Taxi Booking charge at Dublin Airport?

irlrobins

Hey all,

Just looking for confirmation of something. Arrived back into DUB airport from weekly work trip abroad this evening and got into a taxi at the taxi rank outside arrivals. Taxi driver starts the meter and adds a €2 extra. I asked him what this was for (I've never had any other driver at the airport do this) and he said it was the Airport fee. I questioned him on this and he said when you get into a taxi at the rank, the guys who control the rank phone for taxis and hence the charge . I then stated that I thought the airport charge was gone and he said no. Left it at that.

Now this evening I looked up Taxi Regulator site and it states:

When a taxi is booked by telephone, email, fax, text, (or any method other than by hailing in the street or engaging at a taxi rank), taxi drivers will be permitted to charge a maximum of €2.00 for such journeys. This charge will not apply to taxis hailed on the street or engaged at taxi ranks or at transport terminals.

So just to confirm, I shouldn't have been charged the "booking fee", correct?

trellheim

bullcrap. The 2.00 specifically cannot be charged at transport terminals.

http://www.taxiregulator.ie/files/publications/Consultation_Five_Fare_Revision_April-2008.pdf

Spook_ie

irlrobins wrote: »

Hey all,

Just looking for confirmation of something. Arrived back into DUB airport from weekly work trip abroad this evening and got into a taxi at the taxi rank outside arrivals. Taxi driver starts the meter and adds a €2 extra. I asked him what this was for (I've never had any other driver at the airport do this) and he said it was the Airport fee. I questioned him on this and he said when you get into a taxi at the rank, the guys who control the rank phone for taxis and hence the charge . I then stated that I thought the airport charge was gone and he said no. Left it at that.

Now this evening I looked up Taxi Regulator site and it states:


So just to confirm, I shouldn't have been charged the "booking fee", correct?

You got stiffed by a chancer, did you get his number if so report him, if not put it down to experience...

irlrobins

What surprised me was that he said he's been driving taxis for nearly 20 years. I would have expected this from one of the newer guys, not one of the original ones.

Not sure if I'll do anything, fare came to 34.50, but I only had two twentys and he had no change so had to give me a tenner back. So in the end I was charged less (€30), even if he hadn't added the extra €2.

Ham'nd'egger

This is one of the gems that I'd like to see challenged legally somewhere as it is quite ambiguous as to which case is correct as per the current legislation it is coined in. For the record, I think it is not right to be charged so I can't and won't defend it; this is just a justification of why some drivers may attempt to charge the €2.

The charge for picking up at Dublin Airport was dropped with the national fares brought in in 2006 so it is illegal to stick it on the meter as per the maximum fare structure, it being a transport terminal (TY Treheil). With the way the airport works, drivers are not waiting at a rank, instead going to a holding area known as the "Kesh". Drivers wait in this area and wait until called up to the rank in the airport. From here, drivers are summonsed up via intercom to the rank proper by a DAA staff member who is in charge of getting taxis to the rank. As drivers are summonsed to the rank as distinct to joining it by their own free will by somebody who is going to "despatch" them for a fare, it is being argued by some that the €2 is legitimate. It should be noted here that drivers who wait in the "Kesh" are not allowed to take radio work while waiting or to leave it for any reason.

PRND

I thought for one terrible moment there that you were going to say that you told him to keep the 40 as he had no change!

markpb

Hamndegger wrote: »

It should be noted here that drivers who wait in the "Kesh" are not allowed to take radio work while waiting or to leave it for any reason.

Doesn't that amount to some sort of kidnapping?

Seriously though, I know there are problems in the Kesh but not letting you guys leave is a wierd, wierd idea. Does it have something to do with the layout of the place?

Ham'nd'egger

markpb wrote: »

Doesn't that amount to some sort of kidnapping?

Seriously though, I know there are problems in the Kesh but not letting you guys leave is a wierd, wierd idea. Does it have something to do with the layout of the place?

Pretty much so, yes. It is laid out in about 12 rows of cars, with rows being called in as the rank on top empties out. The area holds about 200 cars at any one time but it often has cars parked in an overflow area behind the SAS Raddison Hotel such is it's overcrowding.

lost marbles

irlrobins wrote: »

What surprised me was that he said he's been driving taxis for nearly 20 years. I would have expected this from one of the newer guys, not one of the original ones.

Not sure if I'll do anything, fare came to 34.50, but I only had two twentys and he had no change so had to give me a tenner back. So in the end I was charged less (€30), even if he hadn't added the extra €2.

looks like he did try to do a rip off on you by charging the extra 2 euro but when you questioned it he knew he was caught and his way of getting out of it was to drop the odds over the thirty .if you did get his details id still report him to the regulators office .the hassle the idiot put himself through for an extra 2 euro .the twat :mad:

Spook_ie

lost marbles wrote: »

looks like he did try to do a rip off on you by charging the extra 2 euro but when you questioned it he knew he was caught and his way of getting out of it was to drop the odds over the thirty .if you did get his details id still report him to the regulators office .the hassle the idiot put himself through for an extra 2 euro .the twat :mad:

Can't understand how you drive a taxi without change, I have one of them coin holders and even if I had no €10s or €5s I could still rustle up €5.50 easily enough in coins..

serfboard

Spook_ie wrote: »

Can't understand how you drive a taxi without change, I have one of them coin holders and even if I had no €10s or €5s I could still rustle up €5.50 easily enough in coins..

When you say how do you really mean why? I've taken taxis in Dublin and had it as a fairly common occurrence that the taxi driver, for one reason or another, has no change. Excuse me for being just a wee bit cynical, but I always put it down to the taxi driver hoping you'll say "Oh, that's alright - keep the change". There is the other phenomenon of the overly dramatic and drawn out "search" for change - with the again hoped-for result.

Of course I always wait

OTOH, while I previously had no pity for them, I do feel a bit more sorry for them now, given the amount of people in the game, which surely must impact on the bottom line.

Colonel Sanders

serfboard wrote: »

When you say how do you really mean why? I've taken taxis in Dublin and had it as a fairly common occurrence that the taxi driver, for one reason or another, has no change. Excuse me for being just a wee bit cynical, but I always put it down to the taxi driver hoping you'll say "Oh, that's alright - keep the change". There is the other phenomenon of the overly dramatic and drawn out "search" for change - with the again hoped-for result.

Of course I always wait

OTOH, while I previously had no pity for them, I do feel a bit more sorry for them now, given the amount of people in the game, which surely must impact on the bottom line.

must say this has crossed my mind before as well. Altho in my experience its happening less these days, most seem to have those coin holders that spook was on about.

An exception was the day I got a taxi, the fare came to 18.50. Handed the driver a €20 note and he just said 'Cheers lads, see you again'. Didn't even try to give us the change. Would have argued but probably have missed my plane if I did, as it was I made the check in desk by the skin of my teeth

lost marbles

just to get a fare in the car these days is a tip enough for me .i was never one to try and get a tip out of any passenger and NEVER did i attempt to rip of anyone and theres loads like me out there. its the bad apples that give us all a bad name .on the giving change i had one of those coin holders but it was stolen so now i have the loose change in the center console and it can take a few secs sorting out coins .it dos,nt mean im edgeing for to keep your change .

Spook_ie

lost marbles wrote: »

just to get a fare in the car these days is a tip enough for me .i was never one to try and get a tip out of any passenger and NEVER did i attempt to rip of anyone and theres loads like me out there. its the bad apples that give us all a bad name .on the giving change i had one of those coin holders but it was stolen so now i have the loose change in the center console and it can take a few secs sorting out coins .it dos,nt mean im edgeing for to keep your change .

bit of bummer to get that nicked, maybe we should get rid of 10c,20c etc. on the ends of fares and just go with 50c or full euros.

HydeRoad

My coin holder was robbed too. Taxi sign robbed on two occasions, got it back both times. Now I have to remove it every night from the car. Car was broken into another night, side window smashed, covered by insurance, but lost a day's work. It's hard enough when you are working, without being robbed when you are at home resting too.

lost marbles

Spook_ie wrote: »

bit of bummer to get that nicked, maybe we should get rid of 10c,20c etc. on the ends of fares and just go with 50c or full euros.

i have always rounded down the fare by the 30 50 cent but you know what somepeople are like late at night with the handful of scrapnel .ive noticed that its usually the people from the well to do areas ,foxrock, d,laoire ,etc that wait on the 20cent .the ordinary jo will round off to the nearest euro .
yeh the scum broke the side window and got away with my licence [drivers and psv] broke my gloove box open .the breaking into taxis seems to come in spates ,you usually get a few done in an area by some junkie scum .so now i make sure to take everything in with me after a shift

Spook_ie

HydeRoad wrote: »

My coin holder was robbed too. Taxi sign robbed on two occasions, got it back both times. Now I have to remove it every night from the car. Car was broken into another night, side window smashed, covered by insurance, but lost a day's work. It's hard enough when you are working, without being robbed when you are at home resting too.

You mean you get to rest as well.....jeez whats the world coming to:)

Spook_ie

lost marbles wrote: »

i have always rounded down the fare by the 30 50 cent but you know what somepeople are like late at night with the handful of scrapnel .ive noticed that its usually the people from the well to do areas ,foxrock, d,laoire ,etc that wait on the 20cent .the ordinary jo will round off to the nearest euro .
yeh the scum broke the side window and got away with my licence [drivers and psv] broke my gloove box open .the breaking into taxis seems to come in spates ,you usually get a few done in an area by some junkie scum .so now i make sure to take everything in with me after a shift

Yeah was reading on roys blog www.irishtaxi.net about his sign being robbed and Gardai catching someone with it on the roof an ordiary car, mind you the psv and drivers license would give them an added bonus in scamming customers