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Taxi drivers Pat O’Carroll, Philip Beirne, Joe Flaherty and Tim Hallissey with Tralee Chamber Alliance President John Drummey promoting the new ‘Need A TAXI’ initiative by local traders. Photo by Dermot Crean
TRALEE Chamber Alliance has launched a new ‘Need a TAXI?’ initiative as part of the #loveTralee campaign to give visitors and locals a better experience in Tralee, while supporting the local taxi operators.
If anyone needs a taxi they should simply call into a participating shop, café, pub or business that displays the “Need a TAXI?” sticker on the window or door and a member of staff will either pass on the local taxi details or they will call a taxi for the customer.
The main taxi rank was relocated to the Tesco car park, near Boots in the town centre after the old rank in The Mall, which had been in use for over a decade, closed last month.
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Taxi drivers in Tralee say their incomes have been hit as the public are not using the new rank and protested about the issue in town last week.
The President of Tralee Chamber Alliance, John Drummey, said: “Our local taxi drivers operate an excellent service and look after many visitors to our town and locals too, of course. They need our support. The town centre businesses want to help the taxis give all our customers an even better service. We recognise that taxi operators are no different to other business providers in Tralee upon whom we have already impressed the importance of unity and teamwork. We are all facing challenges during the current town centre transformation, but everyone, including taxi operators, need put on their ‘shop faces’ and maintain a positive outlook for the good of the town.”
Tralee Chamber Alliance has asked Kerry County Council to erect signage directing pedestrians to the new main taxi rank at Tesco and a map to highlight the location of all the taxi ranks in town.
The Tralee Town Centre Retail representative on Tralee Chamber Alliance, Heather O’Sullivan, said: “Tralee Chamber Alliance has enjoyed an excellent level of communication with Kerry County Council during the Town Centre Active Travel Development works. We feel that our weekly meetings have been very beneficial for all involved and in particular the town centre. Issues, such as those facing the taxi operators, are dealt with swiftly and discretely for the good of the town.”
The “Need a Taxi?” scheme, which has been welcomed by and devised in consultation with Tralee Taxi Association, will be in operation from the first week in July and members of the public are being encouraged to look out for the stickers in shops.
