Taxi drivers have been staging protests about Uber, a billion euro company that is pushing a fixed-fare model onto drivers. They held a briefing here in the Dáil yesterday where representatives reported that this model, if it succeeded, could cut the earnings of many drivers by 30% to 50% and undercut those who do not even use Uber. There will be significant repercussions for the 22,000 licensed taxi drivers, a very important cohort of the workforce in this country. It could also potentially lead to a massive increase in work hours, with the implications of that for fatigue and public safety. Taxi drivers described it as a bombshell. They were very emotional talking about the vilification they had endured on social media, for example, for the action they took in recent weeks. The Irish taxi system was regulated to protect drivers' livelihoods and to protect customer service for the general public. It is governed by the NTA on behalf of the Government and is licensed, Garda vetted, has vehicle standards and a public fare review every two years that the public can feed into and under which taxi drivers have themselves rejected increases. Is the Government at all concerned that this system of regulation is threatened by massive corporations that are not even based in this country and do not necessarily pay tax in this country? The fixed-fare option for passengers can look great in theory. No matter what event happens - a road closure, diversion, toll, crash or whatever - they will not pay more than that price. However, any of the extra costs - time lost or extra fuel - are borne completely by the drivers, and passengers should not be fooled. In the US, from 2018 to 2024, Uber increased its prices by 18% per year. At the same time, drivers got 12% less than under the previous model. Uber gets it in and then ramps up the charges. I do not have time to explain it but the dynamic pricing these apps are using is completely different to anything that has gone before. They are using AI and behavioural patterns of individual drivers. They are following the types of fare they normally take and then sending them fares. They are completely individualising it. The CEO of Uber talked about offering the right trip at the right price to the right driver. Uber monitors work patterns and ultimately monitors each driver to increase its profits. The model allows Uber to sell a driver's time to a passenger for the maximum it can get while paying the driver the minimum they will accept. To pose the question, why did the Minister for Transport not meet the taxi drivers yesterday rather than sending his officials to the taxi driver committee? Will the Government ensure that the publicly managed and regulated system of taxi driving is maintained? Will it ensure that algorithms are not allowed to decide the fare structure in this country or the conditions workers have to tolerate?

Sentiment score: 0.13

There are two things that need to happen. The drivers need to boycott Uber, and everybody here - TDs and other public figures - should say they will not use Uber because of what it is doing to these drivers. However, that is not sufficient, because we also need to legislate. Will the Government prohibit the use of algorithms to set fares and will it legislate to prohibit apps acting as third parties in negotiations on the fare between passengers and drivers? I am not saying they cannot negotiate, but negotiations would have to be done human to human. Will the Government conduct an urgent review of the app-based taxi fare models and their compliance with taxi regulations? The Minister stated that the NTA said this was in accordance with the regulations. The apps are exploiting something whereby a driver can agree to take a lower fare from somebody who can only afford to pay, for example, €20 when it should be €25. A goodwill gesture, if you like, for a woman who might be stuck at night and is being brought home. That loophole is being used by these companies to bring in this fixed-fare model. Will Government develop a publicly managed NTA taxi hailing app? Why rely on these massive corporations that are only interested in greed and profit to set the standards for public transport in this country?

Sentiment score: 0.03