The widespread use of ride hailing apps, such as Uber and Bolt, will lead to customers being charged “extortion amounts of money”, a group representing taxi drivers has argued. 

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has called for reform of the taxi market to make it easier for ride sharing apps to operate in Ireland. 

A survey by the organisation found that most people in Ireland do not believe there are enough taxis. 

One potential solution would be to make it easier for private individuals to sign up to ride sharing apps and take paying passengers. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, All Ireland Taxi Representatives Association (AITRA) spokesperson David Mitchell acknowledged there is an “issue” in the availability of taxis in rural Ireland. 

 However, he said taxi drivers have a number of concerns about the proposed reforms. 

“A lot of questions need to be answered here,” he said. 

“For example, insurance; so, if we're allowing young Johnny, who's in his third year of his apprenticeship, to jump on his souped up Audi A4 to go and pick up my niece or my daughter, who's paying the insurance for this?

“Because I began driving a taxi only four years ago, I was 47 years of age.

“My insurance as a first time taxi driver was €6,000 and I had a full driver's licence in Ireland for 26 years, a clean driver's licence.

“So, who's going to pay for this insurance?” 

Taxis in Dublin. Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie.

Mr Mitchell added the experience of passengers in London suggests that prices in Dublin could actually be increased by the widespread use of ride sharing apps. 

“Oxford University and Columbia University have studies to prove that this is not necessarily ever going to be good for the consumer,” he said. 

“Because what will happen is you may save yourself a euro or two at a slow time on a Tuesday morning.

“However, customers are being hammered at peak time.

“So if, for example, there's a double header at Croke Park, there's a concert in Marley Park and there's a concert out in Malahide Castle. 

“Those same customers are going to be charged extortion amounts of money to get a taxi on their Uber's model.” 

Mr Mitchell added that anyone who believes the widespread availability of ride sharing apps in Ireland should “be careful what you wish for”. 

Also on the programme, Consumer and Competition Protection Commission Chair Brian McHugh said it is “clear that the market's not working currently”. 

“We see from our survey that consumers in December had significant issues finding a taxi and actually a quarter of them gave up and stopped trying,” he said. 

“So, that's not working for anyone. 

“When we look at other markets, we see much less restrictions, much less barriers to entry and we see a much more successful and much healthier market.”

Uber has been contacted for comment.

Main image: A row of taxis driving. Picture by: David Jackson/Alamy.