Taxi Driver Online

Thousands of Irish taxi drivers to benefit from major last-minute rule U-turn

https://www.thesun.ie/motors/9770180/th ... le-u-turn/

THOUSANDS of taxis will not be forced off the road next year following the NTA’s decision to lift the 10-year rule.

Some 3,750 taxis were at risk of being forced out of the industry next year because their cars were set to pass the 10-year-old limit of use.

This is despite these taxis being fully road fit and Ireland suffering a severe shortage of taxis as the industry continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

A global shortage of cars due to supply issues has seen the cost of new and used cars skyrocket which would have resulted in many drivers being forced to leave the industry because they couldn’t afford to replace their 10-year-old motor.

Earlier this year, the Irish Sun revealed that a State grant to help cabbies go electric was critically underused because taxi drivers could not buy an EV due to global shortages.

Taxi drivers like Dubliner Laurence Kelly urged the NTA to lift the 10-year rule in order to allow cabbies more time to source an EV or new motor for an affordable price.

Over the weekend, the NTA issued a note to the industry that the 10-year rule will be eased to ensure that no taxi will be required to exit the cab fleet due to its age until at least 2025.

The NTA have given extension period of between three and five years to cabbies to keep them on the road.

This means that a car that was due to go off the road in 2020 but benefited from the Covid extension will now be able to operate until 2025.

Cars due to exit the industry in 2022 and 2023 will be allowed to stay on the road until 2026.

This will give taxi drivers more time to earn in their current car while they plan to upgrade their car to an EV or buy a new petrol or diesel motor.

Sinn Fein’s transport spokesperson Darren O'Rourke told The Irish Sun that the NTA’s decision means that the taxi industry will not face an exodus of drivers next year due to the 10-year rule timeline.

He said: “This is a welcome decision. It will mean that thousands of drivers and vehicles are not faced with a cliff-edge and forced off the road.

“It’s incredible the Government and the NTA resisted this move for so long.

“That, in itself, points to wider problems with the Taxi Advisory Committee and how the taxi industry is governed here. It’s an area in much need of reform.”

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IDFIMH

You will start to see this is many areas where there are age restrictions in place currently.

It will happen in places where the licensed drivers are low just like in your article.

By introducing barriers to entry (which age restrictions on vehicles does) you are restricting the total maximum of drivers available to work in the trade.

When that happens applications dwindle due to the higher costs of getting on the road.

Licensed driver numbers either stays at the same rate when the restrictions come in place or increase very slightly from fewer applications.

Numbers may even significantly reduce in some areas where there are restrictions when licensed drivers vehicles come to 10 years old and decide to not renew.

When that happens the councils will see the errors in their ways (due to lack of revenue and public concern) and remove the restrictions.