The shortage of taxi drivers operating across the country is heading in the direction of a "crisis", according to Galway city taxi driver and councillor Frank Fahy, who owns the company Big O Taxis.
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, the Fine Gael councillr said that during the pandemic a large number of taxi drivers retired or moved into new roles outside the industry, and now there is a huge shortage of available staff.
Cllr Fahy said that there were "virtually no young people" becoming taxi drivers, mainly due to the cost of insurance as well as the rising price of fuel, but also because they are not prepared to work anti-social hours.
He added that others are not coming to the industry due to fear of anti-social behaviour, such as people refusing to pay their fares late at night.
"If somebody doesn’t pay your taxi fare, there's the issue of availability of An Garda Síochána at that hour of the night and it's another hour wasted at usually the busiest time of the night. It can take years to come to court, if it ever comes to court. I've been in the industry 30 years but that is a constant issue for the last few years," he said.
He added that there are costs involved in running a taxi that the public just do not see, and it is not a lucrative business unless you are prepared to work up to 100 hours a week.
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Climate Action, Communications Networks and Transport Darren O'Rourke said that the Government and National Transport Authority must sit down with taxi drivers to discuss their running costs.
"The industry is in a vulnerable state post Covid-19 and there is the increase in costs of fuel and running costs. We know from figures from Minister and NTA, more than 2,000 taxi drivers have left the industry.
"Minister Eamon Ryan needs to acknowledge the constraints in the sector, and concerns raised by taxi drivers repeatedly in recent years including during the pandemic. He needs to meet them halfway and encourage people back into the industry".
This comes after a public consultation on the Taxi Fare Review was opened last week by the NTA.
