# How safe female 20yo to travel home alone in taxi frm centre Dublin to suburbs 2-3am?



## butterfield (8 Jun 2009)

How safe is it for a female aged 20 to travel home alone in taxi from centre Dublin to suburbs at 2.30 /3.00 am ??     Have not done this for a long time myself and would like to know if a lot of people do this and any tips for safety ??


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## WaterSprite (8 Jun 2009)

*Re: Taxi Question ??*

I think it's perfectly safe, so long as she gets a licensed taxi and waits at a rank where there is a crowd of people and she's not paralytic (which would be dangerous enough regardless of whether she's getting into a taxi or not).  If she's worried, she can text the taxi plate number to a friend as soon as she gets in.  I'd have no qualms about it (as a woman) - there are those that scaremonger about taxis (and in fact taxi drivers themselves that scaremonger about non-national taxi drivers) and I wouldn't pay any heed.


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## Darthvadar (8 Jun 2009)

*Re: Taxi Question ??*

You can reassure yourself somewhat by pre-booking a taxi in advance with a reputable company... That way, the base controller has a record of, and the details of the driver dispatched to to you... 

It has the other advantage of making it easier not to get drawn into staying out too late if you don't want to... I pre-book my taxi's all of the time and it's great to be able to reply to the "Aaaaw, stay for one more drink" plea with a "I'm terribly sorry, I'd love to stay, but I've a taxi booked, and he'll be waiting outside!... Great excuse!...

Darth...


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## so-crates (8 Jun 2009)

*Re: Taxi Question ??*

butterfield, I don't think it has suddenly got dangerous to take a taxi from the centre of Dublin at 2.30 in the morning. Welfarite is correct, there is a cohort of Dublin taxi drivers who view with suspicion anyone that is new to the trade and save their most particularly venomous ire for non-national taxi drivers (I have to take quite a few taxis ergo I have my ear bent by these individuals on a regular basis). From experience, one particular frustration that may crop up is that weekend nights bring out the part-timers and not all of those have the best knowledge of the city. I make a point of knowing my route as I have not always been able to depend on the taxi driver either knowing it or more subtly not taking the optimum route. Most taxi drivers are just trying to make a decent living and would rather get you home as quick as possible and get back to pick up another fare but you do find the "I don't know where that is", which are usually new, frequently non-national and the know-it-all insistent on their route, which are usually not new to the game and pig-headed to boot (also anecdotally the most vitriolic against incursion from furriners, etc). I honestly prefer the former because at least I can get them to go where I want without too much agro!

Darth's point is excellent because it also means you don't have to go find a taxi


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## jack2009 (9 Jun 2009)

*Re: Taxi Question ??*

I think it is a gamble, so do what previous posts have suggested in order to increase your odds of a safe night.


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## csirl (9 Jun 2009)

*Re: Taxi Question ??*

Like most professions, taxi drivers are a mixed bag - some good, some bad. unfortunately I'm sure there are some drivers out there who would not be able to resist the temptation to chat up a young woman on her own, particularly one with drink on her.


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## butterfield (11 Jun 2009)

*Re: Taxi Question ??*

thanks for all replies ... appreciate feedback which is much as I expected.   My own opinion is that in the main its safe enough but there can be risks too.


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## steph1 (11 Jun 2009)

*Re: Taxi Question ??*

And if you do pre-book a taxi ask the company if they have a female driver.


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## Padraigb (11 Jun 2009)

*Re: Taxi Question ??*



steph1 said:


> And if you do pre-book a taxi ask the company if they have a female driver.



I think that is unnecessarily restrictive. Once you book a taxi by phone, you are dealing with a system where there is a record of who your driver is, so the likelihood of a driver acting inappropriately drops from tiny to non-existent.

Sometimes pre-booking is not a good idea -- say when you are at a social event and want to keep some flexibility about the time to leave. You can summon a taxi by phone and still have the advantage of the dispatcher having a record of who your driver is.


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## mcaul (11 Jun 2009)

*Re: Taxi Question ??*

Havnen't heard of any major safety issues with taxis - if there was you can be guaranteed that the Evening Hysterical would have it on the front page, or The Irish Daily Mail would have it on pages 1,3,4,5,6,7,8& 9.


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## damson (13 Jun 2009)

*Re: Taxi Question ??*

I believe Angel Cabs is a collective of female taxi drivers - see [broken link removed]. I've never used them though, so can't give any feedback.


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## brodiebabe (14 Jun 2009)

*Re: How safe female 20yo to travel home alone in taxi frm centre Dublin to suburbs 2-*

Best to sit in the back seat of the taxi too


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## Spondulicks (14 Jun 2009)

*Re: How safe female 20yo to travel home alone in taxi frm centre Dublin to suburbs 2-*

Sit in back.
Phone ahead when you get in to say you are on the way.
Be sober.
Carry a hurley in your handbag ( guaranteed to get the conversation going as well as acting as a defensive implement).


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## butterfield (16 Jun 2009)

*Re: How safe female 20yo to travel home alone in taxi frm centre Dublin to suburbs 2-*

Have heard of Angel Cabs and plan to use them   .....  anyone have any experience of them, do they provide good service and are they punctual ??


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## Caveat (16 Jun 2009)

*Re: How safe female 20yo to travel home alone in taxi frm centre Dublin to suburbs 2-*



Spondulicks said:


> Sit in back.
> Carry a hurley in your handbag ( guaranteed to get the conversation going as well as acting as a defensive implement).


 
In the absence of mace/pepper spray, any small aerosol, sprayed in the eyes can be useful too. Those really loud sonic alarms are also cheap and effective.


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## Madangan (3 Jul 2009)

*Re: How safe female 20yo to travel home alone in taxi frm centre Dublin to suburbs 2-*

As a female I have been getting taxis from dublin city centre to the suburbs for  nearly 20 years on my own, mostly sober but not infrequently locked out of my tiny little brain...never had a problem..apart from the time I insisted on paying the entire farefor every one else in the taxi as I was last one out only to realise too late I had no money and having stopped at two different ATMs could not remember either of my pin numbers( admittedly this may have been one of those locked nights)

the taxi driver could not have been nicer and took a cheque(when I finally found  my cheque book after franctically searching the house when he dropped me home)

He was lovely I was morto.. the upshot of all of this is dont believe all the hype..99.9% of taxi drivers are total gents(well apart from the females).. getting a taxi is safe but if you are concerned make a big deal when getting into the cab of sending a text to someone(even if your phone is dead)with the taxi number on it.


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