Sir, - Your recent article regarding the deregulation of taxis and hackneys caused me to wonder as to how out of touch the powers-that-be are. It is not surprising that Dublin's traffic has descended into its present chaotic state of affairs, with such ineptitude at the helm.
Take bus lanes, for starters. These were originally designated to maximise road efficiency by reserving a portion of highway for the use of the most efficient people-carriers around - buses. At 90 passengers per 311 linear feet, this fact is indisputable. However, taxi-drivers' demands were quickly capitulated to, with the result that taxis are now, also, allowed access to Bus lanes, and the latest proposal is to let hackneys do likewise. Both taxis and hackneys have the same passenger capacity as private cars, which appears to defeat the purpose of bus lanes at a stroke.
With regard to mobile phones, in this day and age, when every Tom, Dick and Harriet seems to be driving around with a receiver glued to his/her ear, I would suggest that any attempts at controlling hackney drivers' use of these instruments, would be futile in the extreme. The same would surely go for two-way radios - besides which, in the interest of timesaving, fuel efficiency, and ultimate easing of traffic congestion, surely the idea of presenting oneself back at base after every completed job, is a bit antiquated nowadays?
Taxi-drivers are often heard complaining of the discrepancy in the cost of plating small PSVs - taxis versus hackneys. In my opinion, if a person wants to spend £80,000 on a taxi plate, that's up to him, but don't come complaining to me afterwards.
And lastly, on the subject of exterior signs, it only takes a quick trip around town to notice the number of hackney drivers who have nailed their balls to the mast, so to speak. - Yours, etc. D. K. Henderson,
Clontarf,
Dublin 13.