Taxi drivers protest 5th March -free parking!

quenching

Driving home yesterday I noticed most of the parking around Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Square was occupied by Taxis, none of which had a pay and display ticket. So, I asked a Garda who was picking up traffic cones what the story was, he tells me all the spaces had been kept for the Taxi drivers to avoid traffic problems, and none of them had to pay parking charges either.

So, apart from me having to take a detour from my normal route home, Dublin City Council lose a days parking charge from these spaces, essentially costing me money in extra tax somewhere along the line. And the extra Garda needed to manage their "protest".

Oh, and I also had to listen to these morons honking their horns all day as the drove around town. Are they deliberately trying to piss people off or are they really as thick and selfish as it appears?

Homer

quenching wrote: »

are they really as thick and selfish as it appears?

Why do you think they drive taxis? That's all they are qualified to do. So yes is the answer to your question.

Pedro K

Homer wrote: »

Why do you think they drive taxis? That's all they are qualified to do. So yes is the answer to your question.

What a stupid statement. :mad:

How many taxi men do you know? How do you know that all they're qualified to do is drive taxis?

My dad drives a taxi. But it's certainly not all he's qualified to do (having been a qualified paramedic in the past, just to name one of his many qualifications he's earned over the years) .

He was forced to leave his previous job due to health reasons and now he drives a taxi.

Maybe you should think before you make another thick sweeping statement brandishing all taxi drivers "thick" and "unqualified".

bcmf

Homer wrote: »

Why do you think they drive taxis? That's all they are qualified to do. So yes is the answer to your question.

Your'e some bleedin' muppet arent you.Why dont you remove your head from your fat hole and have a good look around ya.
And then over the weekend or whenever you decide to use the services of a Taxi next tell the the driver "this is all you are qualified to do."

Cookie_Monster

quenching wrote: »

Are they deliberately trying to piss people off?

yes

furtzy

Don't really understand their protest. They say there is too many taxi plates being issued and therefore they can't make a living. But why would someone get one of these new taxi plates and enter the business if you couldn't make a living doing it

bcmf

furtzy wrote: »

Don't really understand their protest. They say there is too many taxi plates being issued and therefore they can't make a living. But why would someone get one of these new taxi plates and enter the business if you couldn't make a living doing it

Some people still seem to believe the pub talk of you must be making a fortune.Most drivers are now making less then Min wage.
The rate of new plates/licences coming into the market SEEMS to have slowed as peole seem to be coming to the same conclusion as you have.However stopping the sale of licences is a very small but important step.It will take probaly the best part of a decade to undo the damage to livelyhoods that this has caused (I entered the biz just after de-reg).At least if new licences are stopped then the flow can start to be reversed.Ireland now has more Taxi's per head of popultion then most countries.

voxpop

There is defiantly not too many taxis after midnight at the weekends.

Rather than stopping taxi plates or making it more expensive they should have a mandatory street knowledge test, which must be passed before getting the plate.

Jaysoose

furtzy wrote: »

Don't really understand their protest. They say there is too many taxi plates being issued and therefore they can't make a living. But why would someone get one of these new taxi plates and enter the business if you couldn't make a living doing it

Bacause they seem to believe the public are there to provide a living for taximen and not that the taxis are there to provide a service for the public.

Maybe the fact that a taxi costs a fortune when all the "extras" are added on (seriously how is the use of the boot an extra!!) is causing the lack of business.

My bro and i got a cab from blanch to grafton street a few weeks back because we were late and the brother had a bag....extra.....total cost of 20 minute journey is €26:eek:. Is it any wonder people are getting the bus.

Cry me a river, it was alright when they held the city to ransom every friday and saturday night.

bcmf

there are too many Taxi's 24/7.
As for street knowledge.This has been said by a lot of people and seems to be the proper way to go.
But I will ask you to remember this.
WE LIVE IN IRELAND.
The powers that be dont do sensible things

furtzy

bcmf wrote: »

However stopping the sale of licences is a very small but important step.It will take probaly the best part of a decade to undo the damage to livelyhoods that this has caused (I entered the biz just after de-reg).At least if new licences are stopped then the flow can start to be reversed.Ireland now has more Taxi's per head of popultion then most countries.

Its a free market. Its unfortunate if people aren't making a decent wage at it but surely the laws of supply and demand will cause the number to decrease such like any other business.

bcmf

Did you get a receipt for the journey?Did you complain to the driver at the time?Did you get a name plate number?Were you held up in Traffic?Would the bus bring you door to door or as close as? If you dont like the service dont use it.
For the record and from my expierence €26 for 2 people with a bag from Blanch to Gratfton St seems about right.

voxpop

bcmf wrote: »

there are too many Taxi's 24/7.

Have you tried getting a taxi after midnight - you either queue for an hour or start walking and hope to flag a car down.

bcmf

furtzy wrote: »

Its a free market. Its unfortunate if people aren't making a decent wage at it but surely the laws of supply and demand will cause the number to decrease such like any other business.

Yes.The law of supply and Demand should dictate this but when the amount of people entering the business at the mo is higher then the amount of people leaving,regardless of the amount of work, then only will a cap start to address this.Remember the Social Welfare are giving grants to Unemployed to get Taxi's WHILE THEY KEEP THEIR DOLE on a sliding basis.

Pedro K

Jaysoose wrote: »

Maybe the fact that a taxi costs a fortune when all the "extras" are added on (seriously how is the use of the boot an extra!!) is causing the lack of business.

From the Taxi Reg site.

What are extra charges?

Extra charges are applied as follows:

• Booking charge: Maximum €2.00 for journeys that are pre-booked.
• Extra passenger: €1.00 per adult. First child under 12 free, 2 or 3 children €1.00, 4 or 5 children €2.00 & 6 or 7 children €3.00
• Road-toll charges: Cost of the road toll may be added to the taxi fare
• Soiling charge: €140.00

There's no extra for a boot.

You got ripped off.

unkel

@bcmf - no need for the personal abuse.

@homer - if you flame / troll, you can expect a reaction.

Let's keep it nice, folks.

bcmf

voxpop wrote: »

Have you tried getting a taxi after midnight - you either queue for an hour or start walking and hope to flag a car down.

I wont argue with your experience Voxpop but I would be interested to see where this is happening as most stories I have heard from punters are that Taxi's are basically follwing people waiting to stick their hand out.Dublin City Centre on any night now is basically gridlocked with Taxi's For Hire.
But as I said I wont argue with your experience.

bcmf

@ Unkel. No problem. But if I get kicked I kick back.

Jaysoose

bcmf wrote: »

Did you get a receipt for the journey?Did you complain to the driver at the time?Did you get a name plate number?Were you held up in Traffic?Would the bus bring you door to door or as close as? If you dont like the service dont use it.
For the record and from my expierence €26 for 2 people with a bag from Blanch to Gratfton St seems about right.

Whats to complain about? the meter showed the cost...doesnt make it right and i doubt i would get much change complaining about it because its always the regulators fault. I would have used the bus but i was late for an appointment. Just because you reckon €26 for a 10k journey is right doesnt make it so. Overpriced service simple as.

I also made the mistake of asking "busy today mate" which started the compulory boring rant about how its not the "way it used to be".

Question though, at what point was there to many plates? what use is there putting a cap on it now as from listening to the taxi men there are to many anyway. Why not just get the "solid skins" to cherry pick the drivers they want to keep and get rid of everybody else regardless of when they got the plate.

Drummerboy08

What annoys me about taxi drivers, is they cry and winge when there is no work, but when its busy they dont give a f*ck.

Example. For my christmas party we all had a few, good night whatever. Myself and the gaffer live relatively close together, so we said we'd share a taxi.

We ended up having to walk from Kildare Street to Leeson street bridge to try and get one. On the way, 7/8 taxi's with their lights on, and were empty, sailed straight by us.

They had ample space to stop and pick us up, and they clearly seen us as we were nearly out under them to try and flag one down. My thinking is they didnt want to pick up two fella's on their own.

Sorry, but isnt that the reason your out there? To pick up fares? Or are you going to pick and choose the young ones you pick up from outside coppers and Krystal?

A fare is a fare in these times, money is money.

Sorry lads, you cant have your cake and eat it.

BTW, my father-in-law drives a taxi so i do know how hard it is.

S.I.R

quenching wrote: »

Driving home yesterday I noticed most of the parking around Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Square was occupied by Taxis, none of which had a pay and display ticket. So, I asked a Garda who was picking up traffic cones what the story was, he tells me all the spaces had been kept for the Taxi drivers to avoid traffic problems, and none of them had to pay parking charges either.

So, apart from me having to take a detour from my normal route home, Dublin City Council lose a days parking charge from these spaces, essentially costing me money in extra tax somewhere along the line. And the extra Garda needed to manage their "protest".

Oh, and I also had to listen to these morons honking their horns all day as the drove around town. Are they deliberately trying to piss people off or are they really as thick and selfish as it appears?

dunno, if anyone ever trys to preech their point when it doesnt involve me i generally go rambo on their ass.

furtzy

bcmf wrote: »

Yes.The law of supply and Demand should dictate this but when the amount of people entering the business at the mo is higher then the amount of people leaving,regardless of the amount of work, then only will a cap start to address this.Remember the Social Welfare are giving grants to Unemployed to get Taxi's WHILE THEY KEEP THEIR DOLE on a sliding basis.

You can't have a cap on the numbers of people in a certain business. Just say you decide to leave the taxi business and say want to start a shoe shop only to be told that you can't because the maximum number of shoe shops has been reached....its nonsense.

prendy

i love the way that most of the people protesting were actually protesting for de-regulation a few years ago. now there in, they dont want anybody else in.

I say if you cant make a living doing something then go do something else. I would love to be able to stop my competitors doing business but thats not the way the world works. Taxi drivers should get competitive or get out simple as.

voxpop

bcmf wrote: »

I would be interested to see where this is happening

City Centre of Dublin. It was easier and more reliable to just wait for the nightlink. In fairness this was before the recession, maybe its all changed for the better.

Ham'nd'egger

Re-read the bolded part of your statement again and think about it a minute.

One sure fire way not to get a taxi at all hours o clock when the clubs are closing is to be walking in the middle of a road and looking like your pissed. Not saying you were drunk but the beer goggles can see the world very differently at time.

BTW I'd avoid picking up on Harcourt Street that hour so I didn't drive past you;)

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

What annoys me about taxi drivers, is they cry and winge when there is no work, but when its busy they dont give a f*ck.

Example. For my christmas party we all had a few, good night whatever. Myself and the gaffer live relatively close together, so we said we'd share a taxi.

We ended up having to walk from Kildare Street to Leeson street bridge to try and get one. On the way, 7/8 taxi's with their lights on, and were empty, sailed straight by us.

They had ample space to stop and pick us up, and they clearly seen us as we were nearly out under them to try and flag one down. My thinking is they didnt want to pick up two fella's on their own.

Sorry, but isnt that the reason your out there? To pick up fares? Or are you going to pick and choose the young ones you pick up from outside coppers and Krystal?

A fare is a fare in these times, money is money.

Sorry lads, you cant have your cake and eat it.

BTW, my father-in-law drives a taxi so i do know how hard it is.

bcmf

First of all with regards to complaing.Get the details of the driver cab if you feel that you were 'done' or if you wanna complain in general and get onto the Regulator. If you dont complain or dont follow up the complaint The Regulator will in turn go to the Powers above her or the madia and say "Well we have very few complaints........" and so the circle begins.
With regards to why Cabs wont stop for you or anybody else I cant honestly that.
As for solid skins..........I dont get you.How would define solid skins and how would you define who gets turfed out and who gets left in?

Mitch Connor

furtzy wrote: »

You can't have a cap on the numbers of people in a certain business. Just say you decide to leave the taxi business and say want to start a shoe shop only to be told that you can't because the maximum number of shoe shops has been reached....its nonsense.

isn't there a cap on the number of pubs, with it being very difficult to get a new license for various parts of the country.

bcmf

prendy wrote: »

i love the way that most of the people protesting were actually protesting for de-regulation a few years ago. now there in, they dont want anybody else in.

I say if you cant make a living doing something then go do something else. I would love to be able to stop my competitors doing business but thats not the way the world works. Taxi drivers should get competitive or get out simple as.

We have been here before.Remember Taxi's cannot be competitive as the meter decides what the calculated fare is.

Drummerboy08

Hamndegger wrote: »

Re-read the bolded part of your statement again and think about it a minute.

One sure fire way not to get a taxi at all hours o clock when the clubs are closing is to be walking in the middle of a road and looking like your pissed. Not saying you were drunk but the beer goggles can see the world very differently at time.

BTW I'd avoid picking up on Harcourt Street that hour so I didn't drive past you;)

Obviously we werent actually in the middle of the road (i've seen it done tho) but we were clearly visable. This was at around 1am too, so the clubs were still well open. And while we had a few, we were not twisted.

My point is, dont complain about having no business when you can afford to drive by fares like that. I've seen it when im sober too, and not only in Dublin but back home in Wexford too.

bcmf

Before I go I wanna leave you with this thought.
A large majority of cabs out on the week-end are guys who have worked 40hrs plus already with their day job.So when you get into a cab at 3am/4am chances are that the driver is probably close to working and God given number of hours and is probaly likely to fall asleep at any moment (it may also apply to Full Time Drvers as well with the amount of hrs needed to work).But remember most of the part-timers workers are prob Postie's/Teachers/Gadai etc.






I wont even go into Pension Tax/Levy and them declaring their part-time income as Taxi Drivers.Who said Cake and eating it.........

voxpop

bcmf wrote: »

Before I go I wanna leave you with this thought.
A large majority of cabs out on the week-end are guys who have worked 40hrs plus already with their day job.So when you get into a cab at 3am/4am chances are that the driver is probably close to working and God given number of hours and is probaly likely to fall asleep at any moment (it may also apply to Full Time Drvers as well with the amount of hrs needed to work).But remember most of the part-timers workers are prob Postie's/Teachers/Gadai etc.

and the point is ?


I guess we are the lucky ones escaping near certain death by not getting a cab in the early hours.

bcmf

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

Obviously we werent actually in the middle of the road (i've seen it done tho) but we were clearly visable. This was at around 1am too, so the clubs were still well open. And while we had a few, we were not twisted.

My point is, dont complain about having no business when you can afford to drive by fares like that. I've seen it when im sober too, and not only in Dublin but back home in Wexford too.

DrummerBoy.
I can only give you my expiernce of why I wouldnt stop for a fare.
I AM NOT SAYING THAT YOU WERE ANY OF THE BELOW
If they look like they are too messy/drunk.
Jumping out from behind parked cars.
Standing in the middle or the road

Best palce to wait IMO is at a set of trarric lights.

alias no.9

bcmf wrote: »

We have been here before.Remember Taxi's cannot be competitive as the meter decides what the calculated fare is.

Bollox. You can agree a fair before the journey begins with the one caveat that it must not be more that the metered charge. The fare displayed on the meter is the maximum.
As for the overall business, I think it's up to the public to demand better standards. For example, my wife and I were looking for a taxi recently, I spotted one stopped close by with it's lights on but on second glance it was an opel frontera:eek:. I said we're not getting into that, turned around and sure enough we got another much better car in a matter of seconds. The moral of the story is don't get into pieces of junk. Whenever there is a choice, take the better vehicle, that will clear the crap out of the market. You no longer have to take the first car at the rank.

bcmf

voxpop wrote: »

and the point is ?


I guess we are the lucky ones escaping near certain death by not getting a cab in the early hours.

jaysus I walked into that didnt I......:pac:

No the point is that the public dont know what they want.Do you want a decent service or just a service. If you then you have it.Forget about your standards wheter the driver has a clue where they are going etc etc etc
It's a debate that will go on forever and no-one will win so I am outta here.


Happt Arguing People.

kieran3

voxpop wrote: »

Have you tried getting a taxi after midnight - you either queue for an hour or start walking and hope to flag a car down.

Voxpop, can you tell me where in the city you can't get a taxi after midnight within 15mins?

Anyhow, you can't supply a city with enough cabs just to cater for the the thousands of people that are thrown onto the streets at 3AM.

To blame the taxis for you not being able to get transport home on a Saturday night is a bit off-side.

Where is Dublin bus? Where is Dart? Were is IE? Where is Luas? Where is Mortans bus? Where is Finnegans? etc

Taxis are the only service that are there 24/7.
You should be thankful.

In relation to the prices yes they should be reduced but the way things are at the moment with too many taxis the fare had to be increased last November.

If they were to cap plates then I'd like to see the fare come down.

Anan1

Jaysoose wrote: »

Because they seem to believe the public are there to provide a living for taximen and not that the taxis are there to provide a service for the public.

That about sums it up, doesn't it?

DonJose

The reason why so many people are getting into the taxi business is because there are no standards here in Ireland, you can get a license for €6,500 and drive a bog standard 10 year old filthy piece of crap. In Germany all the taxis I've seen are luxury cars and spotless inside. Don't get me started on Irish taxis.

bcmf

alias no.9 wrote: »

Bollox. You can agree a fair before the journey begins with the one caveat that it must not be more that the metered charge. The fare displayed on the meter is the maximum.
AFAIK that is wrong.The only time you can legally not run the meter is when BOTH parties agree an Off the meter price and is agreed in writing.

As for the overall business, I think it's up to the public to demand better standards.
Yes it is.
For example, my wife and I were looking for a taxi recently, I spotted one stopped close by with it's lights on but on second glance it was an opel frontera:eek:. I said we're not getting into that, turned around and sure enough we got another much better car in a matter of seconds. The moral of the story is don't get into pieces of junk. Whenever there is a choice, take the better vehicle, that will clear the crap out of the market.
And so the TR is trying to do and most Full Time drivers will agree. But when you cannot make enough money to try and keep your existing car in decent shape what hope have you of getting money together to buy a nice new shiny Merc that we all want.Viscious Cicles once again


You no longer have to take the first car at the rank.

Correct

Jaysoose

kieran3 wrote: »

Voxpop, can you tell me where in the city you can't get a taxi after midnight within 15mins?

Anyhow, you can't supply a city with enough cabs just to cater for the the thousands of people that are thrown onto the streets at 3AM.

To blame the taxis for you not being able to get transport home on a Saturday night is a bit off-side.

Where is Dublin bus? Where is Dart? Were is IE? Where is Luas? Where is Mortans bus? Where is Finnegans? etc

Taxis are the only service that are there 24/7.
You should be thankful.

In relation to the prices yes they should be reduced but the way things are at the moment with too many taxis the fare had to be increased last November.

If they were to cap plates then I'd like to see the fare come down.

How the fluck does an increase in taxis justify an increase in prices? it should be the OPPOSITE. If there are more providers then the prices should come down under basic laws of supply and demand..

Drummerboy08

bcmf wrote: »

DrummerBoy.
I can only give you my expiernce of why I wouldnt stop for a fare.
I AM NOT SAYING THAT YOU WERE ANY OF THE BELOW
If they look like they are too messy/drunk.
Jumping out from behind parked cars.
Standing in the middle or the road

Best palce to wait IMO is at a set of trarric lights.

Absolutely - i agree completely. And why should you have to deal with the consequences of too much drink?

But thats for another day....

voxpop

kieran3 wrote: »

Voxpop, can you tell me where in the city you can't get a taxi after midnight within 15mins?

:rolleyes: - i guess your a taxi driver. South side of the city going south. As I said I have had numerous problems getting cabs in the early hours to a point where the nightlink was a more reliable option for getting home.

kieran3 wrote: »

Anyhow, you can't supply a city with enough cabs just to cater for the the thousands of people that are thrown onto the streets at 3AM.

To blame the taxis for you not being able to get transport home on a Saturday night is a bit off-side.

Where is Dublin bus? Where is Dart? Were is IE? Where is Luas? Where is Mortans bus? Where is Finnegans? etc

Im not blaming them - you are missing the point.

The point is that you cant complain that there are too many cabs if people have problems getting cabs late at night.

Dublin bus do provide a service.

kieran3 wrote: »

Taxis are the only service that are there 24/7.
You should be thankful.

lol

prendy

bcmf wrote: »

We have been here before.Remember Taxi's cannot be competitive as the meter decides what the calculated fare is.

is that not the maximum fare? whats to stop a driver giving a €20 fare for say €15?

voxpop

prendy wrote: »

is that not the maximum fare? whats to stop a driver giving a €20 fare for say €15?

They do discount the meter, or some do at least - from Bargin Alert forum a few weeks ago

A taxi firm - 8202020 - were handing out flyers today advertising 20% off the metered fare until the end of the year. Not sure if they have a call out charge but would certainly be worth it on longer trips.

keefg

DonJose wrote: »

The reason why so many people are getting into the taxi business is because there are no standards here in Ireland, you can get a license for €6,500 and drive a bog standard 10 year old filthy piece of crap. In Germany all the taxis I've seen are luxury cars and spotless inside. Don't get me started on Irish taxis.

This is something that annoys me as well, cabbies trying to charge 20 euro (example) for a lift in a 1994 Corolla or something similar.


But when I think back to when this was all de-regulated and taxi drivers were causing havoc by blocking the airport etc....that it was revealed that the head of the taxi union (Tommy Something-or-other) had bought a couple of new plates under his children's names....hmm, some double standards being applied there.

I'm not sure what the taxi drivers are hoping to achieve with this latest round of protests, but public sympathy or support won't be very high.

bcmf

prendy wrote: »

is that not the maximum fare? whats to stop a driver giving a €20 fare for say €15?

??????
If you wanna agree a fare with the driver for the journey then go ahead.
But the driver can say the meter will determine the fare.
Whats to stop him charging €20? The meter and You.
If you think the 'bargained' fare is too dear then simply say "Use the meter please"

bcmf

keefg wrote: »

This is something that annoys me as well, cabbies trying to charge 20 euro (example) for a lift in a 1994 Corolla or something similar.


But when I think back to when this was all de-regulated and taxi drivers were causing havoc by blocking the airport etc....that it was revealed that the head of the taxi union (Tommy Something-or-other) had bought a couple of new plates under his children's names....hmm, some double standards being applied there.
I'm not sure what the taxi drivers are hoping to achieve with this latest round of protests, but public sympathy or support won't be very high.

That is why the guys yesterday were at pains to point out that they were not there in a reprensatative as a union.they were there as a collection as individuals.They all know that the unions are as big a part of this mess as anyone in power.

Gumbo

Jaysoose wrote: »

Bacause they seem to believe the public are there to provide a living for taximen and not that the taxis are there to provide a service for the public.

Maybe the fact that a taxi costs a fortune when all the "extras" are added on (seriously how is the use of the boot an extra!!) is causing the lack of business.

My bro and i got a cab from blanch to grafton street a few weeks back because we were late and the brother had a bag....extra.....total cost of 20 minute journey is €26:eek:. Is it any wonder people are getting the bus.

Cry me a river, it was alright when they held the city to ransom every friday and saturday night.

you must of been scammed imo
there is no extra for using the boot, the only extra should of being €1 for the extra passenger as the initial fare includes the first passenger.

also what part of blanch did you come from? the fare seems very very excessive?
i got a taxi from the quays to adamstown and it was only €31, so somethings very odd about your figures????

keefg

kceire wrote: »

the only extra should of being €1 for the extra passenger as the initial fare includes the first passenger.

This is something I just don't get, maybe you can clarify it for me?

Why should there be "extras" at all? Why isn't it just plain and simple....one fare from A to B regardless of there being one passenger or three passengers.

Gumbo

keefg wrote: »

This is something I just don't get, maybe you can clarify it for me?

Why should there be "extras" at all? Why isn't it just plain and simple....one fare from A to B regardless of there being one passenger or three passengers.

i cant clarify it for you, xheck the taxi regulators website.
i just know thats the law and thst what i look for when i get into a txi.

but maybe 1-2 passengers, no extra, 3-4 passengers €1 extra to counteract the extra weight and use of fuel and extra strain on the car etc etc

but there has to be some form of extra imo
lets say you pick up 4 guys outside the bank and drive 10 miles and get the fare. everything is grand, passengers are in and out.

but lets say you pick up 3 guys from the golf course next door, and they have a bit of muck on the shoes, bottoms etc etc and dirt on their bags which go into the boot. somebody has to clean out the car afterwards, so theres an extra expence for taking the golfers. just an extreme example i know.

OldmanMondeo

The protest was about the number new plates issued. The drivers don't want anymore.

Well I think the is enough people doing the same job as me, so lets stop teaching the kids in school so me and the others in my line of work can keep all the money to ourselves.

McSpud

OldmanMondeo wrote: »

The protest was about the number new plates issued. The drivers don't want anymore.

Well I think the is enough people doing the same job as me, so lets stop teaching the kids in school so me and the others in my line of work can keep all the money to ourselves.

+1.

If the Regulator was to restrict the number of new plates that would require new legislation & I think the Dail have more important matters these days. Imagine a government stopping people working when we have 350k employed! :eek:

Taxi driver slargely work in a cash only industry where receipts are only printed on request. If you buy a paper in the shop they have to issue a receipt by law. I would guess taxi drivers are declaring income around the minimum wage level but that is not all they earn. If a 10 minute journey costs E10 how could they possibly be earning less than that per hour?