Taxi drivers have ‘had enough’ - Floods
Floods Taxi signs have been visible on the streets of Cavan Town for over 30 years now.
However, Eddie Flood says that the cost of living crisis, together with changing socialising habits, means that the demands on taxi drivers have evolved.
Speaking to The Anglo-Celt, he also pointed to bureaucracy and regulation within the industry and the high costs involved in securing both a taxi licence and plate as contributing factors to people no longer wanting to work as a taxi driver.
He says all these reasons, combined, have led to a situation where people are not interested in working in the industry, “especially at night”.
“The test to get a licence is getting more and more difficult and it now costs €250 to sit it,” he continued before adding that fellas don’t want to drive a taxi at night anymore - a scenario, he feels has been manifesting since the Covid pandemic emerged back in 2020.
“There is also the level of anti-social behaviour that is out there and that, of course, means drivers don’t want to be out at night on their own driving people around… and this is fact.”
Meanwhile, Eddie says he can’t get drivers at the moment and, when that happens, the company “can only do what it can do”.
“I have been working in this business for the last 30 or 40 years,” he said. “And, I have loved every minute of it but the reality is that the business isn’t there for our industry now. Things are changing and the volumes of people that used to go out at night or at the weekends are not there any more. Some nights we close early because the business isn’t there and, when I can’t get drivers, we just do what we can do and that’s it.”
Eddie also says that many people are existing the industry and “getting out altogether”.
“It’s too expensive to get involved in; the business isn’t there; and fellas don’t want to be dealing with the anti-social behaviour that exists at night.
“By that I mean fighting, refusing to pay the fare, maybe getting sick in the taxi, and aggression towards drivers - fellas have had enough.”
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