Taxi Driver Online

City taxi association refutes drivers' claims


LIMERICK Taxi Association has taken "great exception” to the article published in the Limerick Post recently in which two drivers admitted knowledge of taxis being used to ferry drugs around the city.

A spokesperson for the association, who asked not to be named, said; "We seriously dispute the spurious allegations made by nameless and faceless taxi drivers that we are ferrying drug dealers on a regular basis.”

The taxi drivers who were interviewed in the article which was published a fortnight ago, said that even if they had suspicions that their taxis were being used by drug dealers, that they would not refuse the fare because of a fear of reprisal and the fact that business is tight.

In that article, the garda drug squad confirmed that they have arrested Limerick taxi drivers in the past for allowing their cars to be used by drug dealers, and warned that they will carry out searches of taxis if they have grounds to be suspicious.

The taxi association spokesperson said that his advise to drivers who suspect they are being used by drug dealers is to "just drive away” and he said that he would do this himself "without hesitation” if he was suspicious of a passenger.

He agreed that taxi drivers are vulnerable to attacks not just from drug dealers but also from drunken passengers and thieves. But he said that he "could not believe drivers were putting their reputations at risk for the sake of a fare”.The spokesperson added that the Limerick Taxi Association has "an excellent relationship with the gardai and have met with them on numerous occasions” on matters of "public service and safety”.

"Prevention of crime is always the utmost in our minds and we have assisted the gardai in crimes and often helped in the prevention of more serious crimes,” he said.

"As a public service vehicle provider, we have refused to take members of the public in our cars for various reasons and the gardai have given us their full support.

"It is the duty of every citizen to report a crime. Taxi drivers don’t have to say to a passenger I am not taking you because you are ‘selling drugs’, there are other ways of refusing them where you can be diplomatic.”

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin