Taxi drivers ‘might leave industry’ over scrappage rule

DUBLIN taxi drivers claim new rules requiring drivers to change vehicles that are more than nine years old will force some out of business and others to buy cars that are inferior to their existing vehicles.

From next year, vehicle licences will not be issued or renewed on vehicles more than nine years of age. And by 2012 there will be tighter restrictions on the size of vehicles to which licences will be issued or renewed.

Drivers point out that will mean having to spend money on a new vehicle at a time when they are finding it harder to get finance from the banks.

They also say the new rule is discriminatory as it does not apply to wheelchair accessible vehicles.

John Keane of the Capital Taxi Association said the logic behind the nine-year rule was that newer vehicles are cleaner for the environment and safer for the passenger. “Those points are already addressed by the existing NCT and SGS visual assessments,” he said.

“It is perfectly possible for a 2002 E200 Mercedes to meet those standards just as well as a seven year old car.”

He also questioned why the restriction did not apply to wheelchair accessible vehicles meaning technically those vehicles could remain on the roads for 20 years.

“At the end of the day, we are going through hard economic times. Banks are reluctant to lend money to anyone. This could force drivers to leave the industry or to go over the border and buy a car that is just two years younger than their existing vehicle but is not of the same high standard.”

The taxi regulator Kathleen Doyle, who is currently carrying out a review of the national taxi fare structure and is looking for submissions from the public, has said wheelchair licensed vehicles are being excluded because her organisation is trying to achieve a proper proportion of the fleet that is wheelchair accessible.

“We have not been able to achieve that to date,” said Ms Doyle. “We have an initial target to get 10% of the fleet accessible. At the moment we are only at 6%. When we get to 10%, we will talk to disability groups and see if that is enough.”

Separate standards set the bar high for wheelchair accessible vehicles, she said.

“These standards are separate to those for standard taxis and hackneys, reflecting the specialised nature and fleet proportion of this category of vehicle.”