Flaming taxi drivers holding the city to ransom Ggrrrrr...

Spook_ie

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

welcome to the free market economy lads. For years I had to walk all the way to Fairview or so to get a taxi on a Friday/Saturday night, doesn't happen in any other capital I've been to. Only since I came back to Dublin in April after a few years away I can get one when the bars shut, and it's great and about time.
Why don't some of you cut your prices if you think you're not getting enough fares? You already charge outrageous prices as is. Charge less than the others and make it known on your car and I'll make sure I get in your cab.

But that's the point you wouldn't, you'd just get into whichever taxi came along 1st. So don't talk rubbish.

Zoobie

I used to have sympathy for the taxi drivers, but things like this are just unbelievable. I wouldn't mind them striking, with fair notice like pretty much everyone else does. But bringing the city to a halt at their whim doesn't inspire support from the general public.

When will people learn that holding the country to ransom isn't a reasonable negotiating tactic and harms their cause more than furthers it?

Spook_ie

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

so what you want driving listed as a bloody skill? you need more brains to work behind a till to be honest.

Hate to meet you on the road then, wonder how many accidents you've been in or contributed towards seeing as you don't use your brain on the road?

starbelgrade

Spook_ie wrote: »

But that's the point you wouldn't, you'd just get into whichever taxi came along 1st. So don't talk rubbish.

You're saying that people wouldn't wait a few extra minutes to save a few quid? Now that IS rubbish. Not everyone would wait, but I for one, would.

BraziliaNZ

Spook_ie wrote: »

But that's the point you wouldn't, you'd just get into whichever taxi came along 1st. So don't talk rubbish.

you're saying no one weighs up prices when spending money?

Zoobie

Spook_ie wrote: »

But that's the point you wouldn't, you'd just get into whichever taxi came along 1st. So don't talk rubbish.

I know lots of people who only use a particular taxi company (20% discount) for exactly the reason BraziliaNZ suggested. He's not talking rubbish, everyone wants to pay less and most people will inconvenience themselves to get it (e.g. wait longer for a taxi).

ballsymchugh

complaining about conditions within the industry?? how about some new pine air fresheners then!

starbelgrade

Spook_ie wrote: »

Hate to meet you on the road then, wonder how many accidents you've been in or contributed towards seeing as you don't use your brain on the road?

Driving a car is not rocket science.

Spook_ie

Rojomcdojo wrote: »

Nobodies forcing him to be a taxi driver.

You see people will never get behind the drivers. Why? Because they want more money at OUR expense. They want us to be waiting around all night so that they can have guaranteed fares.

Even if fares were halved overnight I'd still think they were too expensive. It's about a mile or two to my house from town. On my own this normally costs 12 euro. It's a joke. And its the REAL reason why people are taking less and less taxis.

So use the nitelink and walk from the bus stop or else pay for a DOOR 2 DOOR service

BraziliaNZ

Spook_ie wrote: »

So use the nitelink and walk from the bus stop or else pay for a DOOR 2 DOOR service

funny thing is i used to use the nightlink before you could get taxis on saturday nights, since they've become available I use taxis!!!

rubadub

blahblah06 wrote: »

Rubadub that's quite funny. Sure all the taxi drivers would have no bother getting a job like the thousands of other people unemployed.

Exactly my point, why should they be treated any differently and have protection?

phasers wrote: »

"Just get another job" is hardly helpful now, is it? Jobs aren't exactly easy to come by nowadays, and people can't just live on €0. Retraining usually isn't an option either because again men (And women, sorry) have children to support.

I am saying they should have to endure competition just like any other workers do. I never said getting another job would be easy, I am saying if an industry becomes a bad option to work in then you must do the sensible thing, like anybody has to do.

The fact is taxi driving is a low skill job requiring little training, similar to window cleaning or contract cleaning. I know a woman working in contract cleaning, like the taxi industry they have seen a large influx of foreign workers willing to work in their industry, it is a low skill job with little language skill required. Its all supply & demand I am sure people who have been contract cleaning for years have seen increased competition. You do NOT see them blockading the main street in the country in their cars.

If taxiing is such a bad career option then why so many new drivers? It should find its own natural levelling off with supply & demand, just like cleaners.

blahblah06 wrote: »

that's the point we want those barriers raised to help with our livelyhooc and service provided

By increasing taxi numbers I have had much better service, I can easily get a taxi compared to before deregulation. If you are talking about ignorant drivers then you should be asking for stricter tests, and reoccurring tests, and have drivers stripped of their licences. But I doubt they would ask for that, there would probably be more strikes.

Spook_ie

starbelgrade wrote: »

You're saying that people wouldn't wait a few extra minutes to save a few quid? Now that IS rubbish. Not everyone would wait, but I for one, would.

Believe me you wouldn't wait, I'll tell you what, next time you go out send me a pm with your phone number and I'll ring you we''ll see how long you'd wait!

jahalpin

I was trying to get home from work when these idiots decided to block all the buses from going down O'Connell Street during rush hour.

The police were just standing there watching the whole thing, at one stage a Dublin Bus inspector went over to talk to the protesters and I honestly thought that they were going to kill him.

I listened to some of what the protesters were shouting and ,to be honest, they were talking absolute rubbish.

As for the taxi drivers complaining about part-timers, most businesses use part-time workers during peak times so that a good service can be provided for all users.

After witnessing the behaviour of some of the protesters today, I think that it's probably time that taxi drivers were subject to stricter vetting before they are allowed out on the streets

PS: I hadn't quite made up my mind which way to vote tomorrow, but considering that idiots like these want a no vote, I'll definitely be voting yes

Spook_ie

Spook_ie wrote: »

So use the nitelink and walk from the bus stop or else pay for a DOOR 2 DOOR service

Sadly nightlinks are few and far between these days. And I normally jump out about 3 mins down the road from my house cause that's an even tenner in a taxi :rolleyes: The bus drops me far closer.

ElBarco

Spook_ie wrote: »

Believe me you wouldn't wait, I'll tell you what, next time you go out send me a pm with your phone number and I'll ring you we''ll see how long you'd wait!

In my opinon it's the people who ring and request a taxi the discount operators are shooting for. I mean the people who need to get from a to b during the day. Surely these people will be happy to ring the people who'll do it for the least cost. I'd imagine the more people do this the more drivers will start working with them.

However, all these points aside I dont think the drivers have won any support (or attention from the powers that be) by holding the city to ransom.

blahblah06

Rubadub I think u will find there I'd already a new test system in place

Zulu

Dispicable actions today. I really don't understand why the Guards wouldn't just arrest them.

For shame Taxi drivers. For shame.

I only hope more and more drivers take up part-time taxi driving - you deserve a lot worse than fair competition.

EU RULES

the taxi industry should be reformed in that cross the board tests for anyone in the trade, inspection of appearence(casual is ok but some taxi men are filthy) and cars.

basic english skills a requirement as well.

there should be no limit on taxis however.

john-joe

jahalpin wrote: »

I was trying to get home from work when these idiots decided to block all the buses from going down O'Connell Street during rush hour.

The police were just standing there watching the whole thing, at one stage a Dublin Bus inspector went over to talk to the protesters and I honestly thought that they were going to kill him.

I listened to some of what the protesters were shouting and ,to be honest, they were talking absolute rubbish.

As for the taxi drivers complaining about part-timers, most businesses use part-time workers during peak times so that a good service can be provided for all users.

After witnessing the behaviour of some of the protesters today, I think that it's probably time that taxi drivers were subject to stricter vetting before they are allowed out on the streets

PS: I hadn't quite made up my mind which way to vote tomorrow, but considering that idiots like these want a no vote, I'll definitely be voting yes

I agree with your points above, all except the voting part, you should not vote YES because of taxi men! Vote on the issues raised in the lisbon treaty itself. :eek:

Anyway I doubt any of them will be voting as they will be blocking the streets tomorrow :rolleyes:

JJ

triple-M

taxi drivers are really on thin ice ,hopefully the public will stand upto their bully tactics and counter attack,

starbelgrade

rubadub wrote: »

If you are talking about ignorant drivers then you should be asking for stricter tests, and reoccurring tests, and have drivers stripped of their licences. But I doubt they would ask for that, there would probably be more strikes.

There is a great sense that taxi drivers want it both ways - cap the number of new entries, but leave the existing ones to carry on as they have been for years.

Nearly every business is cutting back on expenditure & reducing prices for their goods / services or finding new ways to tap into the consumer market.

Almost every industry is suffering these days - a lot of businesses are closing, people are losing jobs. Demand for many things has dropped & there are many casualties. That's life.

I don't see anyone else however, campaigning the government for a form of protectionism as taxi drivers are. You can't have it both ways. You need to drop your prices, work harder, provide a better service & market more effectively or your jobs will go to the wall.

No point in sitting around whinging about it & asking the government to save you.

nehpets5555

I gotta say, I have sympathy toward the taximen. Normally i wouldnt agree with the way this protest was handled. However, They have done 'legal' protests numerous times and its fallen on deaf ears. I agree with BlahBlah

I think there should be;
- A new harder test ( i believe its been implemented?)
- Random spot checks on cars to ensure quality- taximans dressed appropriatly, cars clean, they dont take the scenic route,not smoking etc)
-They should be made resit tests every year or 2 to renew the licenese.
- Some other method of ID should be created to stop car sharing.

Quality Control essesntially. and possibly a new tarrif method?

Basically a total reformation of the industry.

They should begin immediate resitting of tougher tests, and weed out the assholes whos dont know where to go.

starbelgrade

At one stage in the protest today, a load of taximen stormed into the GPO - what were they at? Trying to re-enact the Easter Rising?

john-joe

nehpets5555 wrote: »

I gotta say, I have sympathy toward the taximen. Normally i wouldnt agree with the way this protest was handled. However, They have done 'legal' protests numerous times and its fallen on deaf ears. I agree with BlahBlah

I think there should be;
- A new harder test ( i believe its been implemented?)
- Random spot checks on cars to ensure quality- taximans dressed appropriatly, cars clean, they dont take the scenic route,not smoking etc)
-They should be made resit tests every year or 2 to renew the licenese.
- Some other method of ID should be created to stop car sharing.

Quality Control essesntially. and possibly a new tarrif method?

Basically a total reformation of the industry.

They should begin immediate resitting of tougher tests, and weed out the assholes whos dont know where to go.

I'm sure there is plenty of people on the dole who would adhere to the above requirements and would be happy to be out earning a living no matter how 'difficult' the job is, I think taximen forget that members of the public pay there wages and therefore protests like today (if you can call it that) will not do anything to win public sympathy.:mad:

Why not pick a day to protest every week outside the 'Dail Eireann' for a month, maybe if they behaved in a mature professional manner, members of the public and goverment might be willing to listen.

JJ

rubadub

blahblah06 wrote: »

Rubadub I think u will find there I'd already a new test system in place

Right, so will you no longer be saying this...

blahblah06 wrote: »

Ive no prob in new drivers coming into the business once there full time and genuine drivers. Lets be honest these part timers havent a breeze were there going most of the time

Because if this new test system still allows "ungenuine" drivers then like I said, -you should be protesting for stricter tests.

I still would like to hear your, or anybodies reply to

rubadub wrote: »

So you do not want any people having 2 jobs? Or is it just 2 jobs where one is in your industry. Are there any other jobs you think people should be forced into full time employment in? Or ones they should not be allowed to part time? Window cleaning perhaps, or general contract cleaning.

john-joe

starbelgrade wrote: »

At one stage in the protest today, a load of taximen stormed into the GPO - what were they at? Trying to re-enact the Easter Rising?

I was thinking the exact same thing!:)

What a stupid thing to do.:mad:

They are 93 years too late......

JJ

projectmayhem

I didn't realise this was going on until this evening when I wanted to get a bus into town for college (from northside to Kevin St.). When buses weren't coming in their usual formation I had to consult twitter for the reasons.

...then I had to get a lift as far in as possible and walk from constitution hill up. However, on the way, the radio said the protest was on since 8AM... if so, why the hell was this allowed? Everyone has a right to protest, but if a crowd of any other group held the cities main streets to randsome for an entire working day, the Gards would be fairly swift in clearing it out.

Who do these scumbags think they are? Walking up I really wished one of these anarchist types would have gone smashing up taxi cab windows. Never again will I use their "service".

€4 to get into a taxi with some smelly moron who doesn't really know where he's driving, and that's before he moves an inch? It cost me $10 to go from one end of Manhattan to the other in a taxi in June...

I would seriously urge the public to stop using taxi's where possible. Get a bus, use a bike, etc. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw some people sitting in the traffic taxi drivers had caused, in taxi's.

Apparently they'll be at it again tomorrow at the east link. So far everyone I've spoken to are livid about these tossers. With a bit of luck the public backlash will be so severe that they can't go on this kind of rampage again.

cmsp.plumber

i hate taxi-men they stop, pull in where ever they want and hold up traffic. most are brutal drivers. but 2day took the biscuit. moaning about no work and 2 many in the industry. you dont see plumbers, electricans, chippies, butchers, brickies, architects etc etc holding up the city because they're short of work and theres 2 many in their industry, which in my opinion the plumbing/heating game there is cos many got let and set up they're own company, im working at the moment thank God. but we just get on with it. fat smelly taxi-men go home and hold up your own town/city

DunLigger

I was walking past O'Connell Bridge this evening - about 60 taxi drivers protesting who as a group formed an intimidating cohort, sending signals that they weren't backing down easily.

It seemed wrong that such a small group, in carrying out an unapproved protest, could inflict such long delays on so many getting home. While the right to protest is vitally important to our democracy, the protest should be arranged such that it is public and by its sheer size, garners the necessary attention - just like teachers, pensioners protest. It shouldn't be abused by continual protests designed to inflict maximise disruption to the lives of Dublin's citizens.

Furthermore the fact that taxi drivers drive cars shouldn't give them a right to block the roads. Do teachers park their cars at the airport roundabout or on O'Connell bridge. If taxi drivers wish to protest they should (a) withdraw their service and/or (b) organise a large March on an agreed date (and not every week/month). Anything other than that will serve to be counter-productive to their efforts to garner public sympathy.

I would have loved to see the Garda trucks tow away the taxi and to see the protesters be coraled onto the footpath out of the way, however I can see why the Gardai made a judgement call not to do so. As things stand the taxi drivers look like the main muppets in the episode. Most ire is directed towards them. The lack of Garda intervention is irksome but they will not be cast as the villains. If they had taken action there would have been plenty photos of Taxi Drivers being dragged out of their cars or being hauled onto footpaths with Gardai brandishing batons. Their were plenty of media photographers about waiting for such a photo-op. The next day taxi drivers would have said that the Gardai were heavy handed...that they were just trying to protect their jobs, feed their children and put shoes on their feet...and this is what they get, a baton in the face. There were enough taxi drivers who didn't exactly look like the quiet retiring types. It would have taken over 100 guards to sort it out, so their would have been plenty of photo opportunities which these taxi drivers would have relished. So while it's very annoying and frustrating that the Gardai sit back and do nothing, I can see why they made that judgement call.

The underlying issue, as has already been mentioned, is that it is an relatively unskilled job. Other unskilled jobs throughout the economy have seen increased unemployment and lower wage rates - labourers in the construction industry know all about this.

Where the taxi industry is different is that it is regulated - and has to be. For example fares have to be fixed, and there needs to be a registration process - both for the protection of customers. However where price is fixed then the supply and demand for taxis does not fall into its natural equilibrium at a market rate. So where taxi fares are over-priced then there will be an over-supply of taxis - where essentially the only benefit we get for extra price we pay is an abundance of taxis.

Before the celtic tiger became the kitten it is we had a situation where prices were too high and their was a surplus of taxis. Now with deflation this has been exacerbated.

Where before deregulation taxi income was propped by barriers to entry (€80,000 taxi plates) - the writing was on the wall once deregulation came in. The essential skill involved is the ability to drive and read. Pretty much anyone over 18 can do it. Rules of the road and learning routes are not onerous and shouldn't take too long to learn. With low barrier to entry the income levels were bound to drop. However the fact that it coincided with the tiger years masked what was going on, as demand increased due to increasing disposable income among citizens. Now that the economy has tanked the real market value of the unskilled job has been exposed.

I think that an economist (I'm not one!) would probably recommend that, where fares are above market as they patently are, the taxi fares be reduced - not that it would increase individual incomes by much (although it should increase them marginally) but rather that it would create more business for the taxi drivers that are there. So if taxi drivers really had their colleagues interests at heart they would look for a reduction in fares - a ballsy move that they will never make.

I do have sympathy for taxi drivers, as I do for others who have lost their jobs or are struggling - but the sympathy starts to dissipate when as a group they hijack the city in the way they did this evening.

starbelgrade

The thing that really gets my goat, is that there is f*ck all competition in the taxi industry - they are ripping us off hand over fist when we have to use them & then they can't figure out why they can't get enough punters to make a living.

And then they've the bare-faced cheek to ask the government to solve their woes, when the OBVIOUS solution is DROP YOUR PRICES.

I live in a village outside Sligo town. A fare into town can cost anything from €30-40. I only get the €30 price if I ring up & negotiate a price. So that's €60-80 on top of the over-priced, five euro pints.

So mostly I drink in the local in the village (and the pints are €3.60).

Now I drive in & out of Sligo town every day to my office - I spend €25 a week on petrol. If I were to charge myself the equivalent of a taxi fare for those trips, it would cost me €300-400.

If the taxis were to half their prices, I'd be out in the town a lot more often - the same way that if the pubs dropped their prices, they'd be a lot busier.

It's simple economics.