TAXI FARES have been put on hold after the Commission for Taxi Regulation ruled an increase would not benefit taxi drivers.
Announcing the decision yesterday, commissioner for taxi regulation Kathleen Doyle also dismissed calls from consumers for a reduction in fares. “There is no evidence that a reduction in fares would stimulate demand and there is similarly no evidence that an increase in fares would deliver any benefits to the industry,” said Ms Doyle.
The taxi regulator’s decision was taken following a public consultation process and review of the existing fare structures. The review established that while taxi costs have not risen since 2008, drivers’ reported income has fallen by an average of 30 per cent.
“Operating costs haven’t really changed since the last review took place so there was no real need for an increase, but a decrease in fares would impact on drivers’ earnings,” Ms Doyle told The Irish Times.
The national maximum fare was introduced in 2006. In November 2008, the decision was taken to increase the minimum fare by more than 8 per cent to €4.10 and €4.45 at the premium rate. This is supplemented by distance or time-related charges.
The regulator said that most of those working in the sector were against an increase in fares. “Looking at the submissions we received, about 81 per cent of the taxi drivers were looking for fares to stay the same, as did 69 per cent of industry service providers. However, just 36 per cent of consumers said they wanted fares to remain as they were and some were in favour of a decrease.”
More than 300 individual submissions and multiple submissions representing about 500 industry members were received. In addition, 2,000 drivers and consumers were surveyed about fare options.
Almost one-quarter of consumers surveyed said they were using fewer taxis in recent months. This is despite the fact many reported receiving discounts and/or having fares rounded down to the nearest euro.
In addition, the review found 92 per cent of taxi firms said they were now offering discounts.
The Irish Taxi Drivers’ Federation welcomed the decision not to increase fares but expressed disappointment the regulator had decided against luggage charges.
It also said it was opposed to the decision by taxi companies to offer discounts to customers, with the federation’s president John Ussher saying drivers were “taking the hit” rather than the dispatch operators.
According to the commission, there were 25,964 active small public service vehicles (SPSV) licences nationally at the end of August, a drop of 800 since January. Ms Doyle said, while there had been a fall in SPSV licences, the decline did not relate to taxis which were broadly unchanged over the past two years.
