Taximen Protest Wed 28th Oct 2026

[John m]

Be it Irish or Immigrant I dont give a fuck about any other taxi driver .I run my Business .Lads who couldnt wait to label up becoming ambassadors grabbing all the fares they could spreading the Apps diminishing MY street work now getting shit on I dont care about any of them just like they didnt care about me .Now the quicker UBER Free Now all the Apps charge 40 or 50 % Commission the sooner the men will drop them .No apps more street work then I compete on an even Pitch .At present Im forced into using an app because the street work is not there .There use to be men on here boasting about how many jobs they were covering and how much they were making .They are gone very quiet .

[Rat Catcher]

Street work isn't making a recovery any time soon. The apps have expanded the private hire market and that is the only sector that will see significant expansion going forward. For taxi drivers, having access to work anywhere in the 26 counties (32 when our law chuckys) is a huge advantage. Gone are the days when we had to drive back to the area(s) in which we are licensed to ply or sand for hire, gone are the days when we had to drive back to the area(s) served by the depot (if any) to which we subscribed. For riders, having access to taxis on demand on systems that can process hundreds of jobs simultaneously is a game changer and a game changer that results in them using more taxis, albeit on a private hire basis. Remember when a bus broke down 20 years ago and the entire queue at three or four bus stops would migrate to the hackney depot to queue for non-existent hackneys or taxis that covered hackney fares... not any more, they just whip their clever phones out and with a couple of taps of their clever fingers they have a cab on demand. There's no doubt that the apps have revolutionised the trade and that's not going to be reversed regardless of how many reduced rate fixed fares you cover for Uber up above in Dublin.

The real problem is that we have very few private hire vehicles on account of entry liberalisation back in 1999 but you should bear in mind that the current temporary moratorium on the issue of saloon hackney licences is, in fact, a temporary moratorium. Again, we're getting very technical here but temporary means it can be lifted at any time.

[watty]

Uber has years of experience in America of manipulating their drivers psychologically.  They're doing similar with us.  And we've all seen the same fare start at, say, a tenner, then €12, then €14 until someone takes it.  They've automated how to maximise their profits and minimise ours.  They have data from millions of fares and probably know exactly, to the cent, how little we're prepared to take.

Secondly, it's stupid and counterproductive to be complaining about maximum fares because (a) nobody cares about you / us and (b) we all look for discounts when we food shop or buy white goods etc.  You can't take your food discounts on the Sat shop and then turn up on a Wed complaining about discounts in your taxi...  The public will just shake their heads if you're got Uber/Lyft stickers on your taxi and Lidl bags in the boot.

[John m]

Ah the Penny is Dropping .Those taxi men objecting to poor RIDERS being unable to access AFFORDABLE fares as dispatched by UBER .Watch this protest for branded vehicles lads protesting against the people who they are advertising for reward .I would estimate most BRANDED UBER drivers can offset the fixed fares by the wages they recieve for branding .Slow Drive Protest will be a Mobile APP Billboard .You couldnt create this level of stupit with LSD .

[John m]

Uber has years of experience in America of manipulating their drivers psychologically.  They're doing similar with us.  And we've all seen the same fare start at, say, a tenner, then €12, then €14 until someone takes it.  They've automated how to maximise their profits and minimise ours.  They have data from millions of fares and probably know exactly, to the cent, how little we're prepared to take.

Secondly, it's stupid and counterproductive to be complaining about maximum fares because (a) nobody cares about you / us and (b) we all look for discounts when we food shop or buy white goods etc.  You can't take your food discounts on the Sat shop and then turn up on a Wed complaining about discounts in your taxi...  The public will just shake their heads if you're got Uber/Lyft stickers on your taxi and Lidl bags in the boot.

They have a bot offers the job in rotation if you take 10er jobs they will offer them to you and them only .If you only cover airport work the Bot will offer the job to the lad who gives biggest discounts Do DAP to bray once for 50 you will never see anything better .

[John m]

Only Competition I have seen in the Industry over the last 3 years is area 18 to add competition to existing drivers who work there .Lads willing to pay to wait for high comission reduced rated work .

[mercenary for hire]

I think yis should all follow my lead and work a bit harder with less complaining...

[Rat Catcher]

We know that and the men protesting know that, Watty. The issue isn't the fare as far as I'm concerned. Regulation sets the maximum rate as the rate calculated by the Dublin centric taximeter unless the rider waives his right to have his fare calculated by the Dublin centric taximeter. The problems are brought about by the anti-competitive nature of market manipulation techniques employed by the multinationals. NTA has a duty to promote competition. Allowing the multinationals monopolise the market is a dereliction of that duty, plain and simple. In reality, what NTA ought to be most concerned about is Uber requiring riders to waive their right to have the fare calculated by the Dublin centric taximeter.

You have to appreciate that the men orgainising the protest are mobilising taxi drivers. There's no point explaining the intricacies of legislation but they all know there's never going to be a law or regulation written that says "Uber may not..." or "Uber may..." However, simplifying the men's concerns into a personalised campaign against a particular organisation serves to demonstrate where regulation might need amendment given advances in technology. As you and others have noted the men protesting aren't going to win the hearts and minds of the traveling public by getting in front of microphones recounting anecdotes of Uber wanting them to do a 45 minute fare for €100... on a bleedin' Sunday... they tink we're bleedin' slaves anall... but it might serve to promote a wider debate on how fit for purpose current regulation of the market is given the aforementioned advances in technology.

[John m]

Rodent the Issue has always been City Centric .You remember the O Connell Barricade .Lads from Dublin and ..and ..and think there was one lad from down the country .Most rural taxis never used the meter it was fixed fares but with the cost of new meters recalibration lads thought ah sure why not .The Licencing in Country Wide but lads in Dublin only see it from their perspective .So unless the Taxi thingey issue a Dublin Only Dispatch licence with restrictions .the lowest common denominator will apply .No Rural TD will support the abolition of fixed fares or charging less than the Maximum taxi Fare Allowable . Imagine this as a Tug of War the few Leftie loonies that support dont hug your granny adverts and taxi drivers against rural TDs .There will be no beneficial change to taxi drivers and no impediment to RIDERS getting best fares .I always reckoned never ask a question if you do not already know the answer .If you ask a question it should only be to get your answer confirmed .?

[Rat Catcher]

We know NTA have a statutory duty to promote competition. Facilitating market manipulation is anti-competitive, it's as simple as that!

Rural TDs are irrelevant. NTA employs (not directly) clever people with expertise in how markets work. They're never going to do anything that would prove detrimental to the trade in totality. The maximum fare is a maximum for a reason.

[John m]

We no NTA have a statutory duty to promote competition. Facilitating market manipulation is anti-competitive, it's as simple as that!

Who is manipulating the market ,you or I can get a Dispatchers Licence ?If like Pre Dereg Dispatchers Licences were limited then the market could be manipulated .Leading the Market may look like manipulation but its also seen as Competition .

[Rat Catcher]

Uber is manipulating the market. You, I or anyone else could, indeed, do the same if we had billions of euros to subsidise taxi fares and bribe the authorities to let us. The fact is I don't have billions of euros and neither do the taxi and hackney firms that have been serving their communities all over the country for many years. It's not (fair) competition. Once the market is monopolised the subsidies are withdrawn and the end result is an anti-competitive Monopoly or Duopoly. As noted, I understand that's all very technical and well beyond the scope of our discussions.

DO licences didn't exist pre-dreg.

[John m]

i know DO licences did not exist the Point I failed to Make is DO licences are not limited as Taxi licences were .Thank you for the correction .A Duopoly is competition a Monopoly is non Competitive !

[Rat Catcher]

By definition a Dupoly carries a high risk of being anti-competitive. In our trade that has proved to be the case where either Uber and Lyft or Uber and Bolt have formed Duopolies and that is what NTA and it's contracted experts ought to understand. Like I said it's not something I expect you to understand but the men protesting have seen and can see how those duopolies have played out in other jurisdictions. We are lucky to have a regulatory framework that is supposed to promote competition and obviously needs to review how appropriate current regulation of licensed dispatch operators is given advances in technology.

Your concluding that Uber will increase the fares it pays you when you force the immigrants back where they came from is pure lunacy. The portion of the fare Uber gives you is never going to increase. The men protesting can see that, you can't.

[watty]

Instead of complaining about awful Uber is treating us, we should reframe it so the NTA have something to work with.  If the fares drop too low, this could comprimise the safety and ccomfort of the travelling public.  If the fares are too low, we could go back to the days of driving bangers (albeit 10 yrs old) instead of shiny EV's.  If the fares go too low, we could hold back on safety items like new tyres etc.  The NTA already hire clever people every 2 years to work out the maximum fare, throw them an extra few quid and work out what is too low for the welfare, comfort and safety of the travelling public.  Kinda a taxi version of 'won't someone think of the children'