The National Transport Authority is looking to introduce electronic payments for taxis.
Appearing before the Oireachtas Transport Committee, NTA Chief Executive Anne Graham said that the authority was looking to regulate in this area prior to Covid-19, but the pandemic put those plans on hold.
Ms Graham told committee chair Kieran O'Donnell that the new regulation would require all taxis to take electronic payment.
This change would also be accompanied by a fare increase to cover the costs associated with the upgrade.
"We're looking at it again and looking at the fare structure as well to go alongside that," she told the committee.
Regarding the wider public transport network, Ms Graham told Deputy O'Donnell that the next generation of Leap Card will allow for the use of electronic payments on bus and rail services.
However, this change is unlikely to be implemented for another two to three years.
In the meantime, the NTA is looking at creating a virtual Leap Card that can be stored in the wallet of a person's phone.
