Taxi drivers in Galway

muppetkiller · 06-03-2007 4:20pm #1

:mad: What is it with all the new taxi drivers in Galway at the moment that have no idea of the city ? Surely you need to have some basic knowledge of he city before you can get this job ?

I say this as for the second time in a week the Taxi driver bringing me to Parkmore misses the turn off on the Tuam road and then expects me to pay the extra 3-4 euros on the fare...I mean how many hundreds of people work in Parkmore and surrounding estates ?

He then proceeded to give me the wrong change ???

A great start to my day...
Time to get the car I think...

Donegal Lass · 06-03-2007 4:30pm

worse is the taxi drivers that think that YOU dont know where you're going and take the long way around seemingly unaware that you live in the city and know the shortcuts as well as he does!!!:mad:

muppetkiller · 06-03-2007 5:09pm

Yip had those too

I mean if you don't know the city at least have a GPS system or something ...

Fozzie Bear · 06-03-2007 5:33pm

Anyone got an opinion on black taxi drivers and the alleged racist abuse they are getting??

I have two experiences of this alleged abuse... The first i was waiting for a taxi one wet and cold saturday night in the rank on Crossstreet. There was about 40ish odd people in the queue and we had been there 15 minutes at this stage. Then a taxi pulls up and two ladies walk across from Supermacs and hop straight into the taxi without queuing. Naturally there is absolute uproar and three girls from a hen who's place they took step out in front of the taxi and refuse to let it move off because he has just watched these two jump the entire queue and get into his taxi. Out jumps the driver and naturally the first thing he does is play the big bad race card. We are all racist because he is a black man and don't want him to earn a living blah, blah, blah..... If the dumb fu*k kicked the two trollops who jumped the queue out then there would have been no problem. But no he stood there and shouted abuse at the people in the queue because we were all "racist Irish people".

The other example i seen was of a black taxi driver jumping the actual queue of taxi's in the rank in Eyre square and attempting to pull in at the head of the queue. Again the racist card was played and his fellow taxi drivers were racist and did not want him to earn a living etc. Only in this case he had to back down and drove off with his tail between his legs.

If that's racism then I'm a member of the KKK lads and lassies... If they can't obey the rules then they are fair game for people to vent their anger and they have no right what so ever to accuse me or Galway people of being racist.

muppetkiller · 06-03-2007 5:41pm

I didn't want to mention it for fear of the PC brigade but yes my issues are mainly with the taxi drivers of African origin ( is that safe).
Not all I might add as I also had the cheapest fair with one chap who was well sound

ScumLord · 06-03-2007 5:52pm

Out jumps the driver and naturally the first thing he does is play the big bad race card. We are all racist because he is a black man and don't want him to earn a living blah, blah, blah.....

I've only had a black taxi driver once and he was sound, we had a great chat in the car. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd been getting so much grief doing that job that he just fliped, maybe he's just a tool I don't know. He was completely in the wrong though. These guys should be trained I know there not.

I got a lift off a local who'd been out of the country he was an oldish guy just making a few yoyos. He hadn't a clue where most the new estates where (freely admited it) and said it's made even more difficult with the Irish names (even though he was fluent in Irish).

Galway is a fast growing city Just look on Google earth there are large parts of the outskirts are just building sites 2-3 years ago.

I don't know why we don't have proper taxi companys like the yellow cab in places like New York you'd have someone to blame then all Irish taxi drivers are just cowboys they can do what they like.

I didn't want to mention it for fear of the PC brigade but yes my issues are mainly with the taxi drivers of African origin ( is that safe).

No you have to be specific to the country in Africa he came from but then your being that isim that's country rather than race. You bastard.

forbairt · 07-03-2007 12:29am

What I'd love to know is ... how on earth I can get charged 3 different prices for the same journey ... roughly same times ...

actually the cheapest was late at night / morning coming home after the pub which I'd have assumed would cost a bit more ...

Redhairedguy · 07-03-2007 12:59am

My only experiences with black drivers always end up with me being over-charged by about 3 quid. Usually i wouldn't complain, but when it happens enough times you don't really put up with it.

And of course i was accused of being racist and trying to con the driver out of money.

biko · 07-03-2007 1:11am

I've no preference black/white/Paddy/foreign just as long as they take me home when I'm drunk and don't try to con me (I've yet to experience this).
I find the new ones bothersome since they don't know the ins and outs of the city yet.

My fav is one Mayo woman that has the thickest bog accent in Ireland, bless her heart

One fella was taking me to work one morning and got the wrong estate. I pointed this out to him and he asked how much the fare usually was. 8 euros I said and he then charged me 8. Sound guy.

DonalN · 07-03-2007 2:20am

I've only gotten one lift off a black taxi driver - it was from Salthill - I flagged him down (didn't notice he already had a passenger - blame the beer) and he stopped. I told him where I wanted to go, he mumbled something while shaking his head and drove off, but stopped after a few meters and reversed. Said he would take me. I hopped in and listened to himself and yer man having a great ol laugh about something all the way to my house.

When he pulled in the drive he took a left and mounted the car up on the lawn! Himself and yer man had a great laugh about it, but I did not find this at all funny and hurled plenty of abuse about the tyre marks on the lawn. Told him Ito F**k off and I wasn't paying.

That's my story.

G'luk.

muppetkiller · 07-03-2007 12:02pm

Ok this has kinda gone the way of the race card but does anyone here know if a Taxi driver has to pass some test ? To verify they can navigate the city before they get the job ?

Karl Hungus · 07-03-2007 12:39pm

I'll take it we've all read this article, right?

So-called "Racism" makes good headlines, and this is from the same people who came up with that story about the man bringing a donkey to a hotel room, so I'd take it with a pinch of salt. Journalistically speaking, it's painfully one-sided and seems to be making ridiculous, and factually inaccurate claims.

Anyone here seen Galway taxi companies "Use the fact they have no black drivers as a marketing tool to attract customers"? :rolleyes:

I would say that a lot of people who'd pass over an African taxi driver in a rank would do so because of having a bad past experience. I'd mirror Redhairedguy's story of being suspiciously overcharged by a few quid, this has happened to me once before. Thankfully I don't take taxis all that often anyway.

There's two sides to the coin in this, I'm afraid.

kraggy · 07-03-2007 4:02pm

muppetkiller wrote:

Ok this has kinda gone the way of the race card but does anyone here know if a Taxi driver has to pass some test ? To verify they can navigate the city before they get the job ?

Yes. You have 3 tests (in one sitting i think).

1.Rules of the Road
2.Geography of Galway
3.PSV Regulations and Taxi fare regulations.

k.

Robbo · 07-03-2007 4:06pm

Last time I was down in Galway I had to explain to the swarthy cabbie where and what the Corrib Great Southern was.

Top tip: If a taxi driver tries to hose you on the fare or does something else repugnant, threaten to go to the carriage office and complain. This also works if they do something stupid regarding the rules of the road.

galah · 07-03-2007 4:36pm

funny, the only taxi drivers who tried to rip me off were born-and-bred Irish. And they only tried after they found out I wasn't from around this neck of the woods (even though I've lived in Galway for 5 years in total, and there's a slight Galway accent present...). One particularly cheeky driver wanted 10 (ten) Euros for the ride from Roisins to Ocean Wave. TEN Euros!!! Told him I wouldn't pay that, since the fare was usually around a fiver. He agreed...

I can only imagine how badly tourists who don't know their way around Galway must be ripped off though...

biko · 07-03-2007 5:48pm

Next time I'll play the ignorant tourist and see if they try to rip me off.
*adjusts hidden camera*

Robbo · 07-03-2007 6:56pm

biko wrote:

Next time I'll play the ignorant tourist and see if they try to rip me off.
*adjusts hidden camera*

Novelty oversized cowboy hat?

07-03-2007 7:09pm

It's odd how nobody has pointed out the lack of female taxi drivers. I've only ever had one in my whole life. and not in that way you dirty, dirty bastards

galah · 07-03-2007 7:18pm

they usually only drive during the day, for (from my point of view) obvious reasons...

DonalN · 07-03-2007 8:16pm

I've had a couple (and again, not in that way!)....and they scared me.....

Redhairedguy · 07-03-2007 8:55pm

DonalN wrote:

....and they scared me.....

I have to admit any taxi ride i've had with a female driver has been somewhat uncomfortable (atmosphere-wise) I'm not being sexist or anything, but they seemed less tolerant of the idle chat that all cabbie's must embrace.

biko · 08-03-2007 2:36am

I've had three or four FMTD in town, all good like

smellbreath · 08-03-2007 12:03pm

the african fellas i've had have all been fine to be fair. and i get a lot of cabs.

muppetkiller · 08-03-2007 12:19pm

Ya the women seem to work the morning shifts..and I have the opposite problem whenever I get them they wont shut up

TerrorFirmer · 08-03-2007 12:20pm

Redhairedguy wrote:

I have to admit any taxi ride i've had with a female driver has been somewhat uncomfortable (atmosphere-wise) I'm not being sexist or anything, but they seemed less tolerant of the idle chat that all cabbie's must embrace.

I despise that 'idle' (i.e. predictable uncomfortable banter) chat. Although getting cabs from Ocean in Oranmore, I've gotten a female driver a good few times - during the day, never at night, but I suppose that's for obvious reasons. I think it's only the one woman though...

Karl Hungus · 08-03-2007 1:42pm

Yes, I too have had female drivers in the past. As noted, only in the day time.

Can't say there was anything awkward about it though.

po0k · 08-03-2007 2:06pm

Get bicycles.

galah · 08-03-2007 2:08pm

and get killed on Galway's roads? Are you crazy?

padi89 · 08-03-2007 4:24pm

galah wrote:

and get killed on Galway's roads?

How???????? the traffic doesnt move around here,you'll be fine on a bike.
Having said that Galways cyclists are terrible for obeying traffic lights.

galah · 08-03-2007 6:00pm

true. Then again, I would not want to be on a bike going down, say Tuam Road towards town, or anywhere on Bohermore, or Dublin Road...It's suicide...

Galway cyclists don't use lights on their bike either. Sure fire way to get killed someday.

po0k · 08-03-2007 6:13pm

Way to make sweeping generalisations.

galah · 08-03-2007 6:56pm

and loving it...(terribly bored at work...)

hada · 08-03-2007 7:52pm

having been charged 16 euro from shantalla to eddie rockets back in january by one of our african counter parts I was even more disgusted when getting a cab, asked the taxi driver (also of the same origin) to stop in a shop for my two female friends who were also in the taxi. The taxi driver refused to stop, then refused to wait when the two girls were in the shop, so asked him to wait while i ran into the shop to tell the girls to come back out. When i arrived out, he had already called the guards. He then gave them a rather long spiel and I got a hefty bollocking from the gardai because im a "racist". you could imagine my disbelief at this kind of situation.

what's even funnier is, my own father isn't even irish, so im probably even more sensitive to racist issues than most.

what a joke...

Redhairedguy · 08-03-2007 11:48pm

SyxPak wrote:

Get bicycles.

Buy getcycles?

padi89 · 09-03-2007 10:29am

SyxPak wrote:

Way to make sweeping generalisations.

Not at all.Cyclists in Galway that obey traffic lights and use proper lighting (not a reflector) are a very very rare breed.Im amazed the amount of cyclists that go straight through red lights without a care in the world, suicidal if you ask me.

fifib · 09-03-2007 3:23pm

can i ask about hackneys here? please move if its not suitable for here...

anyways I was just wondering if people know the score with hackneys? After any night out me and my friends always get hackneys home as Taxis would cost us an arm n a leg cos we live outside the city but these days we seem to be getting ripped off by hackneys! I usually go with one of my friends in a cab as she lives on my way home. its €10 to her house in castlegar and if i get cab on my own is €20 to mine the tuam side of claregalway.
but after dropping her off and paying her €10, when we get to mine he charges me €16-18 depending on driver and his mood which i dont think is right.surely i shouldnt be charged this much cos she paid €10 from town to her house which means i should be paying from her house to mine right??
but if i pay for both of us at the end when i get out its €20 or sometimes more cos off "drop off charges".

a few times recently we've shared with one or two others. situations goes my friend would get out first in castlegar...€10, then other person would get off in claregalway village...€10 and then when i get home...€16...€36 to go same distance just one more person got dropped off and it wasnt like they were out of the way...they were dropped on the main road and the driver didnt have to travel any further or anything!

i always end up in an argument with the drivers cos of how different we get charged and they pull out this price list they have stashed away in the glove box. its like the bible to them and when i ask to see it they wont let me!

I dont mind paying the fare if im by myself but when your sharing with others surely you shouldnt have to. I dont get how they are coming up with these prices and each driver has a different story or excuse. can anyone shed some light for me??

whatever happened to the €2 a mile rule!

biko · 09-03-2007 4:58pm

surely i shouldnt be charged this much cos she paid €10 from town to her house which means i should be paying from her house to mine right??

No, since you were picked up in town you pay the whole way, as if you were alone. (I think anyway) If another person joins the taxi they pay for themselves, as if they too were alone.
Next time before you get into the car, ask the driver how much it'll be per person.

nupplenits · 11-03-2007 4:11pm

biko wrote:

No, since you were picked up in town you pay the whole way, as if you were alone. (I think anyway) If another person joins the taxi they pay for themselves, as if they too were alone.
Next time before you get into the car, ask the driver how much it'll be per person.

So then if 3 people get into the car and they are getting off at the same place they also pay the whole way,as if they were alone?

Karl Hungus · 11-03-2007 9:04pm

hada wrote:

When i arrived out, he had already called the guards. He then gave them a rather long spiel and I got a hefty bollocking from the gardai because im a "racist". you could imagine my disbelief at this kind of situation.

Jesus.

Under what pretence did he call the guards for?

I couldn't possibly imagine the guards being called for someone wanting a cab to wait at a shop. Ridiculous.

gerryo · 11-03-2007 10:01pm

nupplenits wrote:

So then if 3 people get into the car and they are getting off at the same place they also pay the whole way,as if they were alone?

read the following for the regulations
http://www.taxiregulator.ie/files/publications/20060913050456_2006mar_national_taxi_fare_LP..pdf

The charge for additional persons is €1 per person.
These new fares came into place last September, sounds like a few drivers are still operating under the old scheme:eek:

fifib · 12-03-2007 2:22pm

any regulations like that for hackneys tho?

cold_filter · 12-03-2007 2:28pm

Was in galway a few weeks ago visiting gf's family. We went for the dinner and one of the sisters had an accident at work a black guy picked her up dropped her home and as she was in such a bad way and can barely walk he decided not to charge her and helped her into the house, very decent of him

Fey! · 12-03-2007 11:54pm

1) Female taxi drivers; usually day shift, especially after a female taxi driver was murdered in Galway about 10 years ago.

2) African taxi drivers; I've only travelled with one (I'm usually driving) and he couldn't have been sounder. A taxi-driver friend of mine said their biggest problem is the Irish named estates.

Note: Has anyone else noticed that most of the black taxi drivers are extremely well presented, and their car are almost always spotless?

3) White taxi drivers; a lot bully their way down the road, pull up without warning, park where they shouldn't...

Oh, sorry; that's just taxi drivers in general!!!

4) Cyclists; yes, Galway cyclist rarely have lights or reflective strips or helmets, and rarely obey traffic lights or signs, and rarely signal where they're going.

galwaygirleen · 13-03-2007 10:29pm

I deal with upteen complaints regarding taxi fares in galway city - i often wonder did people choose to ignore all the ad campaigns that were on when ger deering the taxi regulator was putting all these changes in place??? Galway and the rest of the country is now on par with each other including dublin! Taxi drivers in galway havent had a price increase in over 3 yrs so therefore the price of the taxi went up by nearly 25% absoutley massive jump rather than a steady increase! :eek:
As for black taxi drivers more luck to them never any probs, but in fairness for any driver by the black white or orange these irish names are a lil crazy at times especially with the cultural diversity within galway and the council r to blame. An awful lot of people have great difficulty with thr pronuciation of such places - here are just a few which i find people have difficult with Cnoc an Oir often gets mistake for Knocknacarra pronuced usually cnoc a arra ?? Garran Ard - doughuisce, Carn Ard - Newcastle, Sli an Shruthan - Moycullen Sli na Sruthan - Knocknacarra and Shruthan - Merlin/Ballybane , Heres just a few that i love the best An Fiodan - An FUDGEEN, Fana Burca - Fanny Burkes ha ha ha. then u have dun na corribe - dun na carraige.. list goes on

hada · 19-03-2007 2:35pm

Karl Hungus wrote:

Jesus.

Under what pretence did he call the guards for?

I couldn't possibly imagine the guards being called for someone wanting a cab to wait at a shop. Ridiculous.

to be honest Karl I really haven't a clue. The guards were initially rather sound about things, until they asked me to move away and started talking to the cab driver out of ear shot. However when they came back over to me they really flipped the lid. All I can guess is that the cabbie had spun them some yarn and was given the benefit of the doubt with regards his story!

23-03-2007 1:45pm

I've had alot of black taxi drivers and from my experiences I've found them to be a lot more pleasant than irish ones. More friendly and a lot more respectable.

Actually, thinking about it, I've had one FMTD that brought me down to the hospital from Eyre Square (it's a long ass walk especially if you're in a rush for an appointment) and we had a good old chat.

timwalker82 · 07-08-2008 9:08am

ScumLord wrote: »

I've only had a black taxi driver once and he was sound, we had a great chat in the car. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd been getting so much grief doing that job that he just fliped, maybe he's just a tool I don't know. He was completely in the wrong though. These guys should be trained I know there not.

I got a lift off a local who'd been out of the country he was an oldish guy just making a few yoyos. He hadn't a clue where most the new estates where (freely admited it) and said it's made even more difficult with the Irish names (even though he was fluent in Irish).

Galway is a fast growing city Just look on Google earth there are large parts of the outskirts are just building sites 2-3 years ago.

I don't know why we don't have proper taxi companys like the yellow cab in places like New York you'd have someone to blame then all Irish taxi drivers are just cowboys they can do what they like.

No you have to be specific to the country in Africa he came from but then your being that isim that's country rather than race. You bastard.

Maybe she was referring to people from the contineint of Africa not race, like if u said you don't like european drivers, it would be cynical of me to think that you were being racist, a cynic r u, on top of ignorance, u sound asian, sure u aint from Libya.

timwalker82 · 07-08-2008 9:22am

Karl Hungus wrote: »

I'll take it we've all read this article, right?

So-called "Racism" makes good headlines, and this is from the same people who came up with that story about the man bringing a donkey to a hotel room, so I'd take it with a pinch of salt. Journalistically speaking, it's painfully one-sided and seems to be making ridiculous, and factually inaccurate claims.

Anyone here seen Galway taxi companies "Use the fact they have no black drivers as a marketing tool to attract customers"? :rolleyes:

I would say that a lot of people who'd pass over an African taxi driver in a rank would do so because of having a bad past experience. I'd mirror Redhairedguy's story of being suspiciously overcharged by a few quid, this has happened to me once before. Thankfully I don't take taxis all that often anyway.

There's two sides to the coin in this, I'm afraid.

I agree, there is two sides to every story, on the one hand you have foriegners who understand that playing the race card is a trump card, and on the other hand you have a society of people who can't stand seeing someone from abroad making a life for themselves in your city. I lived all over Ireland and I have to say, I have never been in a place where people are as vindictive and jealous as they are in Galway, I guess it's because of the colonization of your city by the British that caused it. Galwegians and africans are very alike when it comes to banging on about how hard done by you are.

Zzippy · 07-08-2008 10:31am

timwalker82 wrote: »

I agree, there is two sides to every story, on the one hand you have foriegners who understand that playing the race card is a trump card, and on the other hand you have a society of people who can't stand seeing someone from abroad making a life for themselves in your city. I lived all over Ireland and I have to say, I have never been in a place where people are as vindictive and jealous as they are in Galway, I guess it's because of the colonization of your city by the British that caused it. Galwegians and africans are very alike when it comes to banging on about how hard done by you are.

Generalise much?? :rolleyes:

I hear you're a racist now Father....

07-08-2008 11:06am

forbairt wrote: »

What I'd love to know is ... how on earth I can get charged 3 different prices for the same journey ... roughly same times ...

actually the cheapest was late at night / morning coming home after the pub which I'd have assumed would cost a bit more ...

You pay for the time sitting in traffic. At night the minimum is higher but as you are not sitting in traffic it dosn't take as long.

For what it's worth I think taxis now are cheaper than hackneys or taxis were 8/10 years ago.

07-08-2008 11:23am

muppetkiller wrote: »

:mad: What is it with all the new taxi drivers in Galway at the moment that have no idea of the city ? Surely you need to have some basic knowledge of he city before you can get this job ?

I say this as for the second time in a week the Taxi driver bringing me to Parkmore misses the turn off on the Tuam road and then expects me to pay the extra 3-4 euros on the fare...I mean how many hundreds of people work in Parkmore and surrounding estates ?

He then proceeded to give me the wrong change ???

A great start to my day...
Time to get the car I think...

A big element of it is race week - drivers from other counties coming into Galway for the busy season. This is illegal as you can only operate from the city / town / county you are registered in. I had the misfortune to be waiting for a bus for a half hour one of the race days watching cars going to the races - about 1 in 3 were definitely Galway cars / company's, another third were unclear (IE no phone number / company on the plates) and the remaining third had Dublin phone numbers or Castlebar Cabs or whatever on the roof.

Taxi drivers in Galway

Comments