Taxi fare increase ruled out

Taxi fares are to stay the same after the Commission for Taxi Regulation ruled today that an increase in prices would not benefit taxi drivers.

Announcing the decision, Commissioner for Taxi Regulation Kathleen Doyle also dismissed calls from consumers for a reduction in fares.

"There is no evidence that a reduction in fares would stimulate demand and there is similarly no evidence that an increase in fares would deliver any benefits to the industry," said Ms Doyle.

The taxi regulator's decision was taken following a public consultation process and review of the existing fare structures.

The review established that while taxi costs have not risen since 2008, drivers' reported income has fallen by an average of 30 per cent during the same period.

"Operating costs haven't really changed since the last review took place so there was no real need for an increase but a decrease in fares would impact on drivers' earnings," Ms Doyle told the Irish Times.

The national maximum fare was introduced in 2006. In November 2008 the decision was taken to increase the minimum fare by more than 8 per cent to €4.10 and €4.45 at the premium rate. This is supplemented by distance or time-related charges.

The regulator told the Irish Times that most of those working in the sector were against an increase in fares.

"Looking at the submissions we received, about 81 per cent of the taxi drivers were looking for fares to stay the same as did 69 per cent of industry service providers. However, just 36 per cent of consumers said they wanted fares to remain as they were and some were in favour of a decrease," she said.

More than 300 individual submissions and multiple submissions representing about 500 industry members were received by the commission. In addition, 2,000 drivers and consumers were surveyed about fare options.

Almost a quarter of consumers surveyed said they were using fewer taxis in recent months. This is despite the fact that many reported receiving discounts and/or having fares rounded down to the nearest euro.

In addition, the review found that 92 per cent of taxi firms said they were now offering discounts to consumers.

According to the commission, there were a total of 25,964 active Small Public Service Vehicles (SPSV) licences nationally at the end of August, a drop of 800 since January. The number of active licences includes 19,213 taxis, 1,484 wheelchair accessible taxis, 4,041 hackneys and 1,226 limousines.

Ms Doyle said while there had been a decrease in the overall number of SPSV licences, the decline did not relate to taxis which were broadly unchanged over the past two years.

The Irish Taxi Drivers Federation welcomed the decision not to increase fares but expressed disappointment that the regulator had decided against reintroducing luggage charges.

It also said it was opposed to the decision by taxi companies to offer discounts to customers with the federation's president John Ussher saying that drivers were "taking the hit," rather than the dispatch operators.