It’s been like that in Germany for years, but up to recently it was only on German built cars.

Hahahahahaha hahahahahaha hahahahahaha. Sorry nothing wrong with your post, it makes a lot of sense. But you do know we are talking about Ireland here? We don’t do sensible.

Maybe Dave should email minister@transport.ie with his suggestions? The idea (which I think is a great one) won’t be put into practice if nobody suggests it or promotes it.

I also fail to see why there couldn’t be at least a standard (trademarked?) colour – I like the idea of blue as suggested above – phased in over time. A sticker on the side of a taxi seems a bit tacky.

NTA decided against uniformed cars due to the cost of having every taxi driver in the country have to buy one in the current economical climate . The stickers are a 2nd option to have and an option most drivers will be able to afford .

@ Gordon: Yes I am aware of that which is why I said it should be phased in over time. This would take nine years at an absolute maximum. And if drivers wanted to get their car painted ahead of time, then I’d suggest they are not charged any VAT.

I see this as a missed opportunity.

The thing is though Gordon you could introduce it over time, if you have a car now you stick the sticker on it but when buying a new one you have to go down the uniform route.

A full wrap of a car isnt a bad idea at all .. either is the door decals

But making 19,000 drivers own the same car is , where will 19,000 ppl get finance to buy them , the banks are in shit and won’t lend .. The NTA have accepted this and thats why is a non runner .. and that has come from the authority that runs the industry and not the taxi drivers themselves .

That’s a crazy idea Dave…it makes far too much sense to be implemented here ;)

Figo , your enititled to turn down any car on a rank or on the road as you see unfit .. If you do come another car like the one you originally turned down take the numbers and report it ..

Gordon, reporting a complaint to the regulator has to be hand written and posted, they don’t do web forms or email

My old man drives a Skoda Superb as a taxi, very nice car! Pity its not getting used as much as it should! :)

My father drives a 2 year old avensis and I can tell you he definitly wont put them decals on his car. What will happen is that drivers will all buy bangers to put the on to.

9 yr rule is in place , Any new taxi’s or plate transfers have to go onto a car no older then 3 years . Plates on cars 9 yrs or older can stay on it until the car is been changed , then the car has to be no older then 3 years old .

Regardless of VRT exemptions , where wud drivers get the money to buy uniformed vehicles ?? there is no finance available to self employed or anybody else from banks or lending institutes

All this will do is cause more strikes resulting in the public getting upset and the goverment backing down in the end. lose lose for everyone.

Expecting too much too soon from taxi drivers will cause major problems… These changes should be expected over a reasonable time frame and with proper support in the form or grants or whatever to taxi drivers… Either way, it should be brought in, can’t be a bad thing having uniformed and newish taxis in the roads?

Dec Rowe , maybe the “slip in standards” is the cause of the “struggling”.

So what did you do about it ? Did you actually pay this illegal driver ? did you make a formal complaint to the relevant authorities?

I know that a lot of taxi drivers are struggling to make a living! I’m sure the slip in standards are associated with this!

I understand that, alot of business are struggling these days but small things like cleanliness does not cost alot.

you can only invest if you have it to invest Mark , The banks arent lending and if the drivers aren’t making a whole lot i really doubt their saving vast sums for investing in the failing industry .

True but instead of having 18,000 mostly part time drivers because many have other jobs, if you had 9,000 fulltime taxis. All with 7 seater cars, and as Dave Hammond said if the government scrapped VRT and Taxes on these new cars the service would be alot better today and safer. It is only failing because you have to many drivers on the street.

Mark , 19,000 fulltime drivers thru – out ireland .. to say most of them are part time is an insult to them , most of them work no less then 50 hours a week , I was one , i know first hand the hours needed to work

You can’t descriminate against a person trying to earn a living because they cant afford a brand new car / vehicle , the NTA have recognised this and that why there going for the vehicle branding and not a standard vehicle .

I use Taxis alot in Dublin and their main complaint is to many part time Taxis on the road in Dublin and to many drivers sharing plates. Thats what i hear alot from Taxi drivers in the city.

Its true , there is , I for one am gald i’m out of it the last 7 months . there are 12,000 licenced taxis for dublin alone , thats an over supply i reckon of about 40% , But what else are these drivers going to do , join the other 420,000 on the dole going crazy bored sitting at home ??? they keep working it as it brings in some money then the dole plus they feel there out there doing a bit for there families ..

I know many Taxi drivers work hard and long hours, but Taxi drivers in Dublin say many of the part time drivers have other jobs, driving a taxi is the second job. The bit on the side, go out at busy times. That’s when the Full time drivers suffer. How many of the 12,000 licenced taxis in dublin work part time?

How long is a piece of string Mark … Nobody knows it’s a guessing game , There are thousands of plates rented too but they are to full time drivers that put in the same hours as plate owners . I know for a fact now many part timers are getting out because there not making enough to justify it , there not willing to get there cars branded and everybody will know there double jobers and revenue will be hitting them with big bills aswell , But having said all that , the work is not there anymore to justify all the cars . People and companys are not spending what money they have left on taxi’s ,

Oversupply and lack of want is the 2 main factors the taxi game is in shite , the NTA are slowly bringing in measures to try put it right .

Mark, you use taxis when youre on holidays here. Plenty of us are happy to be able to get a cab easily enough. 7 seaters are not required because most people use cabs in 1s, 2s or 3s. Its rare that groups get cabs as its a small city plus drivers use their cars as family cars. suggesting they should all be 7 seaters is ridiculous.

No Tommy C i have a property in Dublin and am in the city alot….. I don’t know what you are talking about.

Its not only about 1 or 2 people travelling in a taxi Tommy, the 7 seater cars are accessible to a wheelchair user, you work in a hospital surely you can see the benefits in this???

13,000 w/c acessable 7 seater taxi’s in dublin .. Good man Mark you really are clueless , you do realise a new one of these currently runs at around 40,000 each !!!

And some of us were born and bred here so we know the place and the people. A city of 1.5 million doesnt need a taxi fleet of 7 seaters only. This city is far too small, taxi drivers need their cars for their families, 9000 fulltime taxis means 9000 unemployed taxi drivers. If the average city inhabitant is happy enough with a service, we dont need to pimp it just to make them look good.

Gordon you said Dublin has 12,000 taxis in your comment above, you now say Dublin has 13,000 w/c accessible 7 seater taxi’s? Im confused…. I rarely see a 7 seater taxi in Dublin. I thought you are from Mayo Tommy,

I was alluding to your stupid suggestions of 7 seater w/c only taxis , that’s what we would have on the streets .. ur lack of knowledge to the requirements of taxis in dublin is actually funny …

Is that why you stopped driving? lack of knowledge :)

No mark unlike you , my knowledge was perfect ;) I stopped flogging a dead horse . I knew when it was time to walk away ..

You sound like most Taxi men, never open for change. Just moan and say how hard things are. Miserable…..

facts are facts Mark .. your ignorance about the taxi industry is there for all to see .

Name calling because you don’t know what your talking about is sad .. very sad ..

TBH All the underemployed Taxi drivers (40%) would be better off on the dole. Just Do It! Quit – go on the dole – and get your crap car off the road. Soon you’ll realise you can do other things, maybe even something productive! You could enjoy working and you cold stop complaining about part-timers. Give other road users a break from major congestion around Taxi ranks. Maybe try something smart like use the union to work out a rostering system where odd numbered and even numbered plates alternate their work days which would give more predictable income levels. Use Hailo or some other software to forecast demand levels!

Whats wrong with saying it would be good for Dublin to have a trademark car for the Taxi industry in the future? Ok maybe not all 7 seaters (some) but all the same colour? It will be good for the taxi industry and its customers. You are the one that started the name calling, i just said what most people think about taxi drivers.
They are never open for change. Just moan and say how hard things are. Miserable…..Truth.

Thats up to the gaurds to do in the form of tickets and fines ;)

The Guards don’t want the hassle of dealing with Taxis anymore than anyone else. Have been told that the Guards are pissed off issuing tickets to taxi’s only to have the Taxi representatives get them thrown out in court.waste of time

@gordon , sure but they could do both , introduce the stickers anyway and still have the offer to avail if buying new model without all the taxes for buying a specific colour , over time the vast majority of divers will avail of what amount to a much lower monthly car payment for a great quality car especially as VRT etc is so high here , customers would choose to travel in better cars and drivers could switch over time , im sure eventually you’d find the vast majority would avail of the offer

The new Taxis for London, more fuel efficient. Similar to ones planned for New York and Tokyo.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9456331/Nissan-unveil-new-design-for-London-black-cab.html

Dave / Mark … the NTA .. the aurthority that runs the industry does not want new standard vehicles for all drivers due to economical costs … They are looking to improve standards of the drivers/vehicles which is a good thing , Maybe when the economy comes out of the shitter it might think again about it …

Gordon nobody is saying all taxis should be trademarked now, it can be phased in over a number of years.

what are you saying mark ….. plain english please ;) and dont say everybody shud have the same car and be given a certain amount of time to do it .. the NTA do not want that .

The NTA do not want it because of economic times i understand that, i said over a number of years 5-10 years the new trademark car could be phased in. This way only those interested in working full time in the taxi industry will benefit as will the customer :)

As far as I’m concerned they should introduce standard vehicles as in the UK! With extensive knowledge testing and a compulsory 5-year license retest!
The quality of taxis and the standards we’re driven are appalling!

And before anyone says something; Yes there are exceptions and NO is isn’t just the foreigners who are bad!

The standard of the knowledge test has been improved over the last 4 years , but it is still a long way off the british model

Aideen, I must download that. Very nervous at night getting into taxis. It’s happened a few times to me and my friends that picture and driver have not matched. And it’s every race including Irish!
Also wish they’d do something about stinky taxi men, the smokers are the worst, I nearly got sick the last time I jumped into one, the taxi was mouldy!
Yuk!!

The ignorance of this comment, on so many levels, is astounding on so many levels.

(quote: “This is low level work that should be accompanied by low level income.)

Comment of the week! ;-)

That is not true, VRT on a commercial vehicle is now 13.3% up until 3/4 years ago it was €350, and only those registered for VAT are able to reclaim the VAT on a commercial vehicle.

self employed ( all taxi drivers are self employed ) aren’t registered for VAT and thus cannot claim it back .

Because you can drive it around as a regular family car when you take the sign off the roof at the end of the shift.

Brian, the reason why taxi drivers and all passenger transport in Ireland cannot claim vat is because it is a vat exempt industry. That is that vat is not charged to the customer but is paid by the carrier whether taxi bus etc on goods it purchases such ad diesel. The vat element is seen as a business cost by revenue.

Eugene I’m aware of the VAT situation, I was referring to the chancers wanting cars used for taxiing to be VRT exempt.

@Brian, Maybe they should looking at lowering the VRT on the vehicles subject to branding the vehicles one colour scheme going forward etc as this would could reduce the age of the fleet and make the debt required to service more magagable. Things like this have been done in Germany where if the drivers by German vehicles they get reduced tax on the vehicles. There is always going to be people who use taxi’s as personal cars but Revenue also tax this into account with tax returns as you have to allocate a percentage for personal use. The same I would imagine would go for trades people who have van’s/4X4′s.

Pip .. lets not be stupid about this , NOBODY likes change when it ‘s forced upon them by authority’s , If the NTA consulted with taxi drivers representitive bodie’s they could work out the best solutions between them , Hence not getting the backs of the drivers up by forcing them to do something they had no say in …

The taxi drivers had a chance to contribute meaningfully to the regulations 20 years but all the did was prevaricate and delay any serious changes, the minister of the day got tired of their b/s and said here’s the new new regulations like it or lump it. Taxi drivers were the architects of their own misfortune.. Tough sh1t

sad thing is Brian , the taxi unions called for stupid stoppages based on quick voets among a few members , but yet expected the taxi drivers a s a whole to accept this , The masses of drivers just followed suit because they didnt want to be seen as scabs ..

Times are changing and the drivers are now less inclined to stop working as they cant afford to , The stoppage up the airport a few weeks ago was only by the drivers who have a pass to work the airport , when the suggested it go city wide to help there cause , they where told in no uncertain terms to F*** O** .

@Gordon hughes ,your comments re airport situation and unions is total and utter bullsh*t .

All done within an acceptable timeline

Most drivers will welcome the door decals , as it will start showing the part time drivers a mile off as there cars sit in company carparks all day , revenue will be able to build a nice list of double jobers and plough them for nice tax bills and boost the countrys coffers by a few more quid

It’s not an unrealistic expectation to have all cars conformed to a specific standard, other countries have done it.. It is unrealistic to expect in overnight. If this shitehawk of a Government would make some realistic reforms then the taxi industry could be competed uniformed by at least 2025! :)

Given the right time and money it can be done … But where will the money come from ?

Maybe they could shed a few €mill off the next €bill that will be paid to Anglo bond holders…? ;)

what they paid to Aib bondholders on Monday wud of covered it ;)

Pack of swines! :)

Pack of swines!! :)

@ Gordon , ok so I’ll try say it plain English and you tell me why this is not worth a go ;) ….from jan next the government agrees to offer a tax break on a particular standard of car , eclass , avensis ,passat ,etc doesn’t have to be one car brand , car just a new 13 d registration , of agreed standard and in a specific colour (black for simplicity it doesn’t matter ) , the amount saved is probably in the region of what , 30% less than market price if no taxes apply. It is not compulsory but a genuine offer that compares so favourable that drivers will begin to use the cars with tax break. The banks or more likely car finance folk like VW bank etc are more likely to want to finance these cars as the monthly payments are much more affordable than at present , the infusion of new cars will take some time but in the same way film tax breaks etc work it could act as a stimulus rather than ” waiting for the economy” to change as indicated….the net effect would be attractive option for taxi drivers , better cars for customers , govt support for the taxi industry and over time the standards of cars for customers rise. It would not be compulsory and the stickers can still be introduced alongside as planned . Give the drivers the choice ,get tax breaks , and oil the wheels of finance for the taxi sector while improving standards at the same time. Why would NTA not want to have that idea considered.

in boom times that would be a great idea , we are living in times of austerity and the taxi industry is on its knees , I’m out of it 7 months and I know for a fact very few drivers could even dream of buying a new car in the next fee years unless there’s a drastic upswing in business …

19,000 self employed drivers trying to get finance to work in a struggling industry , do you really think the banks or credit unions will lend to them ( who aren’t lending to most people by the way ) !!!!

Mark would you like to pay UK taxi prices? Also in Cork I have a couple of friends that own taxis. They cant make a living. The self employed in this country are sick & tired of being told what to provide. Can we ask what we will get from these investments? Being self employed is now a fools game. To much regultion & rights for everyone except theres none for self employed people. Can we adress that balance. I would hate to drive a taxi its not an easy job.

@Gordon: there is no need to change overnight. However, compulsory driving lessons should be introduced for all professional drivers.

@Mjhint: First of all; I am self employed. My customers pay me because I keep up-to-date and deliver a good standard of work. More then I can say for a lot of taxis I’ve taken.
The reason why the customers get more and more rights is because the amount of abuse they suffer from their drivers: Small cars, old cars, smell of smoking, driver having porn on a portable dvd player, opinionated drivers, angry drivers (airport to swords run), taking the longer route to get some more cash, drivers don’t know the city, driver speeds and endagers my life and I can keep going for a while.
Taxis in this country are far below par. There are exceptions and I’ve met some really good ones, but my experience so far is that they are exceptions.

your having a laugh right ?? professional drivers shud have there driving skills checked every 5 yrs and the general public shud not !!!! Taxi drivers , bus drivers , limo drivers the army’s drivers , gardai , council workers …. think about it mark …… I put 400,000 kms on a car from 2007 to 2012 …. as opposed to a joe soap who probaly dint even put 50,000 in that time , but my driving skills wud need to be checked …

You bet it should be: the more people drive, the worse their bad habits: jumping lane constantly, taking two lanes, pulling up in front of other drivers, parking in the middle of busy streets, speeding within city limits, cutting off other road users and what not.
Taxi’s and unmarked vans are amongst the worst and anti social drivers in the cities.

How about this side of it , The more people drive the more Experience they gain , the more they become aware of the dangers of the city roads , the more likely they are to know the padestrians are going to walk out in front of them in the city centre and allow for this .. Your argument/suggestion is Laughable at best .

You can laugh all you want Gordon, but it’s a scientific fact that over time driver get worse not better. ALL drivers.
On top of that, as you said yourself, with 400,000 Kilometers in 5 years your bad habits endanger a lot more lives then others, who drive a lot less.
Not that long ago I read an article (and I promise if I can find it again I’ll give you the link) describing how research shows that the more often a person drives, the more familiar they are with their surroundings, the more risks they take. Reason for that is exactly the familiarity you describe yourself: the illusion of being able to deal with the unexpected. It is for the same reason most accidents happen with a certain radius from our homes: we are too familiar with the road and rather then being alert we go by experience alone.

your a bit presumutious I’ve bad drivings !!!! 400,000 no crashes , no penalty points, no fines ….. I don’t drive a taxi anymore , but wen I did I always tried to be safe and responsible when driving :)

Yes, thats vital.

Agreed.

Can i ask why you want to see them in Irish as well as English , Considering only 6 % of the population speak Irish ?

Probably because this is Ireland. And anything that normalises our native language can only be a good thing.

In the West maybe………

Andy did you see lidl have some Xmas stock in already?…Crazy I say….Although I have to admit I purchased a selection box,a minstrel one,you can’t beat the owl galaxy chocolate

There easily removable for when the car is being driven by the Missus

They are to be semi-permanent, like vinyl stickers. Not magnetic ones.

there gonna be permanent stickers , not magnetic

do you think she’d like to pay a full years road tax on the car when its not been used as a taxi , a taxi’s annual raod tax on a 1.9 diesel is €84 as opposed to €660 for normal road tax ???

Same could be said for all commercial vehicles, that are not used for commercial purposes.

All that she’ll be doing different is driving the car with stickers on the door … it’s a small price to pay fro saving €560 quid on road tax

9 yr rule is in place , Any new taxi’s or plate transfers have to go onto a car no older then 3 years . Plates on cars 9 yrs or older can stay on it until the car is been changed , then the car has to be no older then 3 years old .