Taxi stopping mid-fare for fuel

alaimacerc · 29-07-2014 7:10pm #1

OK, slightly weird one... Has anyone ever got a taxi, then have the driver told them they had to stop for fuel? Is there an etiquette or "custom and practice" for this?

Happened to me last night. Was a little surprised, but didn't think to argue, as I was pretty out of it (which is mostly why I was taking a taxi at all; otherwise I might have saved a few quid and . Besides, I didn't seem to be getting a lot of choice, the driver just announced this was happening, there wasn't really any "by your leave", much less an apology for this. And it's not like it was unavoidable: I hadn't flagged him down right after an earlier fare, but hailed at a rank, where there was a significant line, so he must have been waiting there a while.

What really irked me, though, is that he left the meter running while he was stopped! Then mentioned nothing about it when he asked for the fare. When I brought it up, he then knocked off the odd cents, which seemed pretty minimalistic. And again, no word of apology about not offering himself.

Not exactly the worst thing to happen to someone in a cab, obviously, and I don't think I'll be troubling the regulator with a formal complaint. But a little off, no?

Mikros · 29-07-2014 7:33pm

Happened to me a few times. Taxi driver just explains beforehand and knocks the meter off while he is in the petrol station. Saying that I drive past the station on the way so there is no detour or extra cost for me that way.

I'd be fairly unimpressed if the meter was still running while he's topping up his tank.

Muahahaha · 29-07-2014 7:40pm

Yes it is off, I've had it happen to me before where I got charged the full whack after his fuel stop. Next time a driver does it to me I'll say nothing except to ask them for a receipt which is needed to complain to the regulator.

Recently I've had American guests come to my place by taxi from the airport. I live 8km from the airport but their taxi driver still managed to get lost for over 10 minutes because he couldn't find my place on his GPS. I had to give him directions over the phone to get my guests here and when they showed up he tried to charge them €29 for what would normally have been a €20-22 run. I told him that to his face and said if he wanted €29 then he could have it so long as he provided a receipt. He backed down pretty quick and settled on €20. If I wasn't there then he was definitely ripping those tourists off due to his own lack of knowledge of an address only 5 miles from the airport.

alaimacerc · 29-07-2014 11:08pm

Mikros wrote: »

Happened to me a few times. Taxi driver just explains beforehand and knocks the meter off while he is in the petrol station. Saying that I drive past the station on the way so there is no detour or extra cost for me that way.

I'd be fairly unimpressed if the meter was still running while he's topping up his tank.

I sure wasn't! Didn't quite twig the meter was running right away, but to be fair it was en route, he was fairly quick about it, and the "discount" likely more-or-less covered it. Some neck, all the same...

porsche959 · 29-07-2014 11:11pm

I would expect as a matter of courtesy the driver would

(1) mention at the start he needed to stop for fuel and
(2) click off the meter while refuelling.

Dravokivich · 29-07-2014 11:53pm

It's only happened to me once and after picking me up, less than a minute into the journey he was in the petrol station. Didn't turn on the meter until we left from there.

Spook_ie · 30-07-2014 1:01pm

All meters have a function to be able to stop and restart the meter during a journey

Muahahaha · 30-07-2014 5:26pm

Dravokivich wrote: »

It's only happened to me once and after picking me up, less than a minute into the journey he was in the petrol station. Didn't turn on the meter until we left from there.

That seems to be the fairest way of doing it. If the driver wants to kill two birds with the one stone then a courtesy is to get the petrol and only then start the meter.

wicklowwonder · 30-07-2014 5:30pm

Coming home one night driver asked could he stop to pick up food at a takeaway. Said the takeaway was unreal. We both ended up going in getting food. He didn't start the meter until after the food stop and the food stop was about 5 mins into the journey. Sound I thought!

joeguevara · 30-07-2014 5:38pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

Yes it is off, I've had it happen to me before where I got charged the full whack after his fuel stop. Next time a driver does it to me I'll say nothing except to ask them for a receipt which is needed to complain to the regulator.

Recently I've had American guests come to my place by taxi from the airport. I live 8km from the airport but their taxi driver still managed to get lost for over 10 minutes because he couldn't find my place on his GPS. I had to give him directions over the phone to get my guests here and when they showed up he tried to charge them €29 for what would normally have been a €20-22 run. I told him that to his face and said if he wanted €29 then he could have it so long as he provided a receipt. He backed down pretty quick and settled on €20. If I wasn't there then he was definitely ripping those tourists off due to his own lack of knowledge of an address only 5 miles from the airport.

Dublin taxi fare calculator:

Minimum fare:
EUR €4.1 for first 1km
Fare above minimum fare until 15km: EUR €1.03 per km
Therefore an 8km fare should be (1x4.1) and 7 x (1.03) = 12.22. Seems you are getting ripped off a tenner yourself every time you get a taxi home.

forgot about additional passengers and tolls. Still 20 is still a disaster for 8km

dilallio · 30-07-2014 5:46pm

joeguevara wrote: »

Dublin taxi fare calculator:

Minimum fare:
EUR €4.1 for first 1km
Fare above minimum fare until 15km: EUR €1.03 per km
Therefore an 8km fare should be (1x4.1) and 7 x (1.03) = 12.22. Seems you are getting ripped off a tenner yourself every time you get a taxi home.

Additional passengers incur a €1 charge each.
If the driver went through a Toll, this charge is also included.

joeguevara · 30-07-2014 6:15pm

dilallio wrote: »

Additional passengers incur a €1 charge each.
If the driver went through a Toll, this charge is also included.

That makes sense.

n97 mini · 30-07-2014 10:57pm

Had a taxi run out of petrol one night, fortunately almost opposite a petrol station, but the driver knew it was coming so sort of forewarned me. I had a few beers in me so didn't really mind, and just put it down to that being normal/acceptable in his home country. He stopped the meter too, so no harm done.

jill_valentine · 30-07-2014 11:01pm

I had a taxi driver stop in for fuel a few seconds after picking me up and while, fair enough, he stopped the meter, I'd only flagged him down in the first place because I was running late. Rrrrr.

HeidiHeidi · 30-07-2014 11:05pm

joeguevara wrote: »

Dublin taxi fare calculator:

Minimum fare:
EUR €4.1 for first 1km
Fare above minimum fare until 15km: EUR €1.03 per km
Therefore an 8km fare should be (1x4.1) and 7 x (1.03) = 12.22. Seems you are getting ripped off a tenner yourself every time you get a taxi home.

forgot about additional passengers and tolls. Still 20 is still a disaster for 8km

Is there not an additional tenner (or some such figure, maybe I've inflated that in my head over the years) added as a premium for taking a taxi from the airport? I'm fairly sure there used to be.....

Beano · 31-07-2014 12:57pm

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Is there not an additional tenner (or some such figure, maybe I've inflated that in my head over the years) added as a premium for taking a taxi from the airport? I'm fairly sure there used to be.....

Not any more.

Dravokivich · 31-07-2014 1:22pm

joeguevara wrote: »

Dublin taxi fare calculator:

Minimum fare:
EUR €4.1 for first 1km
Fare above minimum fare until 15km: EUR €1.03 per km
Therefore an 8km fare should be (1x4.1) and 7 x (1.03) = 12.22. Seems you are getting ripped off a tenner yourself every time you get a taxi home.

forgot about additional passengers and tolls. Still 20 is still a disaster for 8km

dilallio wrote: »

Additional passengers incur a €1 charge each.
If the driver went through a Toll, this charge is also included.

joeguevara wrote: »

That makes sense.

Don't forget there's also time if in slow moving traffic, or stopped.

alaimacerc · 31-07-2014 1:24pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

That seems to be the fairest way of doing it. If the driver wants to kill two birds with the one stone then a courtesy is to get the petrol and only then start the meter.

Totally agree. I guess some people want to kill three birds with one stone: get the fuel, get the fare stop, and have the first pay for his time making the second.

I was honestly waiting for the other shoe to drop at the end of the journey, where he'd grandly announce how he'd be handling it. Not a word.

Losty Dublin · 31-07-2014 7:11pm

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Is there not an additional tenner (or some such figure, maybe I've inflated that in my head over the years) added as a premium for taking a taxi from the airport? I'm fairly sure there used to be.....

You sure have inflated that in your head

There was an extra of €1.50 for an airport rank pick up on the fare card issued by DCC. This covered the charge for entering and using the airport rank and was withdrawn in September 2006 when the national taxi fares came into being.

Gael23 · 31-07-2014 7:35pm

I always find that Taxi Drivers and often times customers will know how much a journey should cost under normal circumstances so thats what the fare will be.
Once I was in a Taxi and got caught in hugely abnormal traffic but I still paid the fare I would have paid without the extra time spend in traffic

alaimacerc · 31-07-2014 8:40pm

Losty Dublin wrote: »

You sure have inflated that in your head There was an extra of €1.50 for an airport rank pick up on the fare card issued by DCC. This covered the charge for entering and using the airport rank and was withdrawn in September 2006 when the national taxi fares came into being.

Is there currently the same (or similar) at Cork, too? Generally seems to be a couple of quid cheaper out than home, but it's sufficiently variable that I wonder if it's just "margin of error". Seems odd as picking up at home is an extra trip out for the cab, whereas picking up at the airport could very possibly be a "return" fare.

Arthur Beesley · 01-08-2014 12:38pm

wicklowwonder wrote: »

Coming home one night driver asked could he stop to pick up food at a takeaway. Said the takeaway was unreal. We both ended up going in getting food. He didn't start the meter until after the food stop and the food stop was about 5 mins into the journey. Sound I thought!

What was the food like?

Mr.Frame · 01-08-2014 2:41pm

joeguevara wrote: »

Dublin taxi fare calculator:

Minimum fare:
EUR €4.1 for first 1km correct or re
Fare above minimum fare until 15km: EUR €1.03 per km
Therefore an 8km fare should be (1x4.1) and 7 x (1.03) = 12.22. Seems you are getting ripped off a tenner yourself every time you get a taxi home.

forgot about additional passengers and tolls. Still 20 is still a disaster for 8km

You cannot go by that fare calculator its not 100% correct or reliable.
Even your own estimate is incorrect ,NO fare comes to 12."22".

Losty Dublin · 01-08-2014 8:58pm

alaimacerc wrote: »

Is there currently the same (or similar) at Cork, too? Generally seems to be a couple of quid cheaper out than home, but it's sufficiently variable that I wonder if it's just "margin of error". Seems odd as picking up at home is an extra trip out for the cab, whereas picking up at the airport could very possibly be a "return" fare.

No idea what Cork Airport does, sorry. On "Return" fares as you call them, you aren't assured of a fare back from the airport; if you get onto your rank you could be waiting a while depending on arrival patterns so it's not as simple as pulling up and picking up.

alaimacerc · 02-08-2014 12:11am

Losty Dublin wrote: »

No idea what Cork Airport does, sorry. On "Return" fares as you call them, you aren't assured of a fare back from the airport; if you get onto your rank you could be waiting a while depending on arrival patterns so it's not as simple as pulling up and picking up.

I get that, but it's a lot more likely for "getting a fare in both directions and not making a driver-only journey" than the "come collect me from my place" trip, surely? So I'm still a bit puzzled as to why that's the one with the extra charge (if it still applies, at this or indeed any other airport).

howiya · 02-08-2014 12:01pm

Happened me once. Hailed a taxi and as soon as I got in and stated my destination the driver told me he was hoping for a shorter run and he would need to stop for juice to get me where I was going. I didn't even think about the meter until he stopped it at the garage when we got there.

I imagine while most will probably be fair about it you will get a few cowboys that will try and maximise the fare by leaving the meter running or taking a detour, going the long way etc

Losty Dublin · 02-08-2014 12:47pm

alaimacerc wrote: »

I get that, but it's a lot more likely for "getting a fare in both directions and not making a driver-only journey" than the "come collect me from my place" trip, surely? So I'm still a bit puzzled as to why that's the one with the extra charge (if it still applies, at this or indeed any other airport).

There is no additional pick up charge at any airport for a taxi so this is not affecting the fare to and from Cork airport. You may find that one way systems, traffic lights and road flow or night rate fares may add to the journey; other than that perhaps you should ask a Cork taxi driver the next time regarding same.

Strumms · 03-08-2014 6:02pm

You might think that as so called professional drivers that their ability to plan for fuel stops would be second nature to them so as not to inconvenience a customer in this manner.. Dare I say rip off by keeping the meter on. I'd report either way, only way of weeding out these chancers.

Sligo Quay · 03-08-2014 6:28pm

Totally and absolutely unacceptable, public transport, doesn't matter if it's trains, planes and automobiles, and that includes buses.
Fueling is part of vehicle service and should never involve the customer for lots of reasons, health & safety etc.
A plane fuels at the airport, a bus fuels at a depot, a taxi fuels at a garage, it's all part of vehicle service, a vehicle for hire or public transport and that includes, planes trains and automobiles should not be in service and that includes having enough fuel, fueling should never be done when in service.
Its a wonder taxi drivers are not told this, but it is definitely a ''common sense'' rule, very unprofessional to fuel during a journey service.

Del2005 · 03-08-2014 8:21pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

Recently I've had American guests come to my place by taxi from the airport. I live 8km from the airport but their taxi driver still managed to get lost for over 10 minutes because he couldn't find my place on his GPS. I had to give him directions over the phone to get my guests here and when they showed up he tried to charge them €29 for what would normally have been a €20-22 run. I told him that to his face and said if he wanted €29 then he could have it so long as he provided a receipt. He backed down pretty quick and settled on €20. If I wasn't there then he was definitely ripping those tourists off due to his own lack of knowledge of an address only 5 miles from the airport.

It's not just Irish taxi drivers that rip off tourists. Taxi drivers all over the world rip off tourists. Got a taxi a few years ago in Munich that took 10 minutes and the return journey was the same, next day as we where walking the streets we walked past the pub 5 minutes from our hotel!

Sligo Quay wrote: »

Totally and absolutely unacceptable, public transport, doesn't matter if it's trains, planes and automobiles, and that includes buses.
Fueling is part of vehicle service and should never involve the customer for lots of reasons, health & safety etc.
A plane fuels at the airport, a bus fuels at a depot, a taxi fuels at a garage, it's all part of vehicle service, a vehicle for hire or public transport and that includes, planes trains and automobiles should not be in service and that includes having enough fuel, fueling should never be done when in service.
Its a wonder taxi drivers are not told this, but it is definitely a ''common sense'' rule, very unprofessional to fuel during a journey service.

They refuel the plane as you board. Taxi's shouldn't stop for fuel when they have a fare but we don't live in an ideal world so once the meter is stopped it shouldn't be an issue

shewasdiesel · 03-08-2014 8:23pm

Do people think taxi's run on thin air, or would they prefer they run the risk of running out and leaving them stranded. As long as the meter is knocked off, can't see the problem. Yeah in an ideal world most drivers refuel when the taxi is on an empty return run, but it's not always possible and practical depending on where the fuel station / account is.

Taxi stopping mid-fare for fuel

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