M50 motorway faces severe disruption from Taxis today

Navan Junction

Chris Dooley, Industry and Employment Correspondent
Irish Times 11/09/2006

Traffic on a large section of the M50 motorway faces severe disruption from midday today as taxi drivers continue their protests concerning a planned new fares structure.


The hour-long drive along a stretch of the motorway's northbound lane will conclude a national stoppage by drivers due to take place from 6am to 1pm.

The motorway protest will be called off only if the drivers' unions are satisfied with the outcome of a meeting to take place at 9.30am with the taxi regulator, Ger Deering. There is little optimism of progress at the meeting, however.

The planned stoppage is the fourth protest action by taxi drivers since July, in response to a new regulatory structure and fare changes due to come into effect on September 25th.

Jerry Brennan of Siptu, one of the three unions supporting today's protest, said last night the drivers' greatest concern was that changes were being imposed without negotiation. They had no recourse to third-party bodies such as the Labour Court and therefore had no option but to take their protest to the streets, he said. Mr Brennan said drivers would congregate today at the Papal Cross in the Phoenix Park. If the meeting with Mr Deering did not result in progress, the drivers would leave the park by the Castleknock exit and join the M50 motorway.

From there they would proceed in convoy towards the northern end of the motorway before dispersing at 1pm.

© The Irish Times

Stimpyone

Way to go to get the public to sympathize with your plight.:rolleyes:

Honestly!, Who are advising these people! I normally wouldn't stoop to name calling but I finding it difficult not to point the finger and scream Morons!!! :mad:

Victor

Abuse will not be tolerated. On the line Stimpyone.

Slice

They are only hurting themselves really, there doesn't appear to be any public sympathy or support of their cause. Didn't the regulator study the market and consulted heavily before proposes these new charges?

I have been overcharged many times by taxis and the only people their stoppages appear to inconvenience are tourists, people who aren't really influential with the Government.

Stimpyone

Off topic.

Weren't all taxi's supposed to be wheel chair accessible by this stage?. What happened to that?.

Anybody notice the Ford Feista/Fusion at the airport rank on a regular basis or the 1990 Nissan Sunny that should have seen the scrap heap a long time ago?.

Rant over sorry victor.

MT

Mr Brennan said drivers would congregate today at the Papal Cross in the Phoenix Park.

They may not have public support for their protest but is this a last ditch attempt to gain devine intervention?!!:rolleyes:

ciaran76

Stimpyone wrote:

Off topic.

Weren't all taxi's supposed to be wheel chair accessible by this stage?. What happened to that?.

Anybody notice the Ford Feista/Fusion at the airport rank on a regular basis or the 1990 Nissan Sunny that should have seen the scrap heap a long time ago?.

Rant over sorry victor.

Yes I have noticed the Ford Feista/Fusion car. I have not seen the 1990 Sunny but had to use a taxi for a short trip yesterday and cos I was on the phone at the time never looked around the inside of the car. It was only when I got off the phone I noticed the state on the interior.

It was stained and smelled a bit. But I hadn't time to complain as I just in the car for less then 5 mins and on the phone for 4 of those mins.

Paulw

I read now (online) that they are blocking O'Connell St in protest. They're certainly not making any friends.

I don't use a taxi unless I have to. Cab companies are normally cheaper anyway. Taxi drivers have a bad enough reputation as it is, and this is just making things worse.

Maybe instead of a taxi strike, we should have a protest strike - don't use a taxi, call a cab!! Hit them where it hurts - in their big pockets.

Hobbes

How can they block O'Connell Street? The street only allows Taxi + buses to go along it?

As for blocking the M60, if they are driving less then 60kph they can be charged if there is no congestion, otherwise its not really going to have any real effect on the M50. Place is generally a carpark anyway and if you knew about it you could just take alternate routes (which won't be as congested with all the taxi drivers on the M50).

Calina

Hobbes wrote:

How can they block O'Connell Street? The street only allows Taxi + buses to go along it?

This is wrong. You can drive southbound down O'Connell Street - there are a couple of streets from which you can access it, turning left. You can't approach it from Dorset Street via Parnell Square. Northbound, access is from O'Connell Bridge and Bachelors Walk.

Ham'nd'egger

Calina wrote:

This is wrong. You can drive southbound down O'Connell Street - there are a couple of streets from which you can access it, turning right. You can't approach it from Dorset Street via Parnell Square. Northbound, access is from O'Connell Bridge and Bachelors Walk.

The only way you would enter O'Connell St. as a motorist travelling southbound is to enter at the Cathal Brugha Street junction.

Stark

Well apparently after all that, there were still plenty of non-unionised taxi/cab drivers on duty, so their loss.