Taximen Protest Wed 28th Oct 2026

[John m]

No protests when there was no end of life age for WATs ? DEREG the DEREG .Do these Lads not realize WATs are the Future for the Industry .Robotaxi will move able bodied and WAts will assist mobility impaired customers .It was posted here the Government are already introducing legislation for Driverless Vehicles  In Limerick UMMMMH I wonder who is based in Limerick where the model will be tested in an industrial estate ? I recon if I live to be 70 I will travel through Dublin in a Driverless Vehicle .Note I dont say Taxi just vehicle .Lads or companies will invest in vehicles use them for their oun transport flip a switch and it becomes a for hire business .The owner will then be responsible for charging cleaning and Maintaining the Vehicle while splitting the Coin earned with their Service Provider UBER ,Bolt or Google .

[watty]

No protests when there was no end of life age for WATs ? DEREG the DEREG .Do these Lads not realize WATs are the Future for the Industry .Robotaxi will move able bodied and WAts will assist mobility impaired customers .It was posted here the Government are already introducing legislation for Driverless Vehicles  In Limerick UMMMMH I wonder who is based in Limerick where the model will be tested in an industrial estate ? I recon if I live to be 70 I will travel through Dublin in a Driverless Vehicle .Note I dont say Taxi just vehicle .Lads or companies will invest in vehicles use them for their oun transport flip a switch and it becomes a for hire business .The owner will then be responsible for charging cleaning and Maintaining the Vehicle while splitting the Coin earned with their Service Provider UBER ,Bolt or Google .

If you're talking about that parliamentary question, the minister just made legal a 2023 law that introduced level 2 driving (cruise control, lane assist, etc).  Driver still has to have his hands on the wheel and he's responsible for everything the car does.  We're always 5 years behind the rest of the world.

[John m]

No protests when there was no end of life age for WATs ? DEREG the DEREG .Do these Lads not realize WATs are the Future for the Industry .Robotaxi will move able bodied and WAts will assist mobility impaired customers .It was posted here the Government are already introducing legislation for Driverless Vehicles  In Limerick UMMMMH I wonder who is based in Limerick where the model will be tested in an industrial estate ? I recon if I live to be 70 I will travel through Dublin in a Driverless Vehicle .Note I dont say Taxi just vehicle .Lads or companies will invest in vehicles use them for their oun transport flip a switch and it becomes a for hire business .The owner will then be responsible for charging cleaning and Maintaining the Vehicle while splitting the Coin earned with their Service Provider UBER ,Bolt or Google .

If you're talking about that parliamentary question, the minister just made legal a 2023 law that introduced level 2 driving (cruise control, lane assist, etc).  Driver still has to have his hands on the wheel and he's responsible for everything the car does.  We're always 5 years behind the rest of the world.

You know as well as I do once the Bill is passed the Minister can ammend it with Statutory Instrument .The EU will give us Direction .If VW or Renault can design Driverless we will have it Friday next .I was in london a few weeks ago saw one no driver Waymo driving outside Paddington Station .A weekend free trip for the Shinners and Lefties and Greens and we will have them on Dorset Street by 2028 .Can see area 18 being Robotaxi by 2030

[Taxi driver42]

On the way. All true

[Rat Catcher]

I didn't encounter anyone looking for reinstatement of entry liberalisation, erm. The men on the ground were very much focussed on opposition to fixed fares (Uber) and taxi saver fares (Free Now). The official statement clarifies that the men aren't protesting against any particular firm but are calling on NTA to regulate dispatch operators to facilitate fair fares, fair competition and fair commission. We have seen Tap A Taxi evolve from previous protest action and, while that has proved to be a success up above in Dublin in particular, imagine what it could achieve if the anti-competitive practices employed by the multinational rideshare platforms were outlawed. The sky would be the limit!

I did notice a good few 2026 cars on the protest, including my own, which makes you (or the public) think, well they can't be doing that bad if they're driving cars that cost up to €100k - there was at least one new London black cab and, directly in front of me at one point, a 262 Ford Torneo all the way from Mayo - the diesel to get to the protest probably cost him more than your monthly car loan repayment! I can't see the men who bought those cars being too keen on restoring entry liberalisation. As Watty (our resident statistician) reported on this very forum there's no apparent problem with men struggling to replace WATs.

I appreciate that you now advocate for lower fixed fares from Uber in the belief that will enable you to exploit the competitive edge you enjoy as a plate owner driving a heavily subsidised car but I think it's important to remember that you only adopted that stance after the last protest - a protest you and a WhatsAPP group of drivers to which you subscribe supported through withdrawal of yisser labour, albeit on the wrong day! Before that you were on this very forum whinging about Uber cutting the rates it pays you up above in Dublin on Sundays for two or three weeks in a row. With that in mind we must appreciate that what Uber does very well is manipulation, manipulation of markets through investment and manipulation of minds - or targeted marketing, if you prefer - through social media.

In any event, yesterdays we saw a very well organised, very well attended peaceful protest. Well done to all concerned.

[Rat Catcher]

On the way. All true

Can't see them being cheaper than a normal Uber, at least not in our lifetime.

[John m]

THE PROTESTERS WILL GET WHAT THEY DESERVE .

[John m]

We are all independent business owners I couldnt give a fuck about what anybody else does how much they make or Pay . My problem is cunts stirring the shit without knowing the outcome .All they are doing is asking the Taxi thingey to tell them what rules do or DONT apply to booking Apps .

[Taxi driver42]

The war is lost
Uber will win 2 reason s
1 its happening every where not just here its a world wide app doing the same undercut everywhere its a playbook to them
2 we are divided still using the poxy app and the public and government dont give a fuck
Only the Socialist left hhate them here because people before profit etc hate multinational and side with workers
But will they ever be in power no
Uber with its money and clout have fucked us proper
But least it took them years unlike uk

[John m]

There was a Majority of One who warned about Workcapture long before UBER we gave hundreds of Millions in promotion when we did not charge the PUC add more money to that when we paid hospitality to pubs and hotels .Now we pay to park to cover discounted or high tarriff fares in Airport .The industry fucked itself now some want to cry over spilt milk that they spilt .The Legend that was FDS said it years afo part time gig .Like the Rodent says Im subsidised 20K to provide the service others driving WATs subsidised .Its going to be survival of the fittest like every other business on earth .The Old model independent taxi owner driver died many years ago AK47 said he wanted us all aligned to a dispatcher and we obliged .

[Rat Catcher]

To be fair the men have already achieved a great deal through the establishment of Tap A Taxi. If they don't achieve anything else they have still achieved more than I would have expected. For that we all owe them a debt of gratitude.

In your own case, erm... Bear in mind that if the men who are refusing to cover the reduced rate fixed fares weren't busy covering jobs at the maximum rate permitted by law as calculated by the taximeter they would be competing with you for the reduced fare work that you want. Without Tap there would be a lot less work available at the maximum amount permitted by law in accordance with the taximeter... so, whether you know it or not, you also owe them a debt of gratitude.

The Minister has already instructed both the Oireachtas Committee and NTA to conduct reviews into regulation of dispatch operators. Given that's there's no regulation beyond the requirement to buy a licence or, in Uber's case, use someone else's licence there's no scope for any negative consequences.

[John m]

Of course there is Scope for Negative outcome they declare that Booking apps are stand alone apps allowing them to increase or decrease booking charges as long as they pay drivers no more than the legal allowable fares .Big advertising Campaign until they inform everybody about their super dooper fares .Then they decide to increase their Booking Fees no more money for drivers just for the app provider and they have the Database for driverless vehicles if or when .

[Rat Catcher]

Free Now has been doing that for years. You might recall both a rock star and a TV star taking to (social) media to report being ripped off to the tune of many multiples of the fare paid to their drivers. There's no limit to what they may pay drivers by law. The problem the protesting drivers have is that they pay too little not too much.

In any event it's over 20 years since the regulations were drafted and there have been significant advances in technology in the interim so the Minister was right, IMO, to instigate those reviews. Worst case scenario will be no change to current regulation or, more accurately, lack thereof.

[Taxi driver42]

To be fair the men have already achieved a great deal through the establishment of Tap A Taxi. If they don't achieve anything else they have still achieved more than I would have expected. For that we all owe them a debt of gratitude.

In your own case, erm... Bear in mind that if the men who are refusing to cover the reduced rate fixed fares weren't busy covering jobs at the maximum rate permitted by law as calculated by the taximeter they would be competing with you for the reduced fare work that you want. Without Tap there would be a lot less work available at the maximum amount permitted by law in accordance with the taximeter... so, whether you know it or not, you also owe them a debt of gratitude.

The Minister has already instructed both the Oireachtas Committee and NTA to conduct reviews into regulation of dispatch operators. Given that's there's no regulation beyond the requirement to buy a licence or, in Uber's case, use someone else's licence there's no scope for any negative consequences.

A yanks told me taxi drivers in Boston did same thing their own app


https://driveempower.com/

[Rat Catcher]

That's an interesting one. Drivers setting their own rates individually might be better suited to country runs in our jurisdiction? There are quite a few drivers doing something similar (e.g. Roy's Ireland By Taxi) in less sophisticated ways.