Irish Taxi Forum
Public Area => Taxi Talk => Topic started by: Rat Catcher on December 24, 2025, 11:11:26 am
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I've done two Bolt fares since my account was restored last week.
On the first the fare input screen was pre-populated with the correct fare (€16) so I just slid the button. I was only paid €15 less commission though. I assumed I must have misread the pre-populated amount and didn't think much more of it until...
The second, this morning, I entered manually, €10 and on the next screen with the slider button it said €11 so I went back and done it again and it did the same thing again.
So it seems to add €1 to a fare you enter manually and deduct that €1 again from what you get paid.... and the pre-populated amount includes the extra €1 it deducts.
What's that all about?
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It's been like that for weeks.I always show the passenger that it's them and not me overcharging.Are they adding a tech fee like the other apps?
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Probably. Does that mean you're supposed to collect the €1 on cash jobs?
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I haven't covered a Bolt cash job in a long time.Maybe there is no tech fee on cash.
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I've done two jobs off it today, 10/11 and 47/48, both card and another one last Friday, 15/16.... all app payments. Seems to be very little on it... but, I guess that's why I swapped it out for Uber so I shouldn't be surprised by that. I did get a few other viable offers but they were gone before I had time to react. At least I know the app is working anyway!
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I dunno how Bolt operate but my app can be dead for days then they'll offer me three in an hour.They do have work but are likely using acceptance rates or some other metric to decide who deserves it more.
Seperately I've noticed my Uber app can go quiet for long periods especially after I've handed back jobs that didn't suit me and sometimes it gets more aggressive and louder in tone and speed when any of my other apps are trying to offer me a job at the same time.
Uber doesn't like us working with the competition so it's worth keeping Bolt/Freenow on in the background just incase to keep them competitive.
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....... after I've handed back jobs that didn't suit me ........
Why would you accept a job that didn't suit you ?
I'm hearing it in the cab all the time from customers; "Driver was on his way (often pre-books) and then he cancelled" !
Why accept a job and then Not do it ??
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It depends on the traffic and day of the week Belker.Sometimes I'll accept a job to the suburbs and realise it's not worth doing as it will more than likely end up in an empty run back to town.
Yesterday morning it happened on Uber where I took a job to the airport and it was dead all the way back to my gaff.I wish I cancelled that one.Nothing against the customers it's just difficult to drive and assess the job offers on the move.
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Dont know the NTA--COPS allow Apps in general --the distraction they cause and as for the guys with three perched on dash--madness !
I failed NCT a few years ago as I had a holder stuck to screen --one !
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It depends on the traffic and day of the week Belker.Sometimes I'll accept a job to the suburbs and realise it's not worth doing as it will more than likely end up in an empty run back to town.
Yesterday morning it happened on Uber where I took a job to the airport and it was dead all the way back to my gaff.I wish I cancelled that one.Nothing against the customers it's just difficult to drive and assess the job offers on the move.
That is surely Bull$hite MFH, You as seemingly an experienced Taxi driver should know well if'n a job is worth doing or not BEFORE you accept it ??
::fds
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Not always Belker.I usually can't remember what day if the week it as my work schedule is all over the place.I don't really have regular hours like yous taxi slaves.I work when I feel like it.
For me a city center to Dublin airport (and possibly the suburbs) is only really worth it on tariff 2 as there are a load of lads camping at the airport and if it's quiet I'm returning to the city empty.
I have no loyalty to Freenow so if I've got a job of it at all it's because the rest of the Freenow fleet don't want it.This weirdly makes me wanna cancel it more.
It can happen that Uber will find me a job once I've taken another from a different app.If the Uber job is closer or going to a better desto I'll cover that one.
Lots of reasons to cancel.We owe the apps fuk all.
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Also if you're running three apps you have milliseconds to evaluate the jobs.Sometimes you can accept the wrong one by accident too resulting in cancellations.
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That is known in my opinion as 'Acting the Maggot' or maybe in FDS's opinion acting in a 'Cuntbaggery' fashion.
It's drivers like you MFH that give the rest of us Decent Taxi drivers a Bad Name, Shame On You ! ::fds
If'n ya take a job, THEN FOOKIN DO IT !, it ain't that hard !!
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You're sounding a lot like an app employee Belker.Thankfully nobody takes you serious.
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As Punter alludes to, if you're driving a car it's not really possible to devote sufficient attention to a job offer to decide whether it's a job that's worth paying for or not. I used to just accept them all (if driving) without looking and then cancel the one's that don't suit me for whatever reason when I have a chance to read them safely. These days, of course, you get penalised for cancelling jobs. With Free Now you lose some of your priority points (I finally learnt how that works so found out why my score goes up and down like a Corkman on a Ukrainian prostitute) and with Uber you lose your Blue Flag / Gold Star or whatever.
The fact is, these apps are designed to cause car crashes. All of the firms who operate these apps have some interest in promoting driverless cars and see themselves as predominately supplying driverless cars in the fullness of time hence it's in their interest to make human driven taxis as unsafe as they possibly can to improve the relative safety of the future driverless options.
As it stands, neither NTA nor RSA give a flying fuck about taxis meandering out of control with drivers fixated on their smart telephone screens. Probably the best argument in favour of a National Taxi App is that it could implement safety provisions that are of scant interest to the multinational ultra capitalist free marketeers.
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You're sounding a lot like an app employee Belker.Thankfully nobody takes you serious.
If'n your Acting the Absolute Maggot on the App jobs MFH, then God only knows what your up to with Street customers !
::fds ::fds
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Belker don't take this the wrong way.....but you will anyway....but as an unpaid brand ambassador for Freenow/Lyft (the multi fukkin billion dollar rideshare app who are out to kill off the taxi) your opinion doesn't count on here.I was working these apps long before you ever found them.I can delete any one of them without losing any sleep.I'm not really bothered about cancelling jobs.There's always another driver not too far away.
It's never been so easy to get a taxi.
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Belker don't take this the wrong way.....but you will anyway....but as an unpaid brand ambassador for Freenow/Lyft (the multi fukkin billion dollar rideshare app who are out to kill off the taxi) your opinion doesn't count on here.I was working these apps long before you ever found them.I can delete any one of them without losing any sleep.I'm not really bothered about cancelling jobs.There's always another driver not too far away.
It's never been so easy to get a taxi.
I will 50% agree with you MFH, as I too don't like the greedy App's and I have No loyalty to any of them.
I Accept or Decline app jobs as I wish and also ignore the App during 'Jungle hours'.
BUT if'n I take an App job, then I will be Loyal to that customer and (within reason) I will complete that job, not because of Loyalty points on the App, but fer Loyalty points fer myself personally as a Half-Decent Professional Taxi driver.
@ MFH; "don't take this the wrong way.....but you will anyway."
Your 'Acting the Maggot' on the Apps gives all of us Taxi drivers a Bad name .....
Possibly your Quotes are true;
"There's always another driver not too far away."
Or
"It's never been so easy to get a taxi.".
But possibly they are not, and You don't care in the least if'n a customer is left in the Lurch or not.. ::fds
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You're being manipulated by the apps everyday just like a shite base controller.I frequently decline jobs that I consider to be too far away(1.5km in the city center) only to be immediately offered a job 200 meters away.The computer doesn't give a shite about our time as long as the jobs are covered.
Uber does this a lot where they'll try to get you to chase work when they have no cars immediately in that area.
My circuit isn't that easy so you need to be very careful about the jobs accepted or you'll end up taking too long to get to a customer.
The passengers have no idea how lucky they are to have such a fast service.We arrive faster than the fire brigade and the cops 98% of the time.
You need to try working different apps to understand why cancellations happen.Freenow only has a small amount of work up here that isn't discounted.Bolt has a bit less but at least it's full fare work.Uber is still number one.Keeping them all going is important so they don't try to fuk us.
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You're being manipulated by the apps everyday just like a shite base controller.I frequently decline jobs that I consider to be too far away(1.5km in the city center) only to be immediately offered a job 200 meters away.The computer doesn't give a shite about our time as long as the jobs are covered.
I used to find that you'd get a nearby job if you cancelled 3 jobs in a row with FN. It was fairly predictable.
The passengers have no idea how lucky they are to have such a fast service.We arrive faster than the fire brigade and the cops 98% of the time.
::clap Good point. Never thought of it like that!
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They all see to monitor each other in one way or another. The day I got several viable Bolt offers (Christmas Eve) I had started early (for me, c.07:43) and had quite a busy morning with both Free Now and Uber.
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They all see to monitor each other in one way or another. The day I got several viable Bolt offers (Christmas Eve) I had started early (for me, c.07:43) and had quite a busy morning with both Free Now and Uber.
They're all busy at the same time.
Uber just reminded me to be on high alert from 13.00 hours New Years Eve to 06.00 hours New Years Day...that's a 17 hours shift FFS!!
I'll do my best!! 8)
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Depends where you work. I guess there's work all the time up above in Dublin and, if you work nights, the pubs up there all close at the same time so that's probably a potential bonus of a quiet December evening? I find Free Now the busier app in the Northside suburbs and Uber busiest of the three I currently work for in the North County.