1,000 taxi drivers for city protest

UP TO a thousand taxi drivers are expected to take to the streets this Saturday to push for a three-year moratorium on issuing new licences. Taxi drivers and dispatchers from around the country will march from Eyre Square to the Cathedral where a public rally will be held to highlight their plight.The Galway Taxi Association is behind the move which is designed to pressurize the Government into curbing the number of taxi licences issue by the Commission for Taxi Regulation. The Association insists there has been a 30% fall in business due to the large increase in the number of drivers since deregulation.According to the Commission for Taxi Regulation, 1,100 taxi licences currently operate in Galway City – 401 extra for both the city and county were granted in 2008 alone. A further 20 will have been issued in the city in January. The economic recession and the lack of parking spaces for taxis in the...