Written answers

Tuesday, 14 June 2022

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Public Transport

Photo of Patrick CostelloPatrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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261. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the initiatives that his Department is supporting to increase the availability of public transport and public service vehicles after 11pm in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29038/22]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, he is not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally, including night-time bus services.

In addition, the regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) sector is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the provisions of theTaxi Regulation Act 2013.

The Government and the NTA have recently taken a number of steps to support taxi drivers who are already in the industry.

The draft Maximum Fares Order 2022, which was open for public consultation until May 27th, included a proposed average increase in taxi fares of 12.5%. By facilitating this increase in maximum fares, the NTA is addressing the pressures that the taxi industry clearly faces, particularly the rising cost of fuel. This is designed in such a way as to provide a larger increase for premium hours (20.00 to 08.00, Sundays and Bank Holidays) and shorter journeys. This is the period, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, when there are the most complaints about the unavailability of taxis. It is hoped that increasing taxi fares, particularly the premium fare, will encourage more taxi drivers to operate during that time, as well as making the sector more attractive to new entrants, thus increasing availability to passengers nationally.

The 2022 driver survey, undertaken by the NTA, shows that 93% of drivers are now working but only 29% currently work this period. 30% of drivers (up from 17% in 2019) reported that they would consider working these hours if fares were to increase for this “night work”.In recognition of this, the proposed fare has been weighted in favour of the Premium Rate period. The increase in cents/euro for each taxi user per journey is not substantial; however, the cumulative impact of the increase is significant for drivers and it is hoped that this will encourage more taxi drivers to operate during these periods and also encourage drivers to reactivate their licences.

My Department and the NTA introduced a number of supports during the Covid-19 pandemic to reduce the costs for licenced SPSVs to continue in the industry during this very difficult period. These included an increase in the maximum vehicle age, and licence fees at no cost. The NTA also introduced a regulatory measure to allow licence holders to be inactive for 24 months (previously 12 months) to allow them to remain attached to the industry with no associated costs during this very uncertain period. It is hoped that a significant proportion of these licences will return now that demand for services is increasing.

The SPSV Motor Tax Refund Scheme was introduced as an additional financial support to assist the SPSV industry in its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. and I provided €2m in funding for this Scheme. The Scheme commenced on 1 September 2021 following NTA’s extensive efforts to put in place the necessary process to ensure SPSV licence holders could receive a reimbursement of €95 for their SPSV Motor Tax. The Scheme will end on 31 August 2022.

The NTA also introduced the NCT Initial Test Fee Waiver Scheme for the SPSV sector on September 1st 2021, with funding of €1.5m from my Department. As a result, SPSVs presenting for the NCT received, and continue to receive, this test for free. This Scheme also ends on 31 August 2022.

My Department has made available funding to the NTA to provide grants for the provision and conversion of vehicles to being wheelchair accessible which is a requirement for new entrants to the SPSV industry. The uptake of the Wheelchair Accessible Taxi (WAT) grant scheme has been strong, with 3,341 grants allocated for the purchase of a WAT between 2014 and 2021, with associated funding of over €3 million given over that period.

I remain committed to supporting the transition of the SPSV fleet towards zero/low-emission vehicles. The SPSV industry is regarded as a champion in the normalisation of electric vehicle use. The Scheme is funded by the Department and administered by the NTA. €15m was allocated in 2022 to support the industry to switch to electric. The Scheme is kept under continuous review and is currently paused to allow for the drawdown and payment of provisional grant offers. Once these grant offers have been drawn down, there will be a clearer picture of the funding available for the second half of the year and, at this stage, I anticipate the scheme will reopen for applications in the summer, allowing SPSV operators to again apply for the supports on offer.

In light of the Authority's responsibility in these areas, I have forwarded the Deputy's specific question in relation to the availability of public transport and public service vehicles after 11pm in Dublin, to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.

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