Dishonest unproffessional TAXI drivers

Mailman

Took a TAXI today at Blanch centre to go to Castleknock Main. St.

Driver started meter and proceeded to talk to a passer-by for two minutes.
Eventually the driver left and proceeded to take a less than optimal route.
I specified the route I wanted which would be about 1KM shorter and he flustered an excuse as to being frightened the route would have heavy traffic.
I told him that, yes in the morning it might be but not at this time of day.
Arrived at destination and charge for trip from blanch centre taxi rank to main. st., castleknock was €7.60 which to my mind is a bit high as we were not in heavy traffic and the distance is not too far but as he didn't give me a receipt I can't see exactly how many KMs the trip was to work it out for myself.

Point of post?
Does anyone actually genuinely police the TAXI industry?
TAXIs are part of a transport system but I avoid them like the plague as I fear I'm being ripped off every time I use them.

nellieswellies

I believe the new TAXI regulations come into effect in September

mikedragon32

If you want to do something effective, you'd be better to complain to the correct authorities than having a moan here!

There are loads of threads on this already, but to be honest, you're the client and you can insist on taking the route you wish to take, you can remind the driver that the meter is running and ask him to drive on rather than stop for a chat and you are entitled to a receipt. I would have no qualms about getting out of a taxi if I felt the driver was taking the pi$$.

I did it once when the taxi driver decided to stop for petrol and after filling up went in to the garage and started leafing through a newspaper.

Mailman

I'm about the most assertive person I know and it seems I spend more of my life using official channels to get various problems sorted than living my life.
In fact I can be a complete boll*x if someone f*cks me about but I don't want to be looking for conflict 100% of the time.

Would be nice if the system was policied so that TAXI drivers might consider giving the punters an even break without the punter having to stand up for their rights every time.

DublinWriter

I saw the name of the thread, and was just about to weigh in on your side mailman, until I saw that you were quibbling about a 1Km shortcut on a €7.60 fare.

...you should also add failure to state 'have a nice day' at the end of the journey to the long list of the taxi-driver's misdemeanours.

Mailman

If I got no receipt do you think any of my fare was declared as income to revenue commissioners?
It was less than a 10 minute ride (excluding chit-chat mentioned above) and unfortunately I have no receipt to tote up the actual distance.

Do you know that Dublin taxi drivers are fitting their meters with switches to de-activate the printer on the meter.
Do you know some taxi drivers have been known to fit smaller diameter tyres to get higher fares.

Mailman

According to the taxi regulator's fare pdf I figure €7.60 should have taken me 4.76 KMs and I don't believe Castleknock main st. is 4.76 KMs from taxi rank at blanch centre.

daymobrew

Mailman wrote:

According to the taxi regulator's fare pdf I figure €7.60 should have taken me 4.76 KMs and I don't believe Castleknock main st. is 4.76 KMs from taxi rank at blanch centre.

I recorded a route using Gmaps Pedometer. It came out to be 4.9km. Obviously I am not sure what route you took or what route you wanted.
The route I mapped is the one I would have taken. I hate the junction near the Social Welfare offices (where you turn right to go toward the Garda Station - Snugborough Road Extension AFAIK). I find that the lights very slow, because of the number of sequences.

It annoys me that they don't offer receipts. I keep forgetting to insist on one.

Iago

Mailman wrote:

If I got no receipt do you think any of my fare was declared as income to revenue commissioners?
It was less than a 10 minute ride (excluding chit-chat mentioned above) and unfortunately I have no receipt to tote up the actual distance.

Do you know that Dublin taxi drivers are fitting their meters with switches to de-activate the printer on the meter.
Do you know some taxi drivers have been known to fit smaller diameter tyres to get higher fares.

Do you know that Dublin taxi drivers can't fit their meters with anything as they are sealed by a professional firm, and a docket is required in order to comply with the terms of the licence.

Do you know that fitting smaller diameter tyres would actually end up costing them more that it would save them when it comes to repair, maintenance and petrol expenditure over a period of time.

Do you know that regardless of whether you get a reciept or not if it's on the meter then the revenue commissionners have access to it and therefore it's highly likely that it's declared and paid in full.

My guess is that you don't know any of that, but feel that it's important to jump on the bandwagon of I'm being ripped off, Ireland is a kip, taxi-drivers sit on the right hand side of the Devil brigade!!

Btw I'm not, never have been, and never will be a taxi driver, just sick of the uninformed rubbish that people spout when they "feel" they've been ripped off!

अधिनायक

Mailman wrote:

Driver started meter and proceeded to talk to a passer-by for two minutes.
Eventually the driver left and proceeded to take a less than optimal route.
I specified the route I wanted which would be about 1KM shorter and he flustered an excuse as to being frightened the route would have heavy traffic.
I told him that, yes in the morning it might be but not at this time of day.
Arrived at destination and charge for trip from blanch centre taxi rank to main. st., castleknock was €7.60 which to my mind is a bit high as we were not in heavy traffic and the distance is not too far but as he didn't give me a receipt I can't see exactly how many KMs the trip was to work it out for myself.

Why didn't you get a receipt? Did you get his Taxi number?

You are wasting your time over €2 on what is a marginal case (choice of route).

Mailman

A TAXI driver was actually telling me a few weeks ago he was going to get the switch put in to disable the printer for receipts the following week and I bit my lip.

Mailman

@Iago

Please point exactly where I've posted an uninformed comment

You didn't deny that taxi drivers have been known to fit smaller wheels or that printers are being disabled; you just niavely stated that you don't believe they have a motivation to do either.
You didn't challenge the fact that the driver wanted to take me on a longer route.
You didn't challenge that he wasted two minutes chatting to someone on the meter which meant that the meter started clocking up the KMs almost instantly after we departed rather than 1KM down the road.

sliabh

Getting back to the point of the post you can tell the Taxi driver to stop talking/dawdling and you can specify the route he must take.

If you have a complaint the process used to be that you get his number and complain to the Garda carraige office. The new Commission for Taxi Regulation (http://www.taxiregulator.ie/taxi/publisher/index.jsp) is to take over this responsibility but they have not yet got their system in place.

In the case of a very immediate dispute with a taxi driver (e.g. you are refusing to pay the fare he is demanding) then the official process is that you request the driver takes you to the nearest Garda station and you get them involved.

I took the last option a few months ago when I had a driver at the airport that insisted on talking on his mobile while driving. I asked him to stop, he said no, so I asked to be let out (after about 500m). I refused to pay the fare (an airport pick up, so over €5 for the short trip). When he insisted I said take me to the Garda station. Naturally he wasn't willing to argue this with them, so the discussion (and my ride) ended there.

Ham'nd'egger

Mailman,

If you wish to persue this, then the very best of luck to you.

A few helpful points for you to bear in mind...

The fare shown on the meter is what is referred to as the "Maximum Fare". This is in practise all you have to pay over to the driver tops; it is your perogitive if you want to tip over the fare. Most driver's wont fight over the few cent as passengers won't.

The printer has no place in a taxi drivers tax audit. It is just a receipt printer, giving trip information. It's up to him (As with all self employed people) to declare earnings for taxation purposes.

A taix driver is expected to take the "most expeditious route" between A and B, unless you request otherwise. Obviously, some routes are a no go at times but end of the day, you are paying for the service so within reason, what you says goes. Do please bear in mind that some drivers may have reasons to take certain routes, like awkward turns, lights or whatever that are genuine so this would be taken into account by the lads in Dublin Castle.

The trip you took you say is 4.76KM. Fares begin at €3.40/€3.70 for the first 1K or 2 minutes and 48 Seconds. Fares then go up by 15c/20c for every 1/6KM or 28 seconds. On this basis, it don't sound too OTT a fare though I'd be a bit annoyed by his yakking with a mate as well.

If you ever feel you are being overcharged (Or indeed, any issue with a cab driver or his car), get a receipt and ring the carraige office. This is your main proof of times, fare and distance of the trip in any taxi. If you can remember the car type, roofsign, what a driver looks like, the carraige office will still be able to help you. Write the times and route down as well, it willI won't be smart here but don't be too shocked if they take it one lightly, as it is a small case of overcharging. Ask for Sgt Dermot Kelly inside there.

With regards to Sliabhs comment, it is a last resort but it is an offence to refuse to pay a fare as well so it can work both ways. Best to pay up and get a receipt and persue it via the relevant authorities properly; that way it will show up on a drivers PSV file.

jjbrien

Which way did he go infact? Did he:

A go via blanch village and then go passed the bell over the railway bridge and into castleknock?

B: Go Via Roselawn and then over the railway bridge and into Castleknock

or finally C: The taxi mans favorite via Carpentertown down the back roads near Castknock College and then into Castleknock Village at the side of Myos.

I think he must have chosen option C the get this fare.

Wishbone Ash

sliabh wrote:

I took the last option a few months ago when I had a driver at the airport that insisted on talking on his mobile while driving.

If it was a few months ago then he was not doing anything illegal. I don't think you had any right to refuse to pay the fare. What if he was using a two way radio like most hackneys?

daymobrew

Wishbone Ash wrote:

If it was a few months ago then he was not doing anything illegal. I don't think you had any right to refuse to pay the fare. What if he was using a two way radio like most hackneys?

While the new Road Traffic Bill clearly bans the use of hand held mobiles, if the driver's use of the mobile lead to unsafe driving it would have been an offence before this new bill.

Two-way radio conversations are considerably shorter than mobile calls. Those at the other end of the mobile may not be sensitive to the fact that much of the driver's attention should/will be on their driving instead of the conversation.

Mailman

Did I mention he was talking on the mobile phone while driving without a headset?
This was on the day before the ban came in to operation.

Of course I expect he is observing the laws regarding mobile phones now(sarcasm).