Taxis in the news because of:
- Recent lightning strike over parking spaces at Dublin Airport leaving thousands of returning travellers stranded during the busiest month of the season.
- Earlier this year some drivers courted controversy by displaying illegal green lights on their cabs, purportedly to designate them as “Irish”
- First half figures out from the Commission for Taxi Regulation show a total of 181 complaints about driver behaviour, over charging and cleanliness.
38,000 drivers with a Small Public Service Vehicle (SPSV) licence since deregulation in 2000, which Public Transport Minister Alan Kelly says amounts to an oversupply of 22pc.
There are 79 ranks in Dublin and several 24 hour ones so it should be easy to hail a cab any time you want.
Your rights are set out in Commission rules:
- The taxi must have a meter and give you a receipt for the fare.
- A driver cannot unreasonably refuse a journey of less than 30km
- SPSV operators must be courteous, helpful and neatly dressed with a good working knowledge of routes.
- They must display a Taxi sign on the roof and driver identification.
- The customer can choose ANY taxi in a rank, not just the one at the top of the queue.
style="text-decoration: underline;">Calculating Fares
A couple of websites will do the calculations in advance. Ex: 2 people from Heuston Station to Westland Row during the day, booked by phone:
href="http://www.worldtaximeter.com/">www.worldtaximeter.com calculated it at €11.10
www.transportforireland.ie said it would be between €10 and €12.80.
Actual fare:Â €10.30 but the driver rounded it down to a tenner which was nice.
Taxis have an initial fixed charge of either €4.10 (day) or €4.45 (night) which includes the first 1km (or 170 seconds) of travel.
After that you are charged per kilometre or, where the speed drops under 21 km/h, per minute. Fare bands rise after 15km, 30km and over 30km.
Extra charges apply for additional passengers (from €1 each, although first child is free), booking fee (€2) and toll charges as incurred.
Drivers are not allowed charge extra for luggage, airport destinations or mobility aids. Nor are they obliged to carry child restraints. You must bring, and fit, your own if you need to.
