DUBLIN – Dublin’s taxi drivers are set to stage a “major escalation” of their dispute with the ride-hailing app Uber, announcing a six-day national shutdown protest targeting key city-centre locations and Dublin Airport.
The planned disruption, scheduled to run from Monday to Saturday, marks an aggressive step by the drivers, who are protesting Uber’s recent introduction of a fixed-fare pricing model. Drivers argue that this model seriously undermines the regulated fare structure set by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and shifts all financial risk onto them. They claim their income is being decimated, sometimes by as much as a third, especially during periods of heavy traffic or delays.
The group organizing the action stated the protest is the “beginning of a national reckoning” for an industry that feels ignored by the Government. The drivers are demanding immediate engagement from the Government to address the crisis and prevent the continued erosion of their livelihoods.
