Taxi drivers to cut airport service in deregulation protest

THOUSANDS of full-time taxi drivers protesting at what they claim is a crisis in the industry will not provide services from Dublin airport on selected days over the coming weeks.

Members of SIPTU’s Dublin taxi branch will begin a campaign of rolling protest from next Monday morning, raising the possibility of severe disruption for business travellers.

Around 2,000 of the country’s 9,000 drivers are members of the union. They are mainly based in Dublin and all work full-time, unlike large numbers of new drivers who are only out on the streets during peak weekend periods.

A union official said drivers were taking the action because the industry is close to collapse after deregulation, safety standards are plummeting and members are struggling to make a living as thousands of taxis, manned part-time, had flooded the streets across the country.

They are also “frustrated and angry” at the lack of movement over a taxi regulator, claiming it could take 18 months before one with statutory powers is put in place.

SIPTU official Jerry Brennan said an action committee appointed following a meeting on Tuesday had decided on the plan of protest.

An official in the Department of Transport said the regulator will be appointed by the end of next month. Minister Seamus Brennan hopes legislation to give the regulator statutory powers will be in place by the middle of the year. The regulator, according to the minister, will have powers to re-organise, police and ensure more

effective control of the taxi market.