Public stranded by 24-hour taxi stoppage

THE public were left almost entirely without taxi services yesterday as drivers demanded the suspension of new licences and a review of the taxi industry.

For 24 hours, thousands of drivers mounted pickets at taxi ranks in all the major population centres, protesting at the Goodbody report on the industry which found there were not too many licences and drivers’ wages were not being driven down by the massive increase in driver numbers.

The drivers claim they have found up to 100 mistakes in that report and say its data is six months out of date.