Taxi drivers strike over fares change

Taxi drivers are to stage a 24-hour strike today for the second time in a fortnight.

The stoppage from 5am is in protest at a new fare structure which includes the abolition of surcharges for luggage and picking up customers at Dublin airport.

Around 12,000 of the state’s 17,000 taxis were involved in the first day of action on July 17.

The strike was most pronounced in Dublin, where some 10,000 cabs were off the road from 5am on Monday until 5am the following day.

The three main drivers’ unions, the Taxi Drivers’ Federation, the National Taxi Drivers Union and SIPTU organised the action.

They claim drivers face losses of €4,500 a year when the new fares are introduced in September.