EIRE

There was a time when getting a taxi was a bit like winning the urban Lotto. There were too few of them and too many of us, and that was the way the industry liked it.

A completely artificial and profoundly unfair regulatory process meant that the price of a taxi plate ran to about a hundred grand and it was seen by many drivers as a veritable licence to print money. In a country which was still held in a sort of MMA death grip by the unions and vested interests, taxis were simply another example of a privileged minority who thought the world, or more accurately, the rest of us, owed them a living. So it was no surprise that, in the run-up to deregulation in 2000, there was a caustic fault line between professional taxi drivers and passengers.

Cosseted by the fact that they were members of a closed shop, the taxi industry was appalled and furious, but mostly furious, that the market was about to open up and introduce them to the cold, hard glare of competition.


In one way, you couldn't blame them. After all, their plate was their pension and the "S" from their PSV licence, the bit that put the "Service" into "Public Service Vehicle" was seen as some sort of bothersome, grudging concession to the taxi drivers' least favourite person – their own passenger. The sense of entitled stupidity reached thoroughly heroic levels of hyperbole when professional cabbies started a series of public protests, which featured some drivers using words like "Holocaust" to describe the introduction of a free market. But such behaviour at the time simply convinced the public that this was a group of people who needed a radical overhaul of their cash cow.

Fast-forward 14 years and the landscape is immeasurably better. Freeing up the market not only improved the quality of the service for the customer, but also gave the industry a much-needed injection of fresh blood – the days of the professional cabbie, the kind of madman who referred to non-taxi drivers as "civilians" were over.

Now most of those driving saw it as a job, not some selfless vocation that must be expounded upon every time a punter sat in their car.

But too many drivers are driving too many cars, and too many of these drivers shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the public. So the news that a blitz on dodgy drivers over the weekend, which saw an estimated, and frankly, incredible 2,700 drivers stay at home rather than run a gauntlet of traffic cops, should come as no surprise. And it should be welcomed.

Driving a cab in Dublin is now one of the hardest and most thankless tasks any worker can do. There are fewer punters than before, there are more cabs on the street and there has been an influx of non-nationals, many, but not all, of whom seem to have no idea where they are going. And let's not forget the recent spate of taxi-jackings.

But the interesting thing about last weekend's developments?

Well, any taxi driver I've spoken to is genuinely delighted that the authorities are finally taking steps to improve the business they work in.

Taxi drivers happy to see the cops checking on them?

Now that's something few of us ever thought we'd ever see.

http://tinyurl.com/pggte77
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The fact that around one-in-four taxi drivers chose to stay off the roads during a garda clampdown over the weekend is a damning indictment.

There are currently 11,077 licensed taxis in Dublin, meaning that around 2,700 drivers did not show up for work during the garda operation.

While the vast majority of Dublin's taxi drivers are honest and hard working, there is a percentage of drivers who should not be on the roads.

This is because they are driving cars that are not fit for purpose, or because they are not properly licensed.

The gardai have done an excellent job over the weekend and Transport Minister Allen Kelly's promise of further action is welcome.

Taxi passengers should also do everything that they can to protect themselves and downloading the driver check application, which can be used to identify rogue drivers, for your mobile phone is a good place to start.

http://www.herald.ie/news/bogus-taxi-drivers-try-to-avoid-gardai-30393223.html
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A BRADFORD'S women's group has added its voice to fears that the relaxation of taxi hire rules could lead to more sex attacks in the city.

Steffy Bechelet, who is Women's and Liberation Officer at the University of Bradford, said she is deeply concerned the proposed taxi changes which are now going through Parliament would "undoubtedly" leave vulnerable people at risk.

"My immediate concern, should this bill pass through Parliament, is that those without taxi licences and access to vehicles could exploit them for their own malicious means, including theft, assault and sexual assault," she said.

Concerns that the changes to taxi regulations, if they go ahead, could be exploited by sham drivers posing a risk to unsuspecting passengers have already triggered police chiefs to lobby the Government.

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson has joined more than 15 other police commissioners across the country who want to get three changes in the reforms removed from the Deregulation Bill.

Currently, only licensed cab drivers can get behind the wheel of a marked private hire vehicle, they have to be regularly re-licensed and there are restrictions on drivers who are licensed by one authority working in other areas.

But the Deregulation Bill could sweep those safeguards away making it a free-for-all, with no guarantees that the driver of a vehicle is who they say they are.

Miss Bechelet added: "I am however encouraged by the strong statement issued by the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns Williamson.

"It is imperative that those within our community who lead and indeed our community as a whole stands up to ensure that this bill is not passed, safeguarding all those who wish to use this form of public transport in the future."

However, Shabir Ahmed, of Keighley and Bradford Taxi Drivers' Association, said: "People keep talking about women passengers not being safe but no-one talks as much about taxi drivers being the victims of attacks.

"The police don't make as much of a fuss about that. It can be hard being a taxi driver, we don't deserve to be judged as the type of people who would misuse taxis to carry out crime."

He added: "We would be in favour of the change that would let others drive our cars when we're not using them as taxis because our family could also use them and we wouldn't need to find money for a second car - it would be a popular change with us."

Mr Burns-Williamson has conceded some changes might be needed but he has insisted that safeguards should "stay firmly" in place.

The PCCs have written to Ken Clarke, the minister responsible for the Bill, urging him to bring about reforms that could be brought in a considered way, subject to rigorous scrutiny.

http://tinyurl.com/px375y9