness told the committee that the sector needs to be incorporated into the public transport system.
“Taxis are the only 365 days a year, 24-hour, door-to-door transport service,” he said.
“This [incorporation into the public transport system] would lead to inclusion at large scale events resulting in temporary taxi stands and set down and drop off facilities. Currently large venues throughout the city have no taxi stands or set down or drop off areas resulting in operators [drivers] not offering their services at the venues.
“Difficulties with parking and the threat of being fined are some of the reasons operators quoted.”
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