Taxi Fares

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paddywiskey

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A brief breakdown of taxi fares for those that don't know them.
There are two tariffs operating within the Dublin Taxi Meter Area
Tariff 1 This operates Mon to Sat 8am to 10pm
Tariff 2 this operates Mon to Sat 10pm to 8am and all day Sunday.
On tariff 1 the fare starts at 2.75 and this covers the first 5/9 of a mile, it then increases by 15cent for every ninth of a mile while the car is traveling at more than 7 miles per hour, if the car is traveling due to traffic at less than 7mph the fare increases by 15cent every 30seconds.
Tariff 2 operates under the same except the fare starts at 3.00 and increases by 20c for every ninth of a mile. and 30seconds while in traffic.
If there are more than 1 person traveling there is an extra 50cent per person.
If you phone for a taxi there is an extra charge of 1.50
I have posted this in order to educate people try and try prevent people being ripped off.
If you are not happy about the fare, Ask the driver for a receipt, make sure you take the taxi number which is displayed in the center of the roof sign and contact the Carriage Office on 6669850/6669851
Not all taxi driver are rip off merchants only a small minority.
 
taxis

Well thanks for that, Paddy W.

Unfortunately however, simply knowing about the fares does not stop customers being ripped off. These fares are exorbitantly high, and the put-upon public have no choice other than fork out.

Even if charged as listed, people are getting fleeced for a shoddy at best service.

Huge variance in quality of cars - not uncommon to see 15 year old imported Carinas with 200k miles, side by side on the rank with a brand new Lexus jeep / Mercedes. Taxi hardship panel my backside...

Quality of drivers - huge differential in knowledge, courtesy, hygiene, etc.

Lack of availability - I know the retort is 10,000 taxis in Dublin, but this is inadequate. Not in terms of number, but there should be a mandatory minimum of the hours worked by the taxi. Not much use if the driver decides he doesn't want to work nights/Sundays etc. Tough. The car should still be on the road. A defence against privatisation of the bus service is that operators would only run the choicest routes. This is already the case with taxi drivers who work when it suits them. The car should not be off the road on a whim. Cosying should be mandatory. This would also stop the rampant issuing of licences, giving the taxi lobby ammunition aganst further cars.

All taxis should be wheelchair accessible. No excuses any more.

You should not get more for picking people up at the airport, or for carrying luggage, or additional passengers. Fuel/wear and tear etc are not valid arguments.

Here's a radical suggestion - if taxi fares were half the price they are now, more in line with buses/Luas/Dart, far more people would use the service. At current prices, taxis are still seen as a luxury or a last resort. Demand would be round-the-clock if people knew they did not have to remortgage to get from Cabinteely to town and back.

Hackneys should be allowed in the bus lanes with customers.

Taxi drivers should lose their license for fobbing customers off with 'I'm only going northside...', or for failing to stop when hailed. Has anyone ever taken this up with the carriage office?


We still have a long way to go before value for money is a reality. Warning signs with listed fares are not worth the paper they're printed on.
 
Re: taxis

Yeah, but come on — at the price, where else are you going to get that level of insightful political commentary and urbane banter...?
;)
 
Re: taxis

I agree with Dub. I very seldom (never) use taxis because they are so dear. When abroad I use them all the time.

If they cut their fares more people would use them.

I was going into the city centre last week at 11.00am. The number of empty taxis driving up and down the buslanes had to be seen. I'm sure if I had taken one the driver would be moaning about how hard he has to work to make a living. The answer is simple - cut your prices.
 
taxis

Having used Dublin taxis extensively most of my life I stopped - on principle - 4 years ago and feel very strongly about this matter. I have lived in a fair number of countries and have never, ever, experienced such an exploitative genre as Dublin taxi-drivers.

The final straw for me was booking a taxi from the Palmerstown end of Ballyfermot to Dublin Airport......journey-time 15-20 minutes by the Toll-route - on a weekday to catch a midday flight to Stanstead.

My (now deceased!) frail elderly mother accompanied me. When we reached the airport (15 minutes) I persuaded her to not hang about as it was a bitterly cold winters morning. I was concerned about her health, I kissed her goodbye and directed the cabbie to take her back to her home.

On reaching home I phoned as usual to reassure her of my safety and during our conversation she let slip that the taxi-driver had charged her 50 Euro for the round trip (total time half-an-hour on virtually traffic-free roads).

I was (and am still!) incandescent about this exploitation of an old woman and combined with previous experiences of Dublin taxis led to my in-principle decision to never bother them with my business again. For 10 years I arrived at Dublin airport accompanied by my 18" terrier dog and got accustomed to being rejected - in a rude and graceless manner - by several taxi-drivers objecting to carrying dogs in their vehicles, before one "allowing" me to board carrying my dog reached the top of the queue.

So - my response to the "helpful" list of charges is it bears little relationship to the on-the-ground reality and is no longer relevant to me personally since hell would freeze over before I would ever board another Dublin taxi!

As a frequent flyer between UK and Ireland over the years by the accounts of dozens of tourists visiting Ireland whom I've met in my peregrinations was sadness and sometimes anger that such a beautiful island with so much to offer was spoiled by exploitative and unreasonable practices in some areas. Standards of public transport, particularly the taxi-situation, was frequently quoted as one thing they would not be sorry to leave behind.
 
Re: taxis

I have actually started taking more taxis now since their number increased significantly. I would not bother waiting at a rank if there is a queue or no taxis, but if there is one there and I need to go somewhere I am more likely to take it now than before.

I think it is very strange that bus/taxi lanes can't be used by hackneys. We used to use hackneys in work a lot (we had an account with a hackney firm), but since we are surrounded by bus lanes and they can't use them it turned out to be a lot easier to go out on the street and flag down a taxi.

It would be a lot better if the taxi receipts printed the breakdown of the charges. Instead of saying €13.50, it should say €12.00 fare, €0.50 extra passenger, €1.00 luggage - that way people could see if there was any extra extras being added on.

z

z
 
Receipts

Wasn't there talk of them having to install some sort of machine on board which gave automatic receipts, which could then be inspected by the Carriage office and / or the Revenue ?
 
Pixies

Marie,

Thats a fine, detailed, rant.

I only ever used a Dublin Taxi once - must be about 10 years ago.

It was easy to find, squalid but very cheap back then.

Not clear to me that things have improved since.

As for the use of Bus lanes I am of the opinion that they should be open to Buses and any car with three or more people ( including driver ). Taxis with less than three people should not be let use them. I see no reason why the payment of money to a particular class of private individual should provide access to the bus lane system


eDog
 
Re: Pixies

I see no reason why the payment of money to a particular class of private individual should provide access to the bus lane system

I'm not sure I'd agree with that. If taxi's couldn't use bus lanes then it'd be harder for them to make appointments to pick people up and then we'd be moaning that they're never on time (which they rarely are anyway)!
 
taxi

Bullshit Piggy - "harder for them to make appointments"

Taxi could and should allow sufficient time to make it to their appointments, like the rest of. I came to Dublin to a hospital appointment recently and it took two hours stuck in Dublin traffic alone to get there.
 
Re: taxi

Bullshit Piggy

Eh?. I don't see how it's bullshit. If a taxi driver has just dropped off a passenger at point A and gets a call saying that he needs to be at point B at such and such a time to pick someone up surely it's easier for him to try to make that time if he can use bus lanes? Where does the sufficient time come into play?
 
bull...

Piggy, I'm with John on this.

It should be of no consequence to the customer how many cars are available to the taxi company at any one time. In taking the booking, the company should leave reasonable provision to pick up at the agreed time.

How about waiving the collection fee if they pick up more than 15mins late? Otherwise no incentive for them to meet targets.

For too long we've accepted the take-it-or-leave-it level of service from taximen, and others.
 
Re: bull...

For too long we've accepted the take-it-or-leave-it level of service from taximen, and others.

I wouldn't argue with you there.

It should be of no consequence to the customer how many cars are available to the taxi company at any one time. In taking the booking, the company should leave reasonable provision to pick up at the agreed time.

I think that's a bit unfair on taxi companies in fairness. Why is there a problem with taxi's using the buslane? It's not as if buslanes are clogged up with them and they're hindering buses or anything.

In an ideal world...and that is what we're talking about here...taxi's would be on time and the service would be excellent. Neither happens all that regularly although there are some good ones out there.

Not allowing them to use the buslanes is, realistically, only going to make the service worse.
 
Oh Piggie ...

"I think that's a bit unfair on taxi companies in fairness. Why is there a problem with taxi's using the buslane? It's not as if buslanes are clogged up with them and they're hindering buses or anything."

There are many better uses for bus lanes than allowing taxis with just the driver to cruise around in them.

I would say the likes of

- Doctors doing house calls

- Service technicians ( phone, alarm, photocopier, data etc etc. Here the car / van is not an option its is their workshop, stores and office )

- Freight / courier companies - just think how many road trips dont take place but which would if these people didnt deliver to the door -

have as much or more reason than cruising taxis for priority transport

If its not going to be like that then lets have some equity about who can use bus lanes. The clear answer to me is high occupancy vehicles.

eDog
 
Re: bull...

The reason that taxi's can use the bus lanes is because they are a form of public transport. They are not driven into town in the morning and home 8 or 10 hours later, taking up a parking space in between. I'm no fan of taxi drivers (though they are no worse than many people who interface with the public) but to say they shouldn't be allowed to use the bus lanes; that's bullshit. You are being too nice piggy, when someone just doesn't like taxi drivers and can't get past resenting them going down the bus lane when they are stuck in traffic you don't have to beat around the bush.
As for Marie's post; I sympathise and am glad to see I am not the only person with hobby horses to ride on AAM.
 
Bus drivers

Picking up on the comment about taxi drivers manners, it never ceases to amaze me just how rude and dismissive many (but not all) Dublin Bus drivers are to the travelling public.

What's really needed in Dublin is some proper competition to DB, and to get rid of the jobs for life mentality at the very same monolith. The unions seem to run the place.
 
Purple....

We both seemed to do our posties at the same time.

Indeed taxis are a public transport but I dont see that this a reason why others such as those indicated in my last post should be excluded from using the bus lanes.

As for 'taking up parking spaces' They are called taxi ranks & they are 'free'.

I cant help wondering if you are someone who just doesn't like mobile service technicians ( for both animal & mineral ) and wants to get them out of the town :D


eDog
 
mobile service technicians

What the hell is a "mobile service technician"?
You are probably right as I hate lots of people but for the sake of clarity could you explain?

Indeed taxis are a public transport but I don't see that this a reason why others such as those indicated in my last post should be excluded from using the bus lanes.
Click to expand...
I agree, but how do you control it? If couriers could use bus lanes I'd buy a van and keep a few boxes down the back of it!!
 
rules of road

Having been recently almost knocked off my bicycle by a taxi driver changing lanes without looking, while he held a mobile phone conversation (NOT handsfree) and while he had a passenger in the cab, I have been noticing the amount of taxi drivers on the phone all over the place. I'm beginnning to think that seeing we are putting our lives into their hands like other public service drivers, that there should be extra penalty points for dangerous driving on the part of professional drivers.
Still think they should use bus lanes. But please have a seperate lane for cyclists!
 
Re: taxis

Huge variance in quality of cars - not uncommon to see 15 year old imported Carinas with 200k miles, side by side on the rank with a brand new Lexus jeep / Mercedes. Taxi hardship panel my backside...
Click to expand...
Jeeps - Are you sure? I've seen the Merc vans/mini-bus taxis, but not the jeeps (i.e. Lexus RX300 or Merc ML series).
Lack of availability - I know the retort is 10,000 taxis in Dublin, but this is inadequate. Not in terms of number, but there should be a mandatory minimum of the hours worked by the taxi. Not much use if the driver decides he doesn't want to work nights/Sundays etc. Tough. The car should still be on the road. A defence against privatisation of the bus service is that operators would only run the choicest routes. This is already the case with taxi drivers who work when it suits them. The car should not be off the road on a whim. Cosying should be mandatory. This would also stop the rampant issuing of licences, giving the taxi lobby ammunition aganst further cars.
Click to expand...
But wouldn't minimum hours breach the gospel of the 'free market economy? If it is worth the driver working nights, then he/she will do so. If not, he won't. I don't see how cosying will really help matters either - Does it matter if the cosy is driving someone else's car or his own car?
 
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