Dublin City Council has approved 200 new taxi plates for the capital, but has also voted in favour of significant fare increases. The proposals must be approved by the three Dublin county councils before they take effect.
The decision, taken at a meeting last night, would bring to 400 the number of new licences provided for in the past 12 months, although most of the 200 taxis approved last year were not on the streets in time for Christmas.
The new fares would include a 12.5 per cent increase in the charge per mile and a 50 per cent increase in the slow traffic charge - from 5p to 10p per 40 seconds when speed drops below 7 1/2 m.p.h. This is designed to encourage drivers to work at peak times as well as encouraging the public to avoid travelling then.
The changes, recommended in an interim report compiled by UK consultants, were voted through by 29 votes to 6. Fianna Fail's Cllr Ivor Callely TD led the opposition, accusing supporters of rushing the measures through.
The president of the Irish Taxi Drivers' Federation, Mr John Ussher, attended the meeting and afterwards accused the council of giving insufficient time to debate the issue. "I'm very upset and a little bit shocked, not only at the decision, but at the way it's been made", he said.
On the subject of the fares increases, Mr Ussher said they were "not the increases we applied for". He expected his members to be as angry as he was about the decision on new plates, but he declined to specify what action they might take.
Other fare changes approved include a new minimum charge of £1.90, along with a doubling of both the after-midnight charge (40p to 80p) and the waiting charge (up to £9 an hour). Finally there will be a "soiling charge" of £20 for those who soil taxis due to "travel sickness or alcohol abuse".
The council deferred a decision on licence renewal fees. The interim report recommends reversing the proposed increase from £100 to £450, but the council's taxi and hackney committee favours retaining the latter figure. Mr Ussher added: "The only thing in the report for us was the renewal fee reduction and that's the only thing they didn't adopt."
Opposing the measures, Cllr Callely said details had been issued to council members only in Christmas week and most people, like him, had not had time to study them properly. The proponents of the changes appeared to have "cherry-picked" from the interim report and, when the final report was due in a matter of weeks, the council would be wrong to rush the proposals through.
Speaking in support of the measures, Cllr Alan Robinson (PD) said the interim report only confirmed what everybody already knew. There was "overwhelming" evidence of the need for extra taxis, which had been obstructed for two years by "vested interests not only outside this chamber but inside it".
A number of speakers criticised the Taoiseach for establishing a Dublin Taxi Forum. Cllr Eric Byrne (DL) said this was an attempt to "undermine what is a local authority issue". He suggested Fianna Fail members had been given the message that "Bertie would be looking after the taximen".
