The National Transport Authority (NTA) will require all taxis to facilitate card payments under proposals outlined in the National Maximum Taxi Fare Review Report 2022.

The NTA had previously planned to make it mandatory for taxis to offer card payments in early 2020, but the implementation was deferred due to the pandemic.

The report published shows that the cost associated with operating a taxi has increased by 11% since 2017, and the NTA has recommended a 12% increase in the maximum taxi fare to reflect this and to cover the costs associated with introducing cashless payment facilities.

A 4.5% increase in the maximum fare had been planned for early 2020, but was also scrapped due to Covid-19.

The NTA proposals are now open for public consultation until Friday May 27.

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The Taxi Fare Review is generally carried out by the NTA every two years to assess operating costs and fares in the small public service vehicles (SPSV) sector.

The government last year announced €6.5m worth of supports for the taxi sector to assist in its recovery from the pandemic, with €3m to cover the continued waiver of vehicle licence fees for taxis, hackney and limousines in 2022, €2m for a once-off motor tax refund scheme, and €1.5m for NCT fee refunds.

Earlier this month, the NTA announced an average reduction of 20% in bus fares outside Dublin as part of the government's package to reduce the price of living.

(Pic: Getty Images)