Taxi Driver Online

Just after Xmas I had one of the new bread of Dublin Taxi owner/drivers in my cab. He plated a cheap saloon and went about his business of plying for hire. His vehicle was old and small but as far as he and the licensing authority was concerned it did the job. Its common knowledge that the courts forced the Irish Government to de restrict numbers but because it was an enforcement they couldn't plan a policy that would bring a better quality of vehicle and driver to the streets of Dublin.

Has it ever occurred to anyone the similarity between Dublin and Liverpool? In the 70's Liverpool lifted numbers control and they went from 300 cabs to just over 1400. Sound familiar?

Now what would have happened if Dublin had introduced a policy of quality control and Liverpool done likewise? Liverpool like Dublin didn't have any quality control whatsoever, that's why they have 1417 cabs on the road today. Liverpool is renowned for having more sheds than B&Q and Dublin likewise.

What we see now is Dublin trying to retrieve a situation which never should have occurred. If the Government adhered to the law instead of placating to the whims of plate holders, there wouldn't be the fiasco that troubles Dublin today. The same applies to Liverpool. The sheds of yesterday have become the sheds of today.

Councils who are lifting numbers control today are considering what's best for them and are averting the past mistakes of the Liverpool's and the Dublin's.

Time will show that Liverpool and Dublin got it wrong and those councils that planned de restriction, got it right.

Regards

JD

Bang on John, but of course the root of the problem is that it's easier for LAs to implement quantity rather than quality control, because the former is usually welcomed, whereas the latter is usually unwelcome.

So the vested interests and cowboys win, but the public and later drivers who would like a plate lose out.

_________________
Taxi Driver Online
www.taxi-driver.co.uk

You are wrong ,there are quality controls in liverpool, trouble is there so irelevant a H reg fairway ,thats been double shifted can pass. No cab over 8 years, should even be on the road . Let alone 15 years old . Liverpool council, used to test taxis its self , but the taxi owners, did not like this, because it knocked, back a few . So a bit of pressure, the council wet them selves . The council give in. Result owners test them . The street knowlege test has got so easy , it takes a couple of weeks to pass . All to keep the owners happy . Not the poor customer, who is paying twice as much as a ph . Not the driver he is fighting for every crumb . Who will never be able, to afford 50000 pounds , to buy his own taxi . Liverpool council ,have got it so wrong .