More than third of taxi drivers prosecuted in 2017 had no licence

More than one-third of taxi drivers brought to court by the National Transport Authority (NTA) last year were found to be driving without a valid licence, according to latest figures.

Some 54 taxi drivers were prosecuted for driving without a valid licence in 2017 and 28 drivers were prosecuted for not holding a valid vehicle licence. A further 30 drivers were found to be operating a taxi without a valid driving licence or vehicle licence, according to the NTA’s annual taxi statistics.

The number of licensed taxis on Irish roads peaked in 2008 with 27,429 vehicles across the State and has since dropped by nearly 25 per cent due to a reduced customer demand, higher vehicle standards and driver testing requirements, according to the NTA.

In 2017, there were 20,581 licensed taxis on Irish roads, a slight drop from the previous year when there were 20,804.

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Wheelchair accessible

The number of wheelchair accessible vehicles has continued to rise in recent years, reaching 1,555 in 2017, up by nearly 20 per cent on the previous year.

In 2014, a grant scheme and training was introduced to encourage taxi drivers to purchase and use more accessible vehicles.

The compliance of taxi owners was monitored in 2017 using real-time mobile checks which allowed NTA-appointed officers to review the licence and registration of drivers and their vehicles in real time. Face-to-face audits were also carried out on vehicles and drivers when compliance issues were identified. Some 1,152 on-the-spot fines were issued in 2017, up from 1,099 on the previous year, while the number of cases that resulted in prosecution rose from 208 to 262.