People still wait up to 90 minutes for taxis at peak times in Dublin despite deregulation, a report published on behalf of the National Taxi Drivers' Union (NTDU) claims.
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Launching the report NTDU president Mr Tommy Gorman said queues were still commonplace in Dublin city. "We still have hour-and-a-half waits at weekends."
Mr Gorman said since deregulation "at least 40 per cent of our wheelchair-accessible vehicles" have been lost.
Mr Vinny Kearns, NTDU vice-president, said delays continued despite the fact there were now 6,528 licensed taxis in the city compared with 2,724 before deregulation.
The report said southside taxi companies "generally could not provide a cab" at peak times while on the north side the average wait was between 20 and 45 minutes.
Mr Gorman said the report showed it should be a priority for the Government "to set up a taxi board where we can all sit down and talk".
NTDU representatives told this morning's meeting the problem has been exacerbated by new licences being given to people who drive taxis part-time and who hold down full-time jobs elsewhere.
Mr Gorman said: "While the figures suggest that there are over 6,000 licences many of these never pull up to a taxi rank".
The NTDU believes new licences should be given to taxis that would be operated by two drivers working two shifts.