Taxi with sticker saying 'Irish Taxi Driver'

Bill2673

Seen a taxi driving past last week, it had a sticker on the outside of the passenger door saying 'Irish Taxi Driver'. The sticker was I would guess 12 inches long, four inches high, so clearly visible to me.

What ye make of it?

Anyone else seen this?

foggy_lad

Bill2673 wrote: »

Seen a taxi driving past last week, it had a sticker on the outside of the passenger door saying 'Irish Taxi Driver'. The sticker was I would guess 12 inches long, four inches high, so clearly visible to me.

What ye make of it?

Anyone else seen this?

at least you know he will understand you and is more likely to know the area you want to go!

neil_hosey

yes - there loads of lads that have them. Id rather support the irish lads if i am to be honest. They know the roads and short cuts around town MUCH better. I cant count the number of times ive gotten into a taxi with a foreign driver and he didnt know where lucan was. like ffs who lets these eejits get plates. If you seen how some of the foreign drivers drive in dublin also... another thing that puts me off.

biko

Yeah, it's been done since a couple of years or so.

starfish12

There are also stickers that say 'full time taxi driver', alot of the cars with the 'irish' sticker seem to have gotten these too in the last few weeks

eightyfish

neil_hosey wrote: »

yes - there loads of lads that have them. Id rather support the irish lads if i am to be honest.

Here comes this thread again. I didn't know they had stickers like that. It's a f*cking disgrace. I'd refuse to get into a taxi with a sticker like that.

Cookie_Monster

eightyfish wrote: »

Here comes this thread again. I didn't know they had stickers like that. It's a f*cking disgrace. I'd refuse to get into a taxi with a sticker like that.

out of interest, why?

heavyballs

foggy_lad wrote: »

at least you know he will understand you and is more likely to know the area you want to go!

at least with the foreign guys you don't get the whole were broke/recession /too many taxi's waffle,why do taxi drivers assume we give a sheite

spurious

eightyfish wrote: »

Here comes this thread again. I didn't know they had stickers like that. It's a f*cking disgrace. I'd refuse to get into a taxi with a sticker like that.

Me too. It screams racist stereotype taxi man to me.

eightyfish

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

out of interest, why?

Because it's implied racism. You may as well have a sticker saying "I'm not black".

sesna

spurious wrote: »

Me too. It screams racist stereotype taxi man to me.

Would you call a shopkeeper racist if he had guaranteed Irish logo on some of his foods, or Dunnes Stores approach racist because of their slogan "The difference is we're Irish".

LilMsss

I view this as a good thing, and it would give people a choice of who they would like to get a taxi with. I've been in taxis with foreign drivers coming home from nights out and they have been tense journeys, they have taken routes I didn't recognise and some have made me generally uncomfortable, so much so that I would almost ask them to pull over and let me out.

As a woman travelling alone, getting a taxi where you feel safe can be a lottery. That's not to say I haven't had foreign and Irish drivers who have been courteous and professional, but there is always that niggling worry when you flag down a taxi that it's going to be a foreign driver who may or may not get you to your destination safely. There just isn't the same sense of worry when it's an Irish driver.

Regardless of whether or not it is politically correct to say so, most women do not feel safe getting in a taxi with a foreign driver. If my friends are putting me in a taxi after a night out, they will wave it on if the driver is not Irish.

eightyfish

sesna wrote: »

Would you call a shopkeeper racist if he had guaranteed Irish logo on some of his foods, or Dunnes Stores approach racist because of their slogan "The difference is we're Irish".

Not the same thing. Those are Irish products supporting the Irish economy and Irish jobs. I'm sure there's many people of many nationalities working in those companies. It's nothing to do with Irish, the race. This sticker, however, is.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

seawolf145

Bill2673 wrote: »

Seen a taxi driving past last week, it had a sticker on the outside of the passenger door saying 'Irish Taxi Driver'. The sticker was I would guess 12 inches long, four inches high, so clearly visible to me.

What ye make of it?

Anyone else seen this?

My kind of Taxi

spurious

sesna wrote: »

Would you call a shopkeeper racist if he had guaranteed Irish logo on some of his foods, or Dunnes Stores approach racist because of their slogan "The difference is we're Irish".

Perhaps xenophobic was the word I wanted.

I have had to ask to be let out of taxis driven by s**m who thought I wanted to hear their drivel about foreigners. I have never had any such incident with a driver from another country. If the sticker bearers are proclaiming their 'Irishness' it's obviously an issue with them, let them drive fellow thinkers around, not me.

Cookie_Monster

eightyfish wrote: »

Because it's implied racism. You may as well have a sticker saying "I'm not black".

but all Irish food products proudly display the fact that they are Irish and we are always being told to shop local and support Irish jobs, services and products. It is just an extension of that IMO

sesna

All the foreign drivers are a godsend given the competition they have introduced to the market. I still remember vividly pre-2003 hoards of people trying to get a taxi home every Saturday night. Often saw the "Irish" lads driving past several people with the light on, only to stop for the first bunch of good-looking girls they could find.

At least the foreign drivers are working, providing a service and not sponging off the state. The two minor bad experiences I have had were with foreign drivers - both refusing a fare at it was only 2km. I have since found out they are not allowed to do that, and I should have reported them to the regulator.

eightyfish

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

but all Irish food products proudly display the fact that they are Irish

See post 13.

robinph

LilMsss wrote: »

There just isn't the same sense of worry when it's an Irish driver.

What makes you feel safer with an Irish driver? Are al furrners out to kill us or something?

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

but all Irish food products proudly display the fact that they are Irish and we are always being told to shop local and support Irish jobs, services and products. It is just an extension of that IMO

That is supporting Irish products rather than ones shipped in from the other side of the world, so supporting the Irish economy.

The only way your not supporting the local economy when getting in a taxi is if you were to get one in Belfast and get them to drive you down to Dublin, then your money will probably end up being spent elsewhere. A taxi driver in Dublin, whatever their nationality, is contributing to Irish jobs/ services/ products exactly the same as any other taxi driver in Dublin.

DePurpereWolf

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

but all Irish food products proudly display the fact that they are Irish and we are always being told to shop local and support Irish jobs, services and products. It is just an extension of that IMO

Yes, support local jobs. Just because the dude in the car isn't 'Irish' he probably still lives here, good chance he has an Irish passport. You can't work here without paying tax.

Most Irish drivers I use are well in their sixties. I'm happy for the foreigners that can lift my bags.

JHMEG

sesna wrote: »

All the foreign drivers are a godsend given the competition they have introduced to the market.

Taxi fares are regulated, so we didn't need 'competition'.

We didn't need more taxis than New York to solve a what is a lack of public transport after 11:30pm, but we got them as an Irish solution to an Irish problem.

mike65

Clearly a xenophophic campiagn afoot to seperate "us" from "them" I imagine its really code for "white"/"black" though.

Bill2673

As an aisde....didn't Lidl have stickers saying 'Buy me, I'm Irish' on lamb that came from somewhere in Easter Europe, or something to that effect....It was seasoned in Ireland, probably.

Anyway, on that debate, there's no doubt that Irish taxi drivers have a history for gripining about foreign drivers, rightly or wrongly. It can be xenophobic and in that context I think it reads different to the 'Buy me I'm Irish' stickers in a Tesco.

Surprised to hear a lady say she feels nervous with foreign drivers. If you do, you do.....

foggy_lad

most foreign drivers dont know the route and will usually cost more because of this, they also have a licence but there are also a lot of drivers out there with dodgey licences bought from criminals for a few hundred euro and insurance certificates that can be forged.

sesna

LilMsss wrote: »

As a woman travelling alone, getting a taxi where you feel safe can be a lottery. That's not to say I haven't had foreign and Irish drivers who have been courteous and professional, but there is always that niggling worry when you flag down a taxi that it's going to be a foreign driver who may or may not get you to your destination safely. There just isn't the same sense of worry when it's an Irish driver.

Seems nationality is not a good indicator of how safe the taxi will be.

I largely except the point that foreign drivers contribute to the economy as much as Irish due to tax paid etc. But I did live with 3 Polish guys once who saved every single penny they could, with a view to returning home and buying property there. That does not contribute much to the Irish economy.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

robinph

sesna wrote: »

Seems nationality is not a good indicator of how safe the taxi will be.

I largely except the point that foreign drivers contribute to the economy as much as Irish due to tax paid etc. But I did live with 3 Polish guys once who saved every single penny they could, with a view to returning home and buying property there. That does not contribute much to the Irish economy.

Unlike Irish people who might save up every penny they earn and then go and spend it all on a holiday in the Costa-del-somewhere.

I assume that the Polish lads did buy food/ clothes/ stuff/ etc during their time in Ireland?

iMax

I think it's a great opportunity to be able to speak in fluent irish to the Irish taxi drivers. You should whenever you get the opportunity, refuse to engage in any language apart from gaeilge with them.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Cookie_Monster

eightyfish wrote: »

See post 13.

and a taxi is a service business so they are advertising that they are an Irish owned and run company.

similar situation to Patton vs Aircoach in many respects. The "local" Irish company vs the foreign-owned one. (leaving out the legal / non legal aspect for the moment)

I don't see the big deal.

monkeypants

sesna wrote: »

But I did live with 3 Polish guys once who saved every single penny they could, with a view to returning home and buying property there. That does not contribute much to the Irish economy.

Other than their PAYE, PRSI, income and health levies, rent, transport costs, clothing, utilities, food, etc.

Miguel_Sanchez

Any taxi with that sticker won't be getting my business.

They might as well throw up a sticker that says 'Stereotypical Taxi Driver Conversation Guaranteed'

I take the point that some of the foreign lads might not know the routes, but something about those stickers makes me feel uncomfortable.

Tbh, I'm not mad about taking taxis anyway. In my experience, a lot of the drivers seem to never leave their car, and because they are the boss of that little world, think they can impose their worldview on everyone else, or that we are even interested

Bill2673

foggy_lad wrote: »

most foreign drivers dont know the route and will usually cost more because of this

How can you back that up?

From personal experience I;ve only ever once had a problem with a foreign taxi driver going the wrong way. And I've had the same problem twice with Irish drivers.

I'm often surprised with foreign drivers at how long they've been in the taxi game in Dublin, often telling me they are doing it for 7 or 8 years.

Besides, I usually tell the taxi driver which way to go, regardless of who they are where they are from. Whats to stop any passenger doing that. It removes all confusion.

LilMsss

robinph wrote: »

What makes you feel safer with an Irish driver? Are al furrners out to kill us or something?

Not at all, and while I am always cautious getting into a taxi with any driver, I tend to have less caution with most Irish drivers. It's about comfort levels and safety. If a foreign driver has been living here for a few years and has excellent english and seems to know their way around, then I tend to feel a lot safer.

I don't get taxis very often, and if I know I'm going on a night out and will need a taxi, I will call one to collect me in town. Regardless of nationality or ethnicity, I always feel safe in taxis that are attached to a company because there seems to be accountability so there are generally no problems.

There have been quite a few cases in recent years of women being assaulted by taxi drivers, of all nationalities, so don't presume that there isn't an element of risk out there. Not to mention 'fake' taxis'!

Getting into a car with a stranger, whether or not you are paying them, puts you in a vulnerable position. You are trusting them to get you to your destination safely. I am responsible for my own personal safety and I won't apologise for being careful by choosing not to take unnecessary risks. Likewise, if an Irish driver was rough looking and/or I got a bad vibe, I'd also feel uncomfortable taking a journey with him.

sitstill

LilMsss wrote: »

Not at all, and while I am always cautious getting into a taxi with any driver, I tend to have less caution with most Irish drivers. It's about comfort levels and safety. If a foreign driver has been living here for a few years and has excellent english and seems to know their way around, then I tend to feel a lot safer.

I agree with this. Most of the foreign driver don't have great English and it's harder to give them directions. Also, I live in Bray and on numerous times have been told by foreign taxi drivers that they don't want to go there from town or else they have "a booking" in ten minutes so can't. I have often felt that when I've had a foreign driver, I've ended up paying more and one time, it ended up costing me one and a half times the normal price to get home because he wouldn't follow my directions and insisted on using the satnav even though it was giving him a longer route.

Now I will only take a taxi with an Irish diver and I'm not afraid to admit that. I don't care if people see that as being racist because I know that I don't have racist motivations for it.

robbie_998

i saw something similar there a week ago.

it wasn't anything taxi related or anything but it was on the window of a ford transit and there was a sticker saying "I'm buying Irish and creating jobs for 80,000 people" (or something to that extent)

Are we starting to isolate the foreigners now ?

cloda

i think i would rather be with an irish taxi driver although im sick of been brought around in circles and ripped off by them !!

DWCommuter

NO DOGS
NO BLACKS
NO IRISH

We didn't like those signs in the UK did we?

JHMEG

The last Nigerian taxi I got ran out of petrol, fortunately across the road from a petrol station. Other than that I've had no real negative experiences of foreign taxi drivers except that there's no chat or banter out of them and discussing GAA obviously doesn't work. For those slight reasons alone I'd opt for an Irish driver.

Andrew33

eightyfish wrote: »

Here comes this thread again. I didn't know they had stickers like that. It's a f*cking disgrace. I'd refuse to get into a taxi with a sticker like that.

Why is it a disgrace? the driver has the right to proclaim his nationality anywhere on the car except the roofsign. I personally don't agree with the drivers decision to show the sign (he might as well show a sign reading "I am a bigotted racist") but the fact remains, a lot of people in Dublin would prefer to get into a car driven by someone who knows where they're going.

Empire o de Sun

JHMEG wrote: »

Taxi fares are regulated, so we didn't need 'competition'.

We didn't need more taxis than New York to solve a what is a lack of public transport after 11:30pm, but we got them as an Irish solution to an Irish problem.

Obviously you never had to try to get a taxi in the 90's

foggy_lad

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Bill2673 wrote: »

foggy_lad wrote: »

most foreign drivers dont know the route and will usually cost more because of this

How can you back that up?

From personal experience I;ve only ever once had a problem with a foreign taxi driver going the wrong way. And I've had the same problem twice with Irish drivers.

I'm often surprised with foreign drivers at how long they've been in the taxi game in Dublin, often telling me they are doing it for 7 or 8 years.

Besides, I usually tell the taxi driver which way to go, regardless of who they are where they are from. Whats to stop any passenger doing that. It removes all confusion.

the last taxi i got from carlow railway station to Rivercourt i told the nigerian? driver where i wanted to go and he kept repeating riverside to which i answered rivercourt about 4 times, then he said he knows it and headed out the dublin road towards castledermot! i eventually got him to bring me back to the railway station and got out refusing to pay anything and got in another taxi who brought me to my destination without incident!

there should be Fluent english required for all taxi drivers with a stringent test and proper checks to stop some other person from taking the test for you.

and on a safety issue if these drivers cant understand basic place names how the hell did they get irish licences? they cant possibly understand road signs or markings properly with no english?

Andrew33

Bill2673 wrote: »

foggy_lad wrote: »

most foreign drivers dont know the route and will usually cost more because of this

I'm often surprised with foreign drivers at how long they've been in the taxi game in Dublin, often telling me they are doing it for 7 or 8 years.

They're hardly going to tell you they arrived in the country 3 months ago.

Live4Ever

I completely agree with the sticker.

JHMEG

Empire o de Sun wrote: »

Obviously you never had to try to get a taxi in the 90's

I did, and back then there was no public transport after 11.30pm either.

userod

I generally look out for Irish lads in the queue anyway and get in with them, wouldn't get in with the dubhs atall...

eightyfish

Andrew33 wrote: »

Why is it a disgrace? the driver has the right to proclaim his nationality anywhere on the car except the roofsign. I personally don't agree with the drivers decision to show the sign (he might as well show a sign reading "I am a bigotted racist") but the fact remains, a lot of people in Dublin would prefer to get into a car driven by someone who knows where they're going.

Answered your own question there.

Bill2673

foggy_lad wrote: »

foggy_lad wrote: »

most foreign drivers dont know the route and will usually cost more because of this

the last taxi i got from carlow railway station to Rivercourt i told the nigerian? driver where i wanted to go and he kept repeating riverside to which i answered rivercourt about 4 times, then he said he knows it and headed out the dublin road towards castledermot! i eventually got him to bring me back to the railway station and got out refusing to pay anything and got in another taxi who brought me to my destination without incident!

there should be Fluent english required for all taxi drivers with a stringent test and proper checks to stop some other person from taking the test for you.

and on a safety issue if these drivers cant understand basic place names how the hell did they get irish licences? they cant possibly understand road signs or markings properly with no english?

The issue I had was where you said most foreign drivers don't know the route.

There's a long way from, here's one example of a foreign driver who didn't know the route, to, most foreign drivers don't know the route.

L1011

Deleted User wrote: »

I take the point that some of the foreign lads might not know the routes, but something about those stickers makes me feel uncomfortable.

If I was concerned about them knowing the routes, I'd look for "Irish, non Dubliner driver" on the side. Most Dub drivers know their side of the river vaguely, the other side even more vaguely and nothing beyond the M50!