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IRELAND’S CONSUMER WATCHDOG is calling for increased access to ride-hailing apps on the Irish market due to a taxi supply shortage, but the Minister of Transport says the government has no intention to let private drivers provide taxi services.
New research from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) suggests four in 10 people who tried to get a taxi in December reported difficulties doing so, while almost half of taxi users want the choice of ride-hailing.
In Ireland, to provide taxi services you must get a Small Public Service Vehicle (SPSV) driver licence from the National Transport Authority (NTA). This requires having a valid driving licence for 12 months, passing a two-part exam, completing disability awareness training, passing garda vetting and paying a €250 application fee.
Ride-hailing apps, such as Uber or Bolt, connect private drivers to passengers via apps. These apps have become popular in the UK and US.
To become an Uber driver in the UK, applicants must be 21, have a valid UK driver licence, get a private-hire licence from a council that Uber is licensed by and compete a pre-boarding course. There are also vehicle requirements that differ by location.
Uber does operate in Ireland, but doesn’t provide the same ride-sharing service as it does in the UK. In Ireland, it acts solely as a broker allowing customers to book trips with regulated taxi drivers who have an SPSV licence.
Uber welcomed the CCPC report, adding that the Minister for Transport and the NTA “need to begin a serious reform process that improves access and availability for consumers and drivers”.
“We support the Taxis for Ireland Coalition’s call for a National Taxi Strategy that strengthens the market while supporting a well regulated industry.”
However, in a statement today, Darragh O’Brien said it is not government policy to allow drivers of private cars to provide taxi services in Ireland.
“There is no intention to introduce it,” he added.
“The protection of the consumer and personal safety are vital objectives and must continue to be central to how the taxi and hackney sector is regulated and operated. The model where anyone with a private car (not licensed as a Small Public Service Vehicle) and an App can provide taxi services does not exist in Ireland.”
He acknowledged that the structure of the taxi and hackney market has changed and said he has requested the NTA conduct a regulatory assessment of dispatch operator licensing in Ireland.
He wants the assessment to ensure the regulatory framework is “sufficiently up to date and robust to respond to developments since the enactment of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013″.
According to today’s CCPC report, 57% of those surveyed by the CCPC believe that there are not enough taxis available in their area.
The issue was particularly bad outside Dublin, where only 28% of people believe there are enough taxis in their area. This drops to 21% for those living in Connacht or Ulster.
Last month taxi drivers warned that the market in Ireland risks being “controlled by profit-driven algorithms” due to the rise of taxi apps.
Drivers told the Joint Committee on Transport that the app algorithms “increasingly reward longer hours and penalise job refusal”, which creates downward pressure on earnings and threatens the long-term viability of the profession.
Research from the CCPC also found that 60% of taxi users would support a fixed fare option, which guarantees passengers a maximum fare.
Taxi drivers in Dublin held protests in December against Uber’s new fixed rates system. They accused Uber of undermining the regulated taxi fare structure set by the National Transport Authority (NTA).
Speaking on Morning Ireland this morning, Brian McHugh, CCPC chair, said more ride-hailing apps would give taxi users more choice.
“We want to see a system where drivers can use their own cars can enter the market. There’s huge barriers to entering the market, and there’s quite a lot of restrictions that are not in place in other countries,” he said.
When it was put to him that the move may impact taxi drivers’ livelihoods, McHugh said that is not what has happened in other countries with ride-hailing apps.
“That’s not what we see when we look internationally. The one country where people are leaving the industry is Ireland,” he said.
“When you have competition, when you give consumers choices, innovation, products, use, new entry into the market. That’s what a healthy market looks like, and we do not have that in Ireland.”
Responding to the claims by the CCPC, National Private Hire and Taxi Association chairperson Jim Waldron said he believes there is a “strategy to step by step take over what is a regulated and safe taxi industry” by what he called “profiteering” firms such as Uber.
Waldron told The Journal that he felt the CCPC survey was “lacking detail”, adding that he has contacted the body to inquire about the level of work it undertook.
He added that he fears there is an attempt to push Ireland towards a “deregulated” model where taxi drivers have less vetting, thereby creating risks for the “safety” of the public.
With reporting from Christina Finn and Eoghan Dalton
