Taxi Driver warn Green party "You destroy us, we'll bury you!
THE nation's taxi service is
on the verge of a crisis caused by deregulation and "cowboy drivers",
according to senior politicians and the main taxi union. A cap on the
number of taxi licenses is now likely to be introduced next year in an
attempt to control the situation. The Herald has learned that following
pressure from drivers, a moratorium on licenses will be put before the
Dail early next year, despite concerns from the Competition Authority.
The
move, which has already been backed by Limerick and Waterford county
councils, was supported by Dublin City Council last night. If passed by
the Oireachtas, it will prevent new licences being issued by the Taxi
Regulator for a period of between three and five years.
The
plan is to restrict the number of new plates because drivers feel the
streets are "overrun" with taxis. Head of the National Taxi Drivers
Union, Tommy Gorman said drivers are barely surviving because the
regulator has flooded the streets with cabs. And as the recession
bites, the union is warning that business will die come January 5.
Thanks
to competition I am earning a minimum wage working 80 hours a week I
am tired, fed up of not being able to meet the bills. Another Gear box
or engine giving up on me could be the difference between me living in
my house or living on the streets. Competition is giving me sleepless
nights wondering if i can meet the car payments. Thanks Europe but you
have done fuck all for me, I've rode out the celtic tiger in the only
industry that wages reduced over the past six years. Regrettably my
fellow workers are too stupid or too lazy to do anything about it.
There continuously conned by their government. An all party committee
pulls the regulator before it, just before a referendum on Lisbon and
it works, not a peep from the taxi industry. The industry relies on
Larry Curly and Moe their Taxi union reps who couldn't organize a piss
up in a brewery. For fu*K sake Taxi drivers wake up this time and send
a clear message.
