Results of taxi drivers' strike ballot due today

The results of a ballot among taxi drivers for industrial action are expected this afternoon.

Members of the National Taxi Drivers' Union (NTDU) voted yesterday on whether or not to take action following changes in the industry being introduced by the Taxi Regulator, Ger Deering.

Drivers were asked if they would be in favour of action due to the regulator's failure "to meaningfully negotiate" on the changes.

Among the concerns raised by the NTDU is the decision to nationalise taxi plate numbers. In the past taxi plates were issued by 88 separate local authorities around the country, with 88 taxis all bearing number 1. The plates also identified the area in which they had been issued, preventing taxi drivers from looking for work outside their own taximeter area.

With the nationalisation of taxi plates, all drivers are being given new numbers, which are not identifiable with any particular location. The drivers will instead display a yellow tag on their windscreens that identifies the area in which they are qualified to work.

However, Tommy Gorman, president of the NTDU, said the new tags would be hard to police. He said gardaí were unsuccessful recently in trying to prosecute a man who was taxi driving in Dublin with a new national plate but who was licensed to drive only in Laois.

He also said drivers who had purchased old plates before deregulation at very high prices or who had particular plates in their families for a couple of generations were now being asked to change and were angry.

The restructuring of fares has raised concern among taxi drivers, in particular, in Cork, Tralee, Killarney, Sligo, Waterford, Carlow and Drogheda, who will face up to a 22 per cent drop in their minimum charge, Mr Gorman said.

"Drivers working in Dublin on ranks and with radios will get a 7.5 per cent increase, but drivers working Dublin airport will lose the luggage charge and the airport charge," he said.

Mr Gorman added that they were also taking legal advice and considering taking a judicial review of the regulations. "We are looking at all of our options - there are a lot of unhappy drivers out there," he said.