Finglas taxi drivers look to Belfast for inspiration in an attempt to compete with bus service.
Dublin taxi drivers claim they are not making a decent wage despite the fifteen per cent increase in fares. They say that with 1,835 taxis on the road there isn't enough business to go around.
In an effort to increase their income, drivers have decided to adopt the system used by the Belfast black taxis on the Falls Road.
A fixed route for a fixed sum with a full taxi.
John Ussher of the Irish Taxi Federation says that the Belfast drivers now earn a decent wage as a result of the introduction of this service.
The first route will start in Finglas West and end in Parnell Street. For the new service to work, taxi drivers will fill the car with up to four passengers. who each pay a pound. Passengers can be dropped off or picked up anywhere along the route for the same fare. The cost is thirty pence more than the bus fare.
Locals in Finglas would welcome the initiative, however questions remain about the legality of such a scheduled service.
If it proves successful in Finglas taxi drivers will roll out a similar service in other parts of Dublin.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 5 January 1984. The reporter is Alasdair Jackson.
