Warning over oil price threat to taxi fares

Taxi fares will jump by 20 per cent unless Transport Minister Seamus Brennan cuts the Government VAT on fuel, it was claimed today.

The National Taxi Drivers Union says it cannot continue absorbing the rising cost of petrol due to climbing world oil prices.

NTDU boss Vinnie Kearns said: “VAT presently amounts to about 60 per cent of the total cost of fuel.

“Taxi drivers have absorbed all of the increases thus far but this cannot continue.”

The union said cabbies also use up fuel driving around looking for business because there is no space at taxi ranks.

It also wants Minister Brennan to give the new taxi regulator the power to increase taxi fares instead of local authorities.

Meanwhile, truckers have warned that transport costs will rocket if Minister Jim McDaid goes ahead with a ban on “supercube” lorries due to “safety concerns”.

The Irish Road Hauliers Association claims the minister is making the proposal to cover up the “fiasco” that Dublin’s Port Tunnel wasn’t built high enough to accommodate the high-volume vehicles.

IRHA president Eamon Morrissey said: “This is just a scaremongering stunt by the Government to make up for the fact they have made a mess of one of the biggest infrastructural projects in the country.”

The IRHA said many hauliers have bought these vehicles because they give a competitive edge in moving bulky goods at a reduced cost.

Mr Morrissey added: “A height restriction is a short-sighted policy and fails to take into account the rapid development and innovation within the road transport industry.”