Fuel costs force taxis to call a halt to long trips

Galway City taxi drivers are avoiding journeys with fixed fares to county towns – because the spiralling cost of fuel means it’s not worth their while.

According to the latest Consumer Price Index, the cost of diesel and petrol rose 41.6% and petrol 25.9% respectively in the year up to May 2022.

And AA Ireland said the national average fuel prices for June have topped the €2-mark; average unleaded petrol prices are €2.05 per litre and diesel is €213.2 per litre.

Frank Fahy – a city councilor, taxi driver, and director of Big O Taxis – said fuel inflation was negatively impacting the industry.

“It’s having a massive impact. During Covid, I used to struggle to get €70 (worth of fuel) into my tank. It’s now €128 to fill it. It’s a massive increase,” he said.

Mr Fahy conceded that the good news was that city taxi drivers are now busy again after the Pandemic, because tourism is busy and hospitality is back on its feet.

“We are flat-to-the-mat busy. There is a reluctance to do long runs out to the country, though, because of the cost of fuel. If you were bringing a fare to Tuam now, for example, it would cost you twice as much in fuel now as it would have a year ago,” he said.

Mr Fahy said that the spiralling cost of car hire had led to an increase in demand for taxis to cover longer journeys, including to airports. But the cost of fuel meant it was more difficult to find drivers to fulfil the demand for long journeys with fares that were fixed before inflation kicked-in.

“We’re snowed under because of the issue of car hire,” he said.

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