Number of taxis in Cork remains below pre-covid levels as revellers 'go home early'

The amount of taxis in Cork is still down 4% on pre-pandemic levels, new figures show, as a Cork restaurateur says people are trying to get out of town before midnight due to difficulties getting home.

New figures from the National Transport Authority (NTA) reveal that Cork has 4% less taxis than it did pre-pandemic, but has seen a 3% increase between 2023 and 2024.

Cork had 2,370 taxis in 2019, this dropped to 2,186 in 2022, though it has increased slightly since then, with 2,202 taxis in 2023 and 2,276 last year.

Cork is one of 23 out of 26 counties have still not recovered their pre-covid taxi driver numbers, despite Ireland’s population growing by 8.5% from 2019 to 2024. The figures show that taxi driver growth is overwhelmingly concentrated in Dublin.

Mike Ryan, the Cork chairman of the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) and co-owner of the Cornstore Restaurant, who are part of a Taxis for Ireland Coalition created last year, said having sufficient taxis was hugely important for the nighttime economy in Cork.

“We know a big part of people’s decision making for going into town is whether or not they can get home. There needs to be more options, more later buses on more routes, to help alleviate the pressure – we shouldn’t rely on taxis alone, public transport should be going out into the suburbs later. The late routes running already are very popular and well used by the general public.

“People are going out to eat earlier so they know they’re guaranteed to get home, 11.30pm is the cutoff now to be out, people make sure they’re done and dusted by then so they’re not stuck in a taxi rank in the rain.

“So while every little increase in taxis is welcome, anyone who has tried to get a taxi on a Saturday night lately will agree that we need more.” 

The Taxis for Ireland Coalition says that the requirement for new taxis to be Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) as the primary barrier to new drivers entering the market.

WAVs typically cost over €60,000, and grant assistance from the NTA is highly oversubscribed - in 2025, the WAV Grant closed within 15 minutes of opening.

The Taxis for Ireland Coalition is calling for the removal of the WAV requirement, a national goal to increase numbers by 30% by 2027, the development of a national taxi strategy and modernising the Driver Entry Test, especially geography-based knowledge tests, given the accessibility of modern technology.