Taxi driver protest

oisindoyle · 01-10-2009 08:42PM

the_syco wrote: »

HAHAHAHAHAHA. All I can think of is "fúck off and die". You wanted deregulation, you got deregulation. In the boom years, there was no mention of a cap being wanted. Now that times have turned bad, you want regulation. Too little, too late.

In the "good old days", you'd get charged over €80 to get from Dublin city centre, to Leixlip, as it was "outside Dublin", the meter would get turned off at Lucan, and they'd charge whatever number they picked out of their arse. You'd be waiting for a long f**king time for a taxi as well.

....
Normally i wouldnt reply to such unbelievable nonsensical stuff ,but yours takes the biscuit .
Since when did any taxi driver want deregulation ?When please tell me when ?
The fare structure has NOTHING to do with drivers it was set by the city councils and now by the TR.
Yes you are correct Leixlip was outside the Dublin taxi meter area and a price was agreed between the driver and the passenger before hand .
As for your comment...."Soon, there'll be a happy compramise, of enough taxis, and not too much of a charge"....thats funny .Perhaps you need glasses but a blind man can see Dublin and many parts of the country have too many taxis .
Fact for you ,,,At present Dublin has MORE taxis than New York,,,,
So slag off taxi drivers all you like ,but try and get SOME facts right

artful_codger · 01-10-2009 08:43PM

oisindoyle wrote: »

Secondly this protest today by may drivers is as a result of being ignored by the powers that be

nobody owes you a living.

dub_commuter · 01-10-2009 08:47PM

I've had it with taxi drivers, I really have and go out of my way not to use them, in the last few weeks when waiting for the nitelink and the aircoach I've had taxi drivers stop at the stops, and offer to take me and a tourist to our destination for the same price as the coach/nitelink, I've politely told them no, and they've hurled a whole load of abuse back at me and one of them said scum like me "Don't know what it is like being one of them". If I want a taxi I'll bloody take one. It annoys me that taxis stop at stops in the first place when not hailed but even more so when they hurl that abuse back.

And as for this evenings disruption, I really fail to see what it achieves, all it has done is put me off using taxi's from a rank ever again, and I'm sure I am not the only one who is like this. As previously said if someone put up a batch of speakers in O'Connell Street, all got out and abandoned their cars and started marching and congregating in the road to block them up, they'd be arrested and their car would be towed, but the taxi drivers seem to own that strech of street and can do whatever they like and get away with it.

Still, the Gardai were actually doing somthing tonight, running after and grabbing Jaywalkers around the O'Connell Bridge area, one female Gardai ran quite a distance to get someone who jaywalked saying he could cause an accident or hold things up, yet they were perfectly happy for these selfish taxi drivers to hold the whole city centre to ransom.

dub_commuter · 01-10-2009 08:52PM

oisindoyle wrote: »

Perhaps you need glasses but a blind man can see Dublin and many parts of the country have too many taxis .

So there is a far bigger supply than there is in a demand in the taxi industry, I wonder can anyone else tell me what happens in every other industry where the supply far exceeds the demand?

If there is too much competition in the market place, then that means people will have to pull out and try and move on to doing something else, something the taxi drivers appear not to understand.

Yes it is a recession and I am not working in my prefered job and had to take a huge pay cut, but I actually tried my hand at something else rather than moaning about the fact there are 25x more people applying for my first choice career jobs than there were 3 years ago.

oisindoyle · 01-10-2009 08:53PM

RMD wrote: »

I'd like an answer from a Taxi driver on this.........what in the hell do you think you're doing? Think this is going to give you more support? More business, when it comes to protesting you guys certainly know how to **** things up for yourselves and as shown today, quite a few other people.

You bitch and complain all day about to many Taxi drivers being out there? Guess what? You ****ing begged for deregulation, complaining day in day out about lack of money coming your way, guess what? I was refused a fair by 2 taxi drivers the other night on the O'Connell street rank because they "wer goin' southside bud". You really seem to be the most hypocritical and contradicting bunch of idiots going sometimes.

Sorry to any reasonable Taxi driver who might be offended by my comments, I don't mean to stereotype.

Taxi drivers never had any support and never will but hey who cares.they are protesting because they are at their wits end and yes many others in Ireland are going tru bad times ....When did any driver ask or want deregulation? answer....NO ONE....
If you were refused by 2 taxi drivers the other night well that was wrong nand shouldnt have happened,,,,
If you get into the car and ask to go to a destination then they HAVE to take you unless the fare is outside 30km..
So next time you will know,,,,
The drivers have been in talks for the past 10 mths and despite numerous meetings ,NOTHING was achieved .
Believe it or not drivers want the business cleaned up ....get rid of illegals (of which their are many)
More ranks (because daily drivers are getting tickets from gards)
and to be listened to .Because at present what is happening is that the Tr is behaving like a dictator .
Making crazy stupid rules that are just not economically viable to any driver and some of which make no sense at all ,she has no clue about the industry .
Its all very well having plenty of taxis ,but there has to be a balance between having a certain amout of taxis and people being able to make a living .At present many are going under last 2 months 6 drivers committed suicide because they couldnt take anymore .
Until you are in the business of driving a taxi you will have no idea just how dire things are...
NO driver wanted to or wants to protest but when all avenues of communication are met with a brick wall from Dept of Transport and the TR office then they are left with no choice .
All drivers want to do is go to work and earn a living ,,,whats so wrong with that ?

oisindoyle · 01-10-2009 08:57PM

dub_commuter wrote: »

So there is a far bigger supply than there is in a demand in the taxi industry, I wonder can anyone else tell me what happens in every other industry where the supply far exceeds the demand?

If there is too much competition in the market place, then that means people will have to pull out and try and move on to doing something else, something the taxi drivers appear not to understand.

Yes it is a recession and I am not working in my prefered job and had to take a huge pay cut, but I actually tried my hand at something else rather than moaning about the fact there are 25x more people applying for my first choice career jobs than there were 3 years ago.

Many are TRYING to get out of it believe me but cannot .Neither can they get the dole because they are self employed...Its not just a case of supply v demand now its just gone beyond that ,its fariscial....Everyone knows that any TD or Country Councillor says the same ......
Standards have dropped more complaints have happend and on and on it goes ...
In every country where deregulation was introduced in the end the government had to go back to regulation because of the disaster it created

dub_commuter · 01-10-2009 08:58PM

oisindoyle wrote: »

More ranks (because daily drivers are getting tickets from gards)
Making crazy stupid rules that are just not economically viable to any driver and some of which make no sense at all ,she has no clue about the industry .

1. I want rid of ranks right now, because in particular the rank on O'Connell Street seems to attract a large number of taxi drivers that I wouldn't want to have a taxi from.

2. Nobody forces you to be a taxi driver. If you don't like the industry try something else like everyone else. What makes you so special?

3. You say you want to earn a living but with drivers abusing passengers at bus stops, and refusing to take people to destinations you don't like, it seems like you only want to on your own terms rather than taking the rough with the smooth like everyone else.

hmmm · 01-10-2009 09:00PM

I'd also like to know what our guards were upto today. If a group wants to shut down the city and cause misery for tens of thousands of commuters the guards will stand back and allow this to happen? What do we have a police force for if they won't enforce the law?!

Pineapple stu · 01-10-2009 09:00PM

Whats the betting that some of those protesting only got their taxi licence within the last couple of years. They complain the work isnt out there yet they can find time to protest a few times a year. Dont bother going to a rank for a taxi just aim for your nearest 24 hr spar shop where you will find plenty of empty taxi's.
These taxi lads wasnt looking for a cap in a number of taxi licences when they went looking for one last year or so.

dub_commuter · 01-10-2009 09:01PM

oisindoyle wrote: »

Many are TRYING to get out of it believe me but cannot .Neither can they get the dole because they are self employed...Its not just a case of supply v demand now its just gone beyond that ,its fariscial....Everyone knows that any TD or Country Councillor says the same ......
Standards have dropped more complaints have happend and on and on it goes ...
In every country where deregulation was introduced in the end the government had to go back to regulation because of the disaster it created

I don't use ranks any more, the behaviour that happens today is exactly why. If I want a taxi I'll order one from a taxi company where the drivers are much more professional, decent taxi drivers who would never dream of acting the way the selfish idiots did today.

I have very little sympathy with taxi drivers, but I do admit that the Irish Government are not totally innocent in all of this, but they are not totally to blame as the taxi drivers seem to think.

dub_commuter · 01-10-2009 09:04PM

I'd also like to know what our guards were upto today. If a group wants to shut down the city and cause misery for tens of thousands of commuters the guards will stand back and allow this to happen? What do we have a police force for if they won't enforce the law?!

The Gardai traffic corps are useless, they are supposed to police traffic but all they did today was police Pedestrians to be honest, I actually object to paying taxes for them because of this kind of situation.

These taxi lads wasnt looking for a cap in a number of taxi licences when they went looking for one last year or so.

I've noticed the vast majority who are complaining seem to be entrants since de-regulation who are nearly all Irish citizens, the older taxi plates and that of foreign nationals seem to be just getting on with their work?

Thats not to say there are not genuine Irish new entrants, but the protestors seem to be almost fully these.

Spook_ie · 01-10-2009 09:07PM

Bring on the Dock workers, let's see the rhetoric then....Stinking scumbag dockers, don't they know we're all in a recession, they is all scumbags interfering with my commute to work/home/pub etc.

Pineapple stu · 01-10-2009 09:07PM

I think we should counter demonstrate and block the ranks for a day to see how they like it.A mass protest blocking all main ranks when they are full of taxi's.

oisindoyle · 01-10-2009 09:10PM

dub_commuter wrote: »

I don't use ranks any more, the behaviour that happens today is exactly why. If I want a taxi I'll order one from a taxi company where the drivers are much more professional, decent taxi drivers who would never dream of acting the way the selfish idiots did today.

I have very little sympathy with taxi drivers, but I do admit that the Irish Government are not totally innocent in all of this, but they are not totally to blame as the taxi drivers seem to think.

Well you cannot generalise ,,like all business theres good and bad apples .Same goes for taxi companies.
As i said no one wants to protest but they were left with no other choice ,they are at their wits end .yes many in the country are finding it difficult but drivers have been hit with a double whammy ,,Deregulation and recession .Plus stupid things coming out of the TRs office without any consulation with drivers ...two things come to mind ,,,all drivers have to have a safety kit ,which consists of Hi fi jacket ,fire extin., scissors ,first aid kit ..at a cost of 80 euro to the driver ..now if a car goes on fire u call the fire brigade ,u do not tackle it urself ...the TR said and i quote "you (the driver) are obliged to carry a safety kit at all times but you are not obliged to use it "....Now does that make sense ??????
Plus the other rather costly thing that came out of the TR office last mth was that to renew ur licence it went up from 3euro to 250 euro ...IS THAT FARE in these economie times ? i think not .NO negosiations with any reps was made re the above decisions .....and thats just two !!
It was the PDs who wanted degregulation and now the industry is in a complete mess

crushproof · 01-10-2009 10:13PM

cymro wrote: »

I think we should counter demonstrate and block the ranks for a day to see how they like it.A mass protest blocking all main ranks when they are full of taxi's.

Excellent Idea. However....

I'd really really really love, if I could the fines of course, to drive up O'Connell Street tomorrow with just 5 or so other cars and park at the Spire, 3 on either side the Spire......immediately causing traffic cause within a minute in both northbound and southbound lanes... resulting in traffic jams within a square kilometre of the Spire.

Then I'd get up on my bonnet and begin to take bets on how long it will A) take the Gardai to arrive and

how long it will take for the cars to be towed.

I'm guessing less then 5 minutes and 10 minutes respectively. :rolleyes:

Yet these guys get to stay all day?!

Farcical situation! Really is another typical "Only in Ireland" kind of thing!

triple-M · 01-10-2009 10:48PM

I certainly will be avoiding taxis like the plague from now on they dont seem to care that thousands of people have been inconvenienced many times over by their guerilla style tactics of holding the city to ransom,same goes to anyone who disrupts the city because of their own selfishness or because the unions tell them to do it,there really should be a court order to stop this type disruptive behaviour,Why should I get dragged into somebody elses mess

DWCommuter · 01-10-2009 11:39PM

This protest was a really really bad idea. I witnessed lots of irrate people and saw no sympathy towards "the cause". That said they'll all still take taxis on saturday night anyway. Think Lisbon tomorrow.:D

Taxipete29 · 01-10-2009 11:59PM

Let me just start by saying I do genuinely believe that we have legitimate grievances and its not all about capping numbers and those people saying that need to check their facts.

I have always previously supported these stoppages and protests in the past, but owing to the fact that the organisers couldnt get any sort of meaningful numbers behind them I just got on with my job of trying to earn a living and let them at it. I just felt that in the end the group Taxi Drivers For Change were the same as any of the unions who had come before them. Sheep being led by a few guys whose ambition was more than just driving a taxi. It seemed more about furthering their status than actually getting anything done.

Todays protest came as a bolt out of the blue and I didnt know it was on until I drove into town this morning and I heard it on the radio. I was working and continued to do so as I was off for a few days with car trouble and to be honest couldnt afford not to. I took a fare around lunchtime that wanted to go to O'Connell st. I had no idea the protest had moved from Kildare st or that is was even still going on. There was nothing on the station I was listening to about it.

I turned off Cathal Brugha st onto O'Connell and discovered that the traffic hold up was due to the on going protest. A senior guard came running towards me and stopped me and told me I would have to go back as in his words if I went any further I would be lynched and thats a direct quote. I had to let my fare out at the gresham to a torrent of abuse and intimidation from the guys protesting. The guard then held up the traffic at the Cathal Brugha junction and I had to reverse back down the street and turn off. It should be noted that the fare I had to let out was heavily pregnant and was at the wrong end of the street for where she was going.

I have been on protests before and for the most part they have remained dignified and I have myself refuted claims of intimidation as I had never witnessed any. The behaviour of the thugs who stood at that rank today is just unacceptable. How do they ever expect to gain public support acting in this fashion. I was disgusted. How dare anyone threaten me while I do a days work, especially when I didnt even know about the bloody protest in the first place. These guys showed themselves up for what they really are in my eyes.

I will never support any protest, strike or anything else organised by this or any other taxi group whose followers include scumbags who try to intimidate innocent people trying to earn a living. I understand the frustration in the industry, but its no excuse.

Its time people realised that the vast majority of drivers are just trying to earn a living and these people dont represent even a fraction of the drivers out there. The only way to get anything done is through proper negotiation and consultation on both sides. This will never happen as the industry is so divided and disjointed they couldnt agree on the colour of s**t. So I for one will just continue to work my hours quietly and do what I have to do to survive in these tough economic conditions just like the rest of the country.

Sorry for the long rant but I just wanted people to hear my story and then clarify my current stance.

triple-M · 02-10-2009 12:16AM

im glad to know that the minority causing disruption and intimidation have little support from fellow harder working taxi drivers who dont spend half their time protesting or complaining,this thug like behaviour has to be stopped as the protesting drivers are doing the genuinely struggling taxi drivers no justice by harassing people and holding the city to ransom,they should have their licences revoked for carrying out an illegal protest and purpously disrupting traffic

easytiger! · 02-10-2009 12:37AM

It's well known around town the ranks on O'Connell St are a closed shop, more dodgy geezers around there than in an episode of Eastenders

the_syco · 02-10-2009 01:27AM

oisindoyle wrote: »

Since when did any taxi driver want deregulation ?When please tell me when ?

Every single taxi person who has become one since deregulation. The numbers increased by the bucket load. How many of the "new" (by new, I mean those who became a taxi person after deregulation) want a cap?

[quote=oisindoyle;62351193As for your comment...."Soon, there'll be a happy compramise, of enough taxis, and not too much of a charge"....thats funny .Perhaps you need glasses but a blind man can see Dublin and many parts of the country have too many taxis .
Fact for you ,,,At present Dublin has MORE taxis than New York,,,,
So slag off taxi drivers all you like ,but try and get SOME facts right[/quote]
Too many is not enough. 20 taxis for 5 people is too many. 5 taxis for 5 people is enough. Before degulation there was 1 taxi for 5 people. Now there is 20 taxis for one person. Somewhere down the line a happy medium will happen, and there'll be enough taxis, but not overkill as there is today.

=-=

However, I do admit the way the government degregulated the taxi industry was the biggest joke of it all, esp when, 3 months after someone pays the guts of £150,000 (or more) for a taxi plate, people got a taxi plate for SFA.

=-=

The only way I can see this going forward is to do a London taxi type of test. This should cull most of the taxi drivers who are in the job for a quick buck (and allow those who want to get out, a way to get out). Once the numbers go down, and people cop that you have to know Dublin very well, will people stop "trying their hand" out in the business.

Mimikyu · 02-10-2009 03:53AM

This post has been deleted.

thebman · 02-10-2009 04:25AM

Should have all been towed TBH or clamped because that apparently solves problems.

congo_90 · 02-10-2009 04:36AM

I always find it ironic that taxi drivers who most are essentially self employed believe illegally parking to cry their once monopoly is now go and they protest by leaving their cars (their income) empty, blocking up streets generating agreat image of themselves :rolleyes:

Seriously. The taxi office or whatever it is won't cap licence numbers because they're getting money thus don't give a damn.
I understand they have debts to pay off for example the car, licence, plate etc but again. Think of it like a business. Can't afford to run it so shut down

Bottom line:
If taxi drivers believe there's no money due to over crowding then get out of the game, off their arses and find another job!

To the minority of honest hard working drivers who stayed out and actually made some money (hopefully at the expense at the whinging idiots protesting), I do not wish to insult for the above reason.

As another poster pointed out, The gards should've documented the taxi numbers and send them a fine for illegal parking, disrupting traffic, cause for endangerment to other drivers, A bill for anyone trying to get to work who couldn't and to top it off take their plates. Now if the lazy gards done this they'd take this country out of a recession from the revenue generated by that alone!

Hang on I'll drive my car in town, block off a major road in the city and tell the gards I'm protesting because there's too many red cars on the road :rolleyes:

tinkerbell · 02-10-2009 06:54AM

*sigh* and the battle is commencing again today, just heard it on newstalk - they are starting their protest at 7 a.m. and apparantly are expecting bigger numbers than yesterday.

Arrest them all I say and tow their stupid cars.

ecom · 02-10-2009 08:10AM

has any Garda representative or anyone else for that matter actually gone on record and said why they arent arresting these people?

as numerous people have already pointed out if we decided to park on O'Connell street we'd be moved on and if we refused to move we'd be arrested. Why the one rule for them/us scenario?

triple-M · 02-10-2009 08:10AM

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1002/taxi.html
complete thugs shy should commuters be forced to suffer for their own selfish needs,really peed off,we get the point your protesting what the fcuk are they playing at this time,I hope they never cap the numbers just to pee off these guys,hopefully someone goes down the side of their cars with a sharp object when their not looking to teach em a lesson

P_1 · 02-10-2009 08:16AM

If you are in town today, find your nearest guard and ask them why they're not moving this illegal blockage along. If enough of us do this surely they;ll do something about it.

Also would not be surprised if somebody lobs a brick at one of those striking cabs today.

Jip · 02-10-2009 09:35AM

Fair play Taxi Pete, we've been at logger heads before over this issue but that was an honest post.

Interestingly the National Taxi Drivers Union rep was on at the end of Morning Ireland, he said the protest is nothing to do with them, don't agree with it and think they shouldn't be blockading like they are, that most of the protesters aren't from Dublin.

So why not cause disruption in your own towns and cities ? I know why, because you probably have to live in them and don't want to face the backlash there, so you come to Dublin where you have no interest and do you what you want here. Dicks.

How can the gardai let 100 self serving pricks cause this must disruption to the city ? It's a pity some of those who slept in their cars didn't have a 'friendly' introduction to some of our less salubrious locals from that end of the city over night. No doubt gardai were out keeping an eye out on them in case such a thing should happen.

confused-dazed · 02-10-2009 09:42AM

ecom wrote: »

has any Garda representative or anyone else for that matter actually gone on record and said why they arent arresting these people?

it's not the G.R.A. that people need to talk to ,it's the T.D.'s the people in government. they should be asked why the law wasn't enforced. this thing about letting the taxi drivers run amok and take over the main street of the country would've come from the top. now maybe just maybe that the guards are afraid of these guys. ****ing hell you'd swear some of them had done hard time.even i'd be afraid of getting into a cab with some of these guys.

ecom wrote: »

Why the one rule for them/us scenario?

ahhhh ecom where have you been .the dogs on the streets have known for years that taxi drivers are a law onto themselves.
i heard this got out of control on the radio when the guards tried to remove a taxi.
what should happen is that every driver that blocked o'connell street should have their license revoked. or even better still the riot squad should've went in.
i believe in protests and all that. but you do not see any other strikers blocking the streets with their trucks, or buses. now theres one for ya. what do you think would happen if striking bus drivers blocked o'connell street with buses. the first people to complain would be "taxi drivers" of course.
well if this site is monitored i hope to god someone reads this.
next time send in the riot squad and if that doesn't work then the army.

Taxi driver protest

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