CCPC's call to deregulate taxi industry a 'race to the bottom' for Louth's 951 drivers
Ireland's most popular taxi provider Freenow said increasing the overall number of drivers would not solve the shortage in rural areas
Calls from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) to open the taxi industry to private cars has been labelled a "race to the bottom" by Freenow.
The CCPC called for the removal of regulatory barriers to open apps such as Uber and Bolt which is currently only open to licensed taxi drivers.
The removal would allow private drivers to provide services using their own car, as seen in the United Kingdom and United States.
However, Freenow, Ireland's most popular taxi provider said "full deregulation is a race to the bottom that would inevitably lead to a decline in service quality".
There are currently 577 taxi drivers that have Louth as their primary region, with 374 covering the county as an additional area.
The CCPC survey found that just 28% of people outside Dublin believed there was enough taxis.
However, while Freenow acknowledged there are supply issues in rural areas, it said there is little evidence to suggest that increasing the number of drivers would solve the problem, as most drivers would continue to work in urban centres where demand is most concentrated.
Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien said there is "no intention" introduce any such legislation.
Taxi drivers must pass both industry and area knowledge tests, and must obtain Garda vetting before they can operate.
Taxi drivers had previously held protests late last year, about Uber's introduction of 'fixed-fare' pricing. Jim Waldron, spokesperson for the National Private Hire and Taxi Association told RTÉ "It's the goal of Uber to get control of the pricing system and this is the first step. It's their playbook."
"We've seen it all over the world. That's the step they make to introduce fixed fares, they bring them in at a lower price, and the customer looks at it and say 'I'm saving money, what's wrong with that’?
"They don't realise that down the line, the taxi industry will falter, supply will fall, we won't be able to survive, and we won't have what you call a professional small public service vehicle sector," he said
Uber drivers in the United States have also protested in the past against low wages, one Uber driver in 2019 reporting "They [Uber] are just taking care of themselves, they don’t care about us."
Freenow said it has conducted research that deregulating the sector could see drivers lose nearly €400 a month in earnings, and 53% of its drivers would consider leaving the sector entirely.