A TAXI DRIVER who has a strict “no card” policy and has his vehicle emblazoned with “cash only” signs has appealed the revocation of his PSV licence.

William Wyse, of Onslow Gardens in Commons Road, Cork, who has driven a taxi for over forty years, appeared before Cork District Court today.

Wyse, who is in his late 60s, said that he has not had a bank account since the economic crash of 2010. He has little faith in the institutions and prefers to deal in cash.

He told the court that arising out of his decision not to have a bank account, he cannot take payment by card.

Judge Dorgan asked him what would happen if he won the lottery and he replied that he would have a “very happy wife” as the funds would go in to her bank account. The Judge jokingly asked if he could be put on the record as saying words to that effect.

Wyse stressed that he always makes people fully aware of his no card policy when they get in to his taxi.

“I say it to people verbally because sometimes they might be vision impaired. That has happened. I say ‘I don’t take card’,” he said. 

“There is nothing in the constitution that says that I need to have a bank account. I don’t have a bank account, a credit union account or a post office account.”

Judge Dorgan put it to Wyse that he was not in compliance with the law in that the National Transport Agency made it compulsory in September 2022 that taxi drivers accept card payments.

“You don’t want to open a bank account to facilitate the regulations. You are in a very difficult situation. If I revoke your licence you are without a livelihood so sense has to prevail. This matter shouldn’t be troubling the court.”

Wyse has received fixed penalty notices where they were complaints of him not accepting payments in his taxi. He has opted not to pay the fines.

The Judge said that she presumed the logic behind the regulations was to facilitate people getting home safely by tapping their card when they had run out of cash late at night.

Garda Conor McDermott said that they had taken a “nicely nicely” approach in relation to the case and had met with Wyse to discuss his predicament.

“We have tried everything we can to try to get Mr Wyse to comply with the regulations.”

Judge Dorgan adjourned the case until 28 November to allow for submissions from the State. She wondered if it was “disproportionate to deny (Wyse) his livelihood when sanctions are in place under the regulations”. 

She told Wyse that it would be “brilliant” if he could get “an old bank account” before the next court hearing.

She added that anyone could opt not to have a bank account, “but if you are a taxi driver, you have to have a bank account to facilitate cashless payments.”

Wyse has two functioning card machines in his taxi but he cannot use them because he doesn’t have a bank account.

He believes that taxi drivers are being discriminated against because in some other modes of public transport, cash payments were allowed and card payments were not.