Taxi Company 20% Off

jack90210 · 11-02-2009 5:56pm #1

Just heard an ad on the radio. 20% off the metered fair. 8202020.

Had to happen to be fair due to the excess supply. Who'll out do them and do 25%?

Edit: The ad also stated this will be place until the end of the year!

paulm17781 · 11-02-2009 7:03pm

I saw a person with that number written on their clothes earlier, presumably a promotion.

I was wondering what it was for.

Is this legal? It's a great thing to see and will probably help the taxi industry generally.

jlang · 11-02-2009 7:40pm

Should be legal. The regulator documents describe standard rates as maximums and give permission for passengers to offer a tip and drivers to offer a discount.

philcsl · 11-02-2009 7:53pm

I spotted this over in Bargin Alerts where they are saying its The Dublin Cab Co, will definitely give them a go for the next few months and if they are reliable they have a new customer!

fortuneteller · 11-02-2009 8:18pm

20% Off the fare....Ya! the bulk of their drivers are probably foreginers that cant speak english,and dont know their way around,so in a desperate bid to get work they do this....it will still cost you more than it should because most of their drivers Cant read maps and the maps on their navigation systems only have africa or dublin airport,,or the welfare offices on them!:cool:

Spook_ie · 11-02-2009 8:49pm

fortuneteller wrote: »

20% Off the fare....Ya! the bulk of their drivers are probably foreginers that cant speak english,and dont know their way around,so in a desperate bid to get work they do this....it will still cost you more than it should because most of their drivers Cant read maps and the maps on their navigation systems only have africa or dublin airport,,or the welfare offices on them!:cool:

Now Now don't be adding more fuel to the ol' racist fire, I'm still waiting for confirmation but I believe it's City Cabs trying to steal a march on their competitors, only one thing concerns me at the moment I don't hear anything about them giving the drivers 20% off their base fees.......

Can't wait for my 1st customer ( hopefully on a nice wet night ) to say can I have 20% off and I'll give them 20% off the distance too....:)

BendiBus · 11-02-2009 9:53pm

Spook_ie wrote: »

Can't wait for my 1st customer ( hopefully on a nice wet night ) to say can I have 20% off and I'll give them 20% off the distance too....:)

If it's me then I'll give you 20% of the fingers on my left hand and get another cab

acer911 · 11-02-2009 10:01pm

its a great idea, new customer here too...

Spook_ie · 11-02-2009 10:47pm

BendiBus wrote: »

If it's me then I'll give you 20% of the fingers on my left hand and get another cab

oh yeah, that's 0.8 fingers, doesn't quite have the same effect as a whole digit

Serious side to this though, you only save on fares that are below €10, as you would have to book the taxi, therefore you pay €2 extra for the booking which makes €12 less 20% = €9.60, I am making the assumption here that they will be charging the booking fee, of course if you are willing to wait for the cab to go on a longer journey then you could, quite literaly, be quids in. Time will tell, but you still ain't getting 20% from me, 0.8 fingers or not....:cool:

Terrontress · 11-02-2009 10:55pm

Spook_ie wrote: »

oh yeah, that's 0.8 fingers, doesn't quite have the same effect as a whole digit

Serious side to this though, you only save on fares that are below €10, as you would have to book the taxi, therefore you pay €2 extra for the booking which makes €12 less 20% = €9.60, I am making the assumption here that they will be charging the booking fee, of course if you are willing to wait for the cab to go on a longer journey then you could, quite literaly, be quids in. Time will tell, but you still ain't getting 20% from me, 0.8 fingers or not....:cool:

Don't be making fun of the afflicted. You don't know how he lost that fockinh 0.2 finger. Could have been in the war.

Spook_ie · 11-02-2009 11:06pm

Terrontress wrote: »

Don't be making fun of the afflicted. You don't know how he lost that fockinh 0.2 finger. Could have been in the war.

That's true, in which case I would apologise wholeheartedly ( or should that be 80%heartedly ) but then again he might have just lost it picking his nose or scratching his ar$e in which case he can keep the 20% as I wouldn't want it...

But again to a serious side, I've just had confirmation that the drivers aren't getting a 20% reduction in the fees they pay the company so if you use them don't forget to tip well their drivers will need it.....

Terrontress · 11-02-2009 11:55pm

Spook_ie wrote: »

That's true, in which case I would apologise wholeheartedly ( or should that be 80%heartedly ) but then again he might have just lost it picking his nose or scratching his ar$e in which case he can keep the 20% as I wouldn't want it...

But again to a serious side, I've just had confirmation that the drivers aren't getting a 20% reduction in the fees they pay the company so if you use them don't forget to tip well their drivers will need it.....

If it leads to a 25% in fares they will break even so it needs to be more than thon. Realistic?

I think it's good that a company is operating outside the laid down regulations. Thinking for themselves. I remember being 18 and the licensing hours in Northern Ireland meant off licenses had to shut at 9. All offies shut at 9. The law changed to allow them to open untill 11. The two largest firms changed their closing times to 10. My opinion then, as it is now was that it is good to make a business decision within the spectrum available. Not simply aim for the top.

Taxipete29 · 12-02-2009 12:07am

This is great for consumers, but Im not sure how it helps drivers if their base fees are not reduced. Im all in favour of offering discounts to customers to increase business , but it always seems like its the driver taking the hit.

If companies are going to offer reductions in the order of 20%, then why not reduce base fees by 10%, thereby both driver and operator share the cost of the reduction.

Have seen this done in a few localised firms and it does cause some issues as you will always get some drivers who refuse to give the discount when the journey has ended, this is tricky as the driver has not advertised the fare and is under no legal obligation to give it. The customer gets annoyed and doesnt use that firm again.

These type of discounts can work if both driver and operator are working in tandem and not pulling against each other.

2qk4u · 12-02-2009 12:12am

Its a good thing, its about time there was some competition in the taxi industry in relation to fares... After all its better for the driver to do more 20%off fares that just a few normal fares..
Some Taxi companies in Navan dont charge a booking fee or any extras..

Spook_ie · 12-02-2009 7:33am

2qk4u wrote: »

Its a good thing, its about time there was some competition in the taxi industry in relation to fares... After all its better for the driver to do more 20%off fares that just a few normal fares..
Some Taxi companies in Navan dont charge a booking fee or any extras..

At the moment the jurys still out on it, say a driver did €250 normaly on a Saturday night, 20% off drops him down to €200, he then need to do €50 in extra fares to get back to where he began, will he do it? possibly, will he feel any benefit after driving to 3 or 4 booked fares ( they always take longer to do than fares off the street ) again possibly, will the driver find that due to increased demand the customer gets fed up waiting and decides they aren't going to wait any longer regardless of the discount and just walk out and hail a taxi, again possibly. Then again say the driver only does a €100 on a Monday night, he's then down to €80, is there enough business on a Monday to make up the €20 anyway, should prove to be an interesting experiment....

Spook_ie · 12-02-2009 7:40am

Taxipete29 wrote: »

This is great for consumers, but Im not sure how it helps drivers if their base fees are not reduced. Im all in favour of offering discounts to customers to increase business , but it always seems like its the driver taking the hit.

If companies are going to offer reductions in the order of 20%, then why not reduce base fees by 10%, thereby both driver and operator share the cost of the reduction.

Have seen this done in a few localised firms and it does cause some issues as you will always get some drivers who refuse to give the discount when the journey has ended, this is tricky as the driver has not advertised the fare and is under no legal obligation to give it. The customer gets annoyed and doesnt use that firm again.

These type of discounts can work if both driver and operator are working in tandem and not pulling against each other.

Have to agree, it seems the drivers ( who you should all remember , are actualy the radio company's customer, as they pay the company to connect them with the final customer i.e you ) of the parent company were all told at Xmas that they had to pay an extra €30 each for corporate hospitality.....

Terrontress · 12-02-2009 8:22am

If a taxi has one of this company's radios in their car are they obliged to take any work that comes through it?

The streets are busy at 100% and there is a radio job on at 80%. Obviously you won't want to take the radio job. The radio company cannot fulfill the jobs coming in over the phone. People stop phoning them as they cannot be relied on.

lods · 12-02-2009 8:59am

Terrontress wrote: »

If a taxi has one of this company's radios in their car are they obliged to take any work that comes through it?

The streets are busy at 100% and there is a radio job on at 80%. Obviously you won't want to take the radio job. The radio company cannot fulfill the jobs coming in over the phone. People stop phoning them as they cannot be relied on.

In fairness i don't think the streets are busy any time these days. It might get more people to use cabs. Taxi sharing would be good too. I've scene taxis pulling up at aircoach stops offering to bring people to the airport for the same price.

Victor · 12-02-2009 9:03am

Terrontress wrote: »

If a taxi has one of this company's radios in their car are they obliged to take any work that comes through it?

I think the rule of " a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush applies" - whoever (punter on street or base operator) gets to the driver first gets the transport.

Taxipete29 · 12-02-2009 10:21am

lods wrote: »

I've scene taxis pulling up at aircoach stops offering to bring people to the airport for the same price.

While I like the idea of doing this, Its illegal

bk · 12-02-2009 12:13pm

I think this is a great idea.

Other Taxi drivers could do it too. Put signs up on the side of your taxi saying 20% off the meter and then people might be more likely to hail your taxi at the side of the street or at the rank.

I'm pretty feed up with hearing all the moaning about lack of business from the taxi drivers, this is exactly the type of move that taxi drivers need to make if they want to get business.

Spook_ie · 12-02-2009 5:12pm

bk wrote: »

I think this is a great idea.

Other Taxi drivers could do it too. Put signs up on the side of your taxi saying 20% off the meter and then people might be more likely to hail your taxi at the side of the street or at the rank.

I'm pretty feed up with hearing all the moaning about lack of business from the taxi drivers, this is exactly the type of move that taxi drivers need to make if they want to get business.

For a radio company it might make sense, as you have a central contact number and they would be able ( you hope ) to cope with repeat business, but as a large proportion of taxis are totaly independant ( no radio ) and they rely on opportunistic business ( you see a taxi, you flag it ) so unless you are prepared to wait for someone with the right discount sign amount to drive past then the idea of discounting ALL fares for a particular cab will only result in that cab losing 20% of their turnover..

Spook_ie · 12-02-2009 5:14pm

Taxipete29 wrote: »

While I like the idea of doing this, Its illegal

Maybe, but as someone said to me "We're just trying harder, the TR said to"

jack90210 · 12-02-2009 6:18pm

Spook_ie wrote: »

but as a large proportion of taxis are totaly independant ( no radio ) and they rely on opportunistic business ( you see a taxi, you flag it ) so unless you are prepared to wait for someone with the right discount sign amount to drive past then the idea of discounting ALL fares for a particular cab will only result in that cab losing 20% of their turnover..

If I thought I'd see a cab with a 20% off sign going past I defo wait 5 minutes rather then the usual 0.3 minutes.

Taxi drivers need to innovate and engage in price competition. Give the regulars significant discounts, student discounts etc.

Spook_ie · 12-02-2009 6:55pm

jack90210 wrote: »

If I thought I'd see a cab with a 20% off sign going past I defo wait 5 minutes rather then the usual 0.3 minutes.

Taxi drivers need to innovate and engage in price competition. Give the regulars significant discounts, student discounts etc.

Well as the answer often given goes.....when I get discounts on my insurance, fuel, repairs, tyres, bin charges, GP visits etc. as a regular customer, then you'll get a discount ( if you're a regular customer )......

bk · 12-02-2009 10:01pm

Spook_ie wrote: »

so unless you are prepared to wait for someone with the right discount sign amount to drive past then the idea of discounting ALL fares for a particular cab will only result in that cab losing 20% of their turnover..

I and I assume many people would be happy to wait a few minutes for a taxi with the right discount sign.

Also I'd be happy to walk the length of the taxi rank to get a discounted one, remember you don't need to take the first one that comes along.

L1011 · 12-02-2009 10:49pm

Spook_ie wrote: »

Well as the answer often given goes.....when I get discounts on my insurance, fuel, repairs, tyres, bin charges, GP visits etc. as a regular customer, then you'll get a discount ( if you're a regular customer )......

Fuel card. Garage you use all the time. My GP.

I get discounts on those three...

Taxipete29 · 12-02-2009 11:44pm

bk wrote: »

I think this is a great idea.

Other Taxi drivers could do it too. Put signs up on the side of your taxi saying 20% off the meter and then people might be more likely to hail your taxi at the side of the street or at the rank.

I'm pretty feed up with hearing all the moaning about lack of business from the taxi drivers, this is exactly the type of move that taxi drivers need to make if they want to get business.

Its illegal to advertise discounts on the car itself.

Spook_ie · 13-02-2009 6:51am

MYOB wrote: »

Fuel card. Garage you use all the time. My GP.

I get discounts on those three...

I'll have to be moving to Maynooth then.....actualy now I just typed Maynooth maybe not...:)

Spook_ie · 13-02-2009 6:53am

Anybody actualy used them yet?

ArseBurger · 13-02-2009 6:59am

fortuneteller wrote: »

20% Off the fare....Ya! the bulk of their drivers are probably foreginers that cant speak english,and dont know their way around,so in a desperate bid to get work they do this....it will still cost you more than it should because most of their drivers Cant read maps and the maps on their navigation systems only have africa or dublin airport,,or the welfare offices on them!:cool:

You could say the same of the Irish a lot of the time.

For example, you can't spell foreigner...

Taxi Company 20% Off

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