Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
232. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Transport the way that he proposes to address the shortage of taxis in Dublin city at night-time; and if it is planned to introduce more 24-hour bus routes in the city in recognition of the safety concerns which exist for persons who are forced to walk home at night due to a lack of safe transport options. [40353/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) sector is a matter for the independent transport regulator, the National Transport Authority (NTA), under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013.
The Department and the NTA have taken a number of steps to support taxi drivers nationally. The NTA's SPSV driver recruitment campaign is open on a national basis since 4th July for a three-week period. I am encouraged to hear that the number of applications received to date, is 25% ahead in comparison to the same period in the 2019 campaign.
The NTA's Board recently approved an average increase of 12% on taxi fares from 1st September 2022, as proposed in the recent National Maximum Fares Review, which will be the first increase on such fares since 2017. The NTA’s 2022 driver survey shows that 93% of drivers are now working but only 29% currently undertake “night work”. 30% of drivers (up from 17% in 2019) reported that they would consider doing “night work” if the relevant fares were to increase.
In recognition of this, the proposed fare increases have been weighted in favour of the premium rate that can be charged for journeys between 8.00pm to 8.00am, as well as on Sundays and public holidays. The increase in cents/euro for each taxi user per journey is not substantial; however, the cumulative impact is significant for drivers, and the weighting in the increase has been designed so as to encourage more drivers to operate during these periods and also encourage drivers who may still not have come back since the pandemic to re-activate their licences.
Whilst the NTA has statutory responsibility for regulating (licensing and enforcement) the SPSV industry, taxi drivers are self-employed individuals and, as such, decide on their own business strategies within the regulatory framework. Additionally, SPSV operators choose the times at which they operate.
I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport, but I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The NTA has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for the scheduling and timetabling of these services in conjunction with the relevant transport operators.
In light of the NTA's responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's specific question in relation to 24-hour bus services, to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days
