Taxi drivers’ anger over lack of rank at station

The taxi industry in Galway is furious at the failure of Galway City Council to provide funding for a single taxi rank at the bus station.

Some taxi drivers have appeared in court for illegal parking at the bus station while waiting to pick up arriving passengers.

At a recent budget meeting, it was proposed by the Fianna Fail councillors that €50,000 be earmarked for a taxi rank at the bus station, but this was rejected.

The taxi industry in Galway are looking for the provision of just one space at the bus station but they have failed in their efforts.

Spokesperson Henry Hegerty admitted that he was before the courts recently on foot of parking fines and the Judge expressed surprise that there was no dedicated space for taxis at the coach station.

He said that this was in breach of a European directive which requires that taxis be provided for people with disabilities within a short distance of bus and train stations.

Mr Hegerty said that this was not the case in Galway city and that the situation needed to be addressed by the local authority.

The taxi representative said that there were 42 daily bus services arriving and departing from the city each day. This equates to around bus 400,000 passengers arriving in the city on an annual basis.

The nearest taxi rank from the bus and rail station is at the Fairgreen which is a considerable distance for a person with disabilities to travel.

“There have been quite a number of taxi drivers fined for picking up passengers at the bus station over the past three years.

“To issue fines to taxi drivers who are providing a service to the public is not acceptable from our point of view”, Mr. Hegerty added.

Cllr. Peter Keane of Fianna Fail, in a letter to the taxi industry in Galway, said that he and his colleagues had requested a fund to be ring-fenced so that a taxi rank could be provided at the bus station.

“Our proposal was rejected by councillors of the ruling pact who refused to entertain any suggestion of ring-fencing the money required for a taxi rank”, he said.

Cllr. Keane added that he would continue to make representations to Galway City Council on this issue and he hoped that an alternative source of funding could be identified.