Rip-off cabbies charging punters upfront shock fees amid ‘tip of iceberg’ alert

ROGUE taxi drivers are asking desperate passengers to pay exorbitant upfront fares by Revolut before agreeing to take them home, an Irish Sun ­investigation has found.

Hundreds of late night cabbies are “picking and choosing” who they want to take in their cars — and not turning on the meter if they can entice customers to hand over more than double what the cost of the journey should be.

Cabbie James Maguire, vice president of the Irish Taxi Drivers Federation, described it as the “tip of the iceberg”.

He told The Irish Sun: “It’s a total mess. I’ve received loads of calls about this and it’s giving such a bad name to many decent taxi drivers that are on our roads just trying to make a living.

“What’s happening is many drivers, and it’s probably in the hundreds, are picking and choosing the fares they want to take.

“It usually happens after midnight when there are fewer cars on our roads and they try and take advantage of ­people who might have had a drink or two and are just desperate to get home.

“Many Irish drivers I know have stopped working at night because Dublin has become a dangerous place to work so others are taking advantage of this shortage by conning potential customers.

“And if you’re desperate to get home, you might pay it. Drivers are pulling up and checking where people are going and trying to get more out of them, or in some cases being offered €50, €60, €70 to be taken home.

“I’ve heard of a taxi driver who was paid €100 to bring someone home to Dun Laoghaire from town one night.

“I know a couple who got a taxi with Freenow last week to take them home from Marlay Park to Finglas, which is about a €50 journey.

“En route the driver heard a call over the radio to take someone to Drogheda. He put the couple out at the side of the road in the lashing rain so he could take the fare to Drogheda.

“That’s one example of what is going on and there are many more. This is going on every weekend.”

“I know a complaint has gone in to Freenow over this driver and hopefully he is heavily punished.

“But it’s a total mess at the minute and nothing is being done to stop it.”

Shock charges

One Dubliner told The Irish Sun he hailed a taxi with Freenow written across it to take him from North Wall Quay to Carpenterstown last week.

But the driver asked him to Revolut €60 before he’d agree to take him.

The customer said: “I told him to get lost and hailed a taxi further down the Quays who took me home on the meter for the standard €28.

“But it got me thinking is this common and is it a late night racket that’s being run in the city?”

“They’re breaking the law”

ITDF chief James said any driver who breaks the law like this should have their taxi licence immediately revoked.

He said: “They’re breaking the law and if they’ve done it once, you can be sure they’ve done it before.

“Drivers must follow a strict set of rules and there are on the spot fines in place but drivers who behave like this should have their licences revoked.

“It’s the only way of dealing with it. There are so many honest drivers out there and this is affecting them.

‘Very common’

“The ones who are doing this are clever enough not to let you in to the taxi but will speak to you through the window so you can’t get a good look at their licence. But this is very common and it’s happening on a regular basis.”

The National Transport Authority told The Irish Sun that there is a list of fines taxi drivers could be forced to pay if they break the law — including €150 for failing to turn on the cab’s meter while the vehicle is under hire.

But James added: “That’s not much good if you can’t get a taxi home or are forced to pay huge amounts to rogue drivers just to bring you home.

“Making a complaint is one thing but what about getting home or getting that money back — and what is really being done to prevent it?”

Complaints process

The NTA has urged people to make a complaint on its website if they have been unfairly treated by a taxi driver.

It said: “Should any passenger or intending passenger wish to make a complaint in relation to an Small Public Service Vehicle licence holder (driver, vehicle or dispatch operator), they can do so by completing the complaints form available on our website.

“Complaints are investigated by NTA’s Compliance Team and where an offence has occurred, the licence holder may be issued with a Fixed Payment Notice.

“The list of FPNs are also listed and it includes a fine for ‘failure to operate a taximeter while a taxi is on hire’.

“They’re breaking the law and if they’ve done it once, you can be sure they’ve done it before.”

ITDF chief James Maguire

“Failure to pay a fine within the time frame specified at law may result in prosecution.

“Over 16,500 taxi drivers can operate on the streets for hail or at ranks in Dublin. This figure is ahead of pre-pandemic levels. SPSV licence holders are self-employed operators who choose their own working days and hours. They are available to pre-book.

“Transport for Ireland is advising ­people to plan their journey ahead of time, consider the many public transport options available — bus, train, tram — and for those able to do so it may be a good option to walk or cycle some of the way, particularly in the city area.”

We also contacted Freenow about alleged behaviour by their taxi drivers.

Firm response

But the company told us it can only trace journeys and drivers that are booked through the app.

It said: “Taxi drivers who sign up with Freenow are independent contractors and they work for themselves when they are not operating journeys on the app.

“Every journey booked through Freenow can be tracked and traced, they contain the driver’s details and a breakdown cost of each journey if there is any issue.

“We have a complaint procedure in place if a customer has a complaint to make about a journey or a driver which is booked through the app.

“Any other complaints involving taxi drivers should be directed to the ­National Transport Authority.”

Calls for action

Industry group, the Taxis for Ireland Coalition, has called on the NTA and the Government to take immediate action to address the shortage of taxis.

They propose a 30 per cent increase in cabs by 2027 as a step towards alleviating the impact of driver and vehicle number decrease over the past decade, coupled with Ireland’s population growth.

Aisling Dunne, head of public policy for mobility provider Bolt, said: “The taxi shortage continues to have an effect on Ireland’s ability to provide public services to tourists and the local community.

“Taxis are Ireland’s only door-to-door public transport service and are crucial to the public transport network as a whole. Taxis and taxi drivers are integral, and we want more of them.”