‘We’ll bring city to a standstill’ say taxi drivers

Date Published: 10-Mar-2009

LOCAL taxi drivers have reacted with anger and disbelief at an independent report published yesterday which recommended that a moratorium should not be placed on the issuing of new licences because the numbers of new taxi drivers entering the industry is declining.

Members of the Galway Taxi Association have vowed to bring the streets of Galway to a standstill with “French-style” all out strikes, blockades or ‘go slows’ on the city’s streets in order to highlight their plight.

The Goodbody report entitled Economic Review of Small Public Service Vehicle (SPSV), published by the Taxi Regulator Kathleen Doyle on Monday, said the current regulatory structure in the taxi industry was “the most appropriate and successful model and should be continued”.

The report said there was a large increase in the numbers of taxis following deregulation in 2000 but the rate of increase has steadied over time, with a “steady decrease” in the numbers of new licences issued since mid-2008 and early this year.

The report noted that…