7th December 2022
Can’t get a taxi? No wheelchair taxis available when you need one? Paying too much for your taxi at peak times?
Here are the reasons why.Two years ago, on 9th December 2020, representatives from the taxi industry presented to the Committee for Infrastructure seeking support for the sector, and changes to the way it is regulated. As part of our presentation, we gave the following warning
"If our efforts for support are unsuccessful, what happens next? Well as we have already said some depots have already closed, others are close (to closing) and some have delayed further redundancies in the hope that things will improve but now there is little positivity in the sector for the future.
Services will be curtailed, sponsorship in local communities cut, charitable activity culled. Fewer taxis to welcome tourists when the market returns, more pressure on our health service to provide secondary services.
Who provides transport for wheelchair users and passengers with sight difficulties and guide dogs? Who services rural areas that other transport operators cannot? One commentator on social media even went as far as to suggest an increase in drink driving when there’s no one to get you home after the pub.”
“Not supporting the operators will lead to a rise in unregulated taxis and the many associated issues which we hoped had been left in the past. They will not contribute and invest in our communities. It may ultimately mean than when we have a return to normality in society there may not be a taxi sector to return to.”Unfortunately, due to inaction and intransigence on the part of the Department for Infrastructure, and successive Ministers for Infrastructure, we have been proved right. In the two years since this warning was made.
So why does this matter?
There are simply now too few taxis / taxi drivers to meet passenger demand across Northern Ireland especially during anti-social hours at evenings and weekends, and the industry is finding it difficult to recruit more because of the licence testing regime despite high levels of interest.
This results in passengers being unable to book, delays for passengers who have booked, and a free for all for those passengers trying to hail taxis at peak times with the price bartering that occurs when taxis are in such short supply
Most taxi drivers are self-employed in Northern Ireland and many of them, like the rest of society, have looked at their work life balance during the Pandemic. Drivers have decided it is not worth their while driving the extra hours especially evenings and weekends on the current DFI fare structure when there are additional challenges for working these hours.So how do we fix this?
As an industry, our proposals to the Department are consistent and well documented
Operators have been working with the DVA (who are the agency responsible for enforcement of taxi regulations) to increase enforcement activity to reduce illegal pickups from the street and price haggling. Current legislation allows taxi drivers to pick up off the street at certain times of the week (Friday and Saturday nights) This means that companies can be left with fewer drivers for pre booked jobs for loyal customers during these periods. The ability to flag a taxi down during these hours also leads to customers bidding higher amounts than the metered fare to “jump the queue” and this encourages higher prices and bartering.
It is a challenging task for the DVA to enforce legislation in these circumstances as it can be difficult to identify which drivers are collecting a customer legally and which are not.
When will this improve?
The taxi industry is doing everything it can to address these issues, particularly in bringing more drivers into the sector. We have responded to the DFI fare consultation with our proposals and we continue to engage with the DVA on driver enforcement. Operators are continually recruiting for more drivers and there is no lack of interest in the roles, rather a DFI blockage in getting new drivers through the licencing process.
Taxi operators have a business model where their income increases when the number of drivers they have increases – In other words it is in our interest to have more drivers and address these problems, but there is only so much we can do within the current legislation and in the absence of an Assembly.
Unfortunately, until we have an Infrastructure Minister in post, and one who is prepared to address these chronic problems, nothing will happen quickly, if at all If you are struggling to get a taxi this Christmas think of the reasons and warnings from the industry and remember who, and what has caused this and their ongoing unwillingness and inability to fix it.
What can Passengers do to make getting a taxi easier?
Passengers can improve their chances of getting a taxi and help other passengers improve theirs with a few small actions.
As taxi operators we would like to thank you for your business and your continuing support throughout the pandemic. As an industry, we are conscious that our service to you recently hasn’t been as good as what you might have been used to with us and is certainly not of the standard that we want to deliver to you – for this, we would like to apologise. The reason for this is that there are not enough drivers still working to meet demand.
The pandemic has had a "once in a lifetime" effect on the taxi industry, not just here in NI, but in the rest of Ireland, the United Kingdom and beyond. Many drivers have left the industry never to return and as the economy reopens and we slowly return to normality, this has meant that the demand for taxis often exceeds supply, especially at evening and weekend times.
We estimate that the taxi industry has lost around 10,000 drivers since 2013, with as many as 3,000 in the last year alone. In that same period less than 1500 new drivers have entered the industry. This is for many reasons which include the costs of becoming a driver, taxi insurance and car costs but the main reasons are because of the complexity of the theory tests that an applicant must pass to become a driver. Taxi drivers are self-employed, and we also need to make sure that it is worthwhile for drivers to work anti-social hours.
We have lobbied government for a temporary relaxation in the requirements to become a driver. This is not deregulation – we have asked that new drivers meet the standards that were required in 2014 immediately before the introduction of theory testing. This would mean that drivers would need to have a full driving licence, appropriate experience, to pass a medical and an enhanced Access NI test (vetting) – In other words, what 85% of drivers working today qualified with.
Not having a well-resourced taxi industry has implications for the regrowth of our economy, hospitality and tourism, and industry leaders from across these sectors fully support our aims in trying to get more new drivers. Our attempts, and the efforts of those that support us have however fallen on deaf ears with the Minister responsible for taxi legislation, Nichola Mallon offering nothing meaningful to address these serious issues.
Unfortunately, as the weather worsens and the nights get darker the demand for taxis increases – this means that unless the Minister changes her position, the driver shortage will continue through the winter months and availability of taxis and their promptness will still be a problem. We have warned the Minister and her department of the implications for Christmas party goers and shoppers and the knock on effect on hospitality – you may choose to not go out at all if it’s too difficult to get home. We don’t want to see an increase in drink driving, problems because streets can’t be cleared of revellers, or an increase in problems when young men and woman accept "lifts" from unvetted, uninsured members of the public, but we have warned that these may be a consequence of the Minister and the department not addressing the driver shortage correctly.If you think that the current availability of taxis is an issue and would like to help lobby the Minister for the changes to allow more drivers into the industry and improve services as a result, we would be grateful if you would email the Minister.
Thank you