Cork’s taxi driver numbers remain 4% below 2019 levels, new figures reveal, as regional Ireland continues to struggle with transport shortages that threaten the hospitality and tourism sectors.
Data from the National Transport Authority shows Cork had 2,276 active taxi drivers in 2024, down from 2,370 in 2019, despite Ireland’s population growing by 8.5% and inbound tourism rising 5% from 2023 to 2024.
The county’s modest 3.36% recovery from 2023 to 2024 masks a deeper crisis affecting rural and regional areas across Ireland. Whilst Dublin taxi numbers surged 7%, ten counties showed no growth or continued decline, with some areas experiencing catastrophic drops.
Border counties suffered the worst impacts, with Monaghan down 28.6%, whilst Leinster outside Dublin fell 14.9% since 2019. The contrast is stark: limousine licences, which face no wheelchair accessible vehicle requirements, jumped 27% nationally.
Adrian Cummins, CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland:
“We are still facing a taxi shortage crisis. It’s being hidden behind a modest urban recovery, but the reality in regional areas and at urban peak times is that people are stranded. In rural Ireland, hospitality businesses are being devastated. Without taxis, people stay home.”
The Taxis for Ireland Coalition identifies mandatory wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs) for new drivers as the primary barrier. These specialist vehicles cost over €60,000, and NTA grants are severely oversubscribed, closing within 15 minutes of opening in 2025.
Converting Ireland’s entire taxi fleet to WAVs would require 25 years and cost €297 million, the NTA acknowledges. Currently, WAVs represent almost 25% of the fleet, already exceeding National Sustainable Mobility Policy targets.
Kieran Harte, Head of Uber Ireland:
“The current requirement for all new taxi entrants to operate wheelchair accessible vehicles, while well-intentioned, is having the opposite of its intended effect. It’s creating a significant barrier for many would-be drivers who simply cannot afford or access these specialist vehicles.”
The coalition argues that wheelchair users now face increased competition for accessible vehicles from passengers who don’t need them, defeating the policy’s original purpose.
Their reform proposals include removing WAV requirements for new drivers, refocusing grants toward committed accessible service providers, modernising geography-based driver tests, and setting a national goal to increase taxi numbers by 30% by 2027.
Cork’s taxi shortage continues to impact the county’s night-time economy and tourism sector, particularly affecting visitors to the region’s growing hospitality scene.