Recruitment drive as authority reveals number of taxi drivers has fallen
The number of taxi drivers on our roads has almost halved in the last decade.
The National Transport Authority is launching a campaign to recruit an additional 1,600 taxi drivers this year.
It says it is trying to ensure that taxi journeys are more accessible to the public after higher regulatory standards led to the decrease.
Wendy Thompson from the NTA outlines the factors that contributed to the decline.
She said: "The €3 licence that was once available is now €250, still very reasonable but very different from taking it as a rainy day operation.
"There's also a centralised national test and that test is broken up into two areas, there's industry knowledge and area knowledge, which means that a taxi driver can only drive in the area which he's entitled."
