Proposals to increase taxi fares by an average of 4 per cent have been dismissed after taxi drivers objected to the plan.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) carried out a review of current fares earlier this year and found a rise in fuel prices had led to a 4 per cent increase in the cost of operating a taxi since the previous review was carried out in 2010.
They proposed that the standard flat-rate charge when a person gets into a taxi be reduced from €4.10 to €3.60, but the fare per kilometre be increased from €1.03 to €1.10 for the first 15 kilometres, with similar increases for longer journeys.
More than 90 per cent of the 195 submissions received during the public consultation process were opposed to any increase in fares.
President of the Irish Taxi Drivers Federation John Usher said drivers should be commended for turning down a price increase when they are struggling to cope with declining passenger numbers and rising costs.
“There has been a huge fall off in business, and although a fare increase was warranted at this time, we felt we couldn’t suffer another loss,” he said.
“One of the first things people cut back on in tough times is taxis, and the last thing we wanted was to make things more difficult for people to use us on a regular basis.”
Maximum taxi fares are reviewed every two years by the NTA. The last increase was in 2008.
