Taxi drivers unhappy with planned use of €20m fund

TAXI drivers have said they are disappointed that more than €20 million collected by the now defunct Taxi Regulator is to remain in a general fund to subsidise the running of the National Transport Authority rather than be invested back into the industry.

The same policy is also to apply to future funds collected through licensing fees for taxi drivers and vehicles, which can amount to several million euro in revenue every year.

The Commission for Taxi Regulation was disbanded a year ago and its responsibilities along with its accumulated kitty of over €20m were taken over by the National Transport Authority (NTA), which is responsible for all forms of public transport.

Junior Transport Minister Alan Kelly said when questioned about the regulator’s legacy earlier this year that some of the money would be put into a grants scheme for wheelchair accessible taxis, but that scheme, announced three months ago, accounts for just €1.5m.

The NTA said this week that the rest of the money would be “used to partially defray the exchequer’s costs in funding the Authority’s operations, including its taxi regulatory work”.

Regarding future revenues generated by the taxi industry, the NTA said: “Licence income will continue to be used to partially defray the exchequer’s costs in funding the Authority’s operations.”

John Usher of the Irish Taxi Drivers Federation said the policy was unfair: “It’s very, very disappointing that the money that was generated by the taxi industry is going to be used to facilitate people at train stations or for cycle lanes but not for taximen.”

He said he had hoped some of the funds would be used for grants to improve security for taxi drivers. Ideas proposed by taxi representatives in the past include the installation of cameras and special roof signs with an in-built alarm light that drivers in threatening situations would be able to discreetly activate to alert gardaí that they were in trouble.

“Driving taxis is not getting any easier. If anything it’s getting more dangerous. Some of the money in the kitty should be used to help make taxi drivers safer.”

Safety fears were renewed following the death last month of driver Moses Ayanwole who died after he was assaulted in Dublin city centre in the early hours of the morning.

Ola Akinsete, who, like father-of-one Mr Ayanwole, is originally from Nigeria and driving a taxi here for the last ten years, said the job was getting more difficult and he would welcome support to install security equipment.

“You leave home in the morning with fear in your heart. You might get a passenger who doesn’t pay or is drunk or is aggressive. We are helpless. We can’t confront them and if we call the gardaí, it is one man’s word against the other. There are no witnesses inside a taxi.”

Taxi licences currently cost €6,300 for a first application but ongoing renewal and transfer fees also apply. The NTA said revenues from licence fees for both drivers and vehicles amounted to €7.5m last year.

Mr Kelly is expected to announce changes to regulations governing the taxi industry in the next few weeks, but in response to queries about whether fund would be made available for security measures, the NTA said: “There are no plans for grants in this area at this stage.”