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Yellow
taxis for Emerald Isle?
(4/8/2004)
Ireland's
new taxi regulator may herald an
all-yellow cab fleet, while a year-long
crackdown in Northern Ireland nets
hundreds.
All
taxis in Ireland should be New York-yellow and have talking meters within
three years according to a strategy
document compiled by an alliance of six
disability groups. The study also
called for one in five of all taxis to be
wheelchair accessible, with concessions
available for disabled users.
The
study also noted that the percentage of
accessible taxis had halved since
numbers were deregulated four years ago,
and said that a central GPS booking
system for all taxi companies was needed
to combat the unwillingness of some
drivers to service the disabled
community, with sanctions available for
non-compliance.
A
colour code was part of the original
remit for Ireland's taxi regulator, and
yellow is the the colour most easily
recognised by the visually
impaired. Welcoming the document
'Towards an Accessible Taxi Service for
All', Transport Minister Seamus Brennan
said: "I've always been a strong
supporter of a single colour
nationally. If I needed another
reason I've got it today. They
recommend a bright yellow. I think
that's a really good idea."
But
Vinny Kearns, vice-president of the
National Taxi Drivers' Union, claimed
that the writers of the report had not
consulted the industry, and he
predicted that it would 'gather dust'
and not be implemented.
Mr
Kearns said that the issue was close to
his heart since he had had problems with
his father, and said that he had called
on the Irish Wheelchair Association to
train taxi drivers in 1991 when
wheelchair accessible licenses were
first issued, but this had never
happened.
He
also said that it would cost each owner
5,000 euros to have their cars resprayed,
and doubted that funds would be available
to implement the report and sufficiently
subsidise those dependent on taxis.
But
Mr Brennan said that finance would be
made available, and he added that the
document was 'the most exciting report'
he had seen regarding accessible
taxis. He also said that the views
of the trade would be taken into
account, but could not be a 'blockage'.
Green
party spokesman Eamon Ryan claimed that
the report lacked ambition in relation
to the proportion of accessible taxis,
and called on disability groups to be
more ambitious.
Tsar
Meanwhile, Mr Gerard Deering, a departmental
director with Carlow County Council, has
been appointed Ireland's new national
taxi regulator, and will take office in
September.
Transport
Minister Brennan said that Mr Deering
would be armed with the Act and the
National Taxi Council chaired by a
former Garda Commissioner.
Among
Mr Deering's responsibilities will be
the setting of standards for vehicles
and drivers, including age, size and a
national uniform colour for taxis, and a
high standard of knowledge and a dress
code for drivers.
Mr
Brennan said that he wanted to encourage
a 'cab culture' that existed in cities
like London and New York, and wanted to
see the day when everyone could walk
onto the street and hail a taxi.
Mr
Brennan also announced that individuals
with criminal records would be not be
allowed to drive taxis, and he hoped the
ban would be in place by the time his
ministerial powers were transferred to
Mr Deering.
But
the NTDU's Mr Kearns said that it would
be unfair to retrospectively ban drivers
with past convictions, although he
welcomed the move to prevent unsuitable
new drivers from entering the trade.
He
claimed that some drivers had convictions
for IRA membership and illegal
possession of guns, and he argued that
to ban these drivers would be contrary
to the Belfast Agreement. He also
said that he knew drivers with
30-year-old assault convictions who had
been told that their licenses would not
be renewed under the proposed
legislation.
But
the Department of Transport said that the
delay surrounding the passing of the new
legislation was to prevent this
situation arising. It said that
those currently refused a license could
apply to the courts on the basis that
they had repayed their debt to society,
and this provision will be included in
the new Act.
Complaints
It is hoped that the new taxi
regulator will tackle a enviroment of
ever increasing complaints against taxi
drivers.
An
informal Irish Times survey
revealed a litany of complaints against
the trade. One woman complained
that she recently got into a cab where
the driver was steering with one hand
and eating a kebab with the other.
Another said that on asking for her
change the driver 'roared abuse and
threatened me'.
Others
complained of smoking drivers or a smell
of smoke in the car, with complaints met
with intimidation.
Another
complained of a 'clapped out, smelly
taxi' driven at high speed by a driver
who claimed that he couldn't drop below
third gear. At the end of the
journey a complaint made the driver
abusive, and he shouted 'I know where
you live'.
Overcharging
tops the list of complaints, despite he
introduction of electronic receipt
machines, with many drivers simply not
issuing them.
Northern
Ireland crackdown
Meanwhile, a year-long operation
including the checking of 3,400 taxis
has uncovered hundreds of illegal taxis
in Northern Ireland.
A
five-strong Taxi Enforcement Team was
set up by the Driver & Vehicle
Testing Agency to tackle a problem that
officials described as having reached an
'epidemic level'. The
move was funded by an additional £20
levy on legitimate drivers.
The
probe led to:
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372 reported for prosecution for
operating illegally;
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252 unlicensed drivers uncovered;
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344 uninsured taxis;
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163 siezures of radio equipment on
evidential grounds.
One
driver plead guilty to three separate
offences including operating without a
taxi driver's license or insurance.
Gerard
McKenna of Belfast was spotted in his
Vauxhall Astra and a concealed two-way
radio was found.
He
was fined £1,500 and given a two-year
driving ban at Belfast Magistrates
Court.
Team
member Stephen Spratt said that hundreds
of other prosecutions would follow but
he added that many offenders used their
radios to warn each other about
enforcement operations.
But
he urged the public not to used
unlicensed operators as many had
criminal records or suffered ill health.
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