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A SINN FÉIN TD has criticised the fact taxi drivers have to display decals on the side of their cars, saying the signs act as a magnet for thieves.
Dessie Ellis raised the issue with Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe in the Dáil recently.
Rules introduced in 2013 mean that drivers run the risk of being fined if they don’t have decals on the side of their car.
Ellis said the signs were “hailed as a security measure to stamp out rogue taxis operating without a proper licence and to give confidence to passengers, but they have done neither”.
“It is important that prospective customers can tell that a car driving by is a taxi for hire, but a taxi driver cannot now use their car in any private circumstance without people assuming that they are plying for hire,” Ellis said.
“In the past, taxi drivers were able to remove their signage and place it in the boot or elsewhere and drive their car on their day off or on holidays as a private car. They were able to park up in towns or at their home and not be seen from a distance to be a taxi. To some, this might not seem important but for those who make their living as a taxi driver it is crucial for safety and comfort,” the Dublin North–West TD told the Dáil.
Donohoe said taxi regulations are a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA), noting: “As such I have no function in this matter.”
The minister pointed out that the taxi signage riles make it “more difficult for vehicles to operate illegally as taxis.”
“As the door signage is semi-permanent, the vehicle is still identifiable as a purported taxi even when the roof sign is removed, which was not the case previously,” he said.
A spokesperson for the NTA said the authority “has no records to substantiate crime arising from taxi identification by prescribed branding or tamper proof discs”.
Taxi drivers
David McGuinness of Tiomanaí Tacsaí na hÉireann (TTnH) said the group brought the issue to the attention of then junior transport minister Alan Kelly about a year ago.
McGuinness said there has been “a huge increase” in taxi break-ins recently. He said this isn’t entirely down to decals, but claimed they have played a role as “our cars now are identifiable”.
He said TTnH has urged its 2,500 or so members to not leave valuables or a float in the car where possible.
TheJournal.ie stopped by the taxi rank at Stephen’s Green in Dublin city centre to find out what drivers think.
Shane Lennon told us he only got his taxi back a few days ago, after it was stolen from outside his house last month.
Enough said … It was taken because it is a taxi and it is easily-identifiable as a taxi. The meter was ripped out, the decals were ripped off, they put in a new ignition. Bits and bobs, you know.
Lennon, who has been working as a taxi driver for six years, said he doesn’t believe his car would have been stolen if it wasn’t clear it was a taxi.
“The guards were absolutely brilliant, I have to say, from start to finish,” he noted.
Lennon said his roof sign was stolen a few months ago, so he doesn’t leave it on at night anymore.
“It’s just one of those things. There are scumbags out robbing houses as well, they shouldn’t be doing that either.”
Karl Dowling, who has worked as a driver since 2003, said decals were meant to stop people from double-jobbing, but he claims they have failed in this regard.
The idea of the thing in the first place was to cut out all the double-jobbers, I don’t see that’s working.
He added that it costs about €80 to put on a decal and it “devalues the car”.
Another driver, who didn’t want to be named, said a friend of his was targetted by a gang of thieves at his house last week. He said a group of men tried to break into his friend’s taxi but ran off when he called the gardaí.
He too thinks taxis are more of a target than other cars.
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My car was robbed from outside my house and it isn’t a taxi. Someone tried to rob it a month later too. People who rob cars will just rob them.
If your car has been taken without your permission it has been stolen, it has not been robbed.
Are taxi drivers at greater risk of being robbed? We have no idea and no meaningful data, but we’ll pad out an article based on subjective opinions anyway.
Poor taxi drivers.
At least they’ve still got their massive fares to help them through this non-existent threat.
What massive fares would they be Diarmuid? The average fare is €7..
They look odd on the ferry towing a caravan with a big taxi sticker on it.
Why not use those magnetic type stickers which are very easy to remove
They are in bigger danger of road rage with they way most of them drive around.
In fairness most taxi drivers are decent genuine hard working people but there have being times when some of them have charged way to much trying to trick you or drive around aimlessly getting the taxi meter up. So as much as there are robbers out there SOME taxi drivers NOT ALL OF THEM are trying to get more out of you and this post is NOT directed at anyone in particular its just a general commet.
It’s a tough job being a taxi driver..
Dessie Ellis looking to change the world one sticker at a time. This is the kind of revolutionary thinking we need the Shinners in government for.
They’re removable!
No there not…..permanant once put on..
My comment was actually a reply to A post below. Don’t know why it was posted on its own.
To RonanM
If someone wants to rob a taxi driver they will decal or no decal.
It’s regarding taxis parked up at houses, not operating
@ frankie farrell totally agree with . what really annoys me are the price of fares at night time, some taxis drivers really take advantage with the young people from the clubs. only today our grandchildren were telling us how much it cost from limerick city centre to a distance less than 2kms and they were chared €22! how can anyone justify that . we can all give out about the government /banks etc taking advantage but what hope have we got if we are taking advantage of each other!
I live in Limerick and been honest have never been charged anything near that to travel that distance. Went from Corbally to town this evening which is also about 2km and it cost €8 which is fairly normal. Maybe they were travelling when the great Limerick run was on. Road closures and 13000 people running will obviously cause a lot more traffic but no way that journey of 2km on a taxi meter cost €22.
@ cian irwin i was talking about late at night, the distance could be walked but not advised in the interest of safety. there was no traffic this was a straight run out from the city and under 2kms. in fact they were out again last night and were charged €18 for the same run. was talking to a local taxi driver and he admitted that there is a huge problem with the night time pricing and is disgusted how some taxi are over charging. apparently the distance in question should be no more than €12 at night. at the end of the day talking a taxi is a must at night time but it is such a pity some taxi drivers have to over charge!
London style cabs is the way to go.
Van drivers with signage advertising their business have the same issues.
But as a point of law, if you tax your Vechicle as Taxi or Van, which is a reduced rate commercial Vechicle road tax, you are not allowed to used it for private use.
But, we all use our vans and Taxi’s for private usage and have to live with the signage.
I think Mr Ellis is blowing more SF hot air, just to get some media attention.
Tough job.
No guaranteed income: if you cant work you don’t get anything from anybody.
no guaranteed pension (until one is 68- 15 years older than the average retirement age of a public servant/Garda/teacher etc. on full pension)
A basic old age pension to live on- unless one has a private pension plan.
No paid sick leave.
Perhaps, being owners of public service vehicles;and having to have a public service vehicle drivers licence, they should join a public service union; and ask Brendan Howlin for similar conditions as public servants- in their workplace-and when they fall ill,get paid;or when they go on holidays get paid, and so on and so forth.
SF-i think the big yellow sign is the real problem not the stickers!
They’ve no prob fleecing the passengers tho!!
Price regulations needed as some taxi’s charge what they like
They’re the ones robbing, 9 quid malahide to fairview.
Only a few weeks ago there was a woman on the Joe Duffy Show pleading for info on her husbands taxi which had been stolen along with her car from outside their house, her car had been found but his was still missing and while Joe was describing it he included that it had taxi decals on the doors, the woman corrected him saying there were no decals because they were magnetic and removable. Awkward pause by Joe.
Finally somebody said that laud that Taxi Decals causing a lot of trouble for their owners. I had problems in Northern Ireland drive my cab to Belfast for my weekend off. Another day tourists trying get in to my cab when I was in town around lunch time driving with my wife! Car has been vandalised number of times outside my house scratched, slashed tyres, broken wipers. Violence against Taxi man get increase since decals has been introduced and all Taxi man has been forced to fit in without any option to have his own private transport on his day off or holidays. Intimidation from National Transportation is unacceptable towards us!
Robbing taxis is wrong; robbing banks is right. Four legs good, two legs bad.
Then who?
Finally somebody said that laud that Taxi Decals causing a lot of trouble for their owners. I had problems in Northern Ireland drive my cab to Belfast for my weekend off. Another day tourists trying get in to my cab when I was in town around lunch time driving with my wife! Car has been vandalised number of times outside my house scratched, slashed tyres, broken wipers. Violence against Taxi man get increase since decals has been introduced and all Taxi man has been forced to fit in without any option to have his own private transport on his day off or holidays. Intimidation from National Transportation is unacceptable towards us!
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