40% Less Taxis, Average Driver Age 65.5, Free Now Too Expensive at Peak Times

[Rat Catcher]

Interesting comments from a Dublin Colleague:

https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/dublin-man-claims-free-now-24237598?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=organic

Dublin man claims Free Now charges are forcing taxi drivers to switch off app

The taxi situation in the capital was described as a "shambles" last weekend

By Aakanksha Surve
15:55, 16 JUN 2022
NEWS

A Dublin man has revealed taxi drivers are switching off their apps at night due to the rising costs of doing business with FREE NOW.

The taxi situation in the capital was described as a "shambles" after many people were forced to walk long distances home over the weekend.

Taxi driver James Cullen told Dublin Live: "FREE NOW says that x amount of trips are going through the system and the drivers are not covering. One of the reasons why is because it's too expensive."

James, who has been a taxi driver for nearly 30 years, explained that drivers are hit with a variety of extra fees every time they use the app to pick up a customer.

He said that FREE NOW charges 15% commission on every job plus they have brought in a "hospitality charge" which takes an extra €2 from the drivers when they pick someone up from a hotel and some bars and restaurants.

He said: "For example, I brought a couple from a hotel in Cardiff Lane to Connolly Station.

"The fare was around €8.80. I lost €2 out of that job so we’re down to €6.80, then I had to pay a 15% commission on top of that. So we’re down to about €5.50.

"And then they handed me a credit card which added a charge separate from the ones put in place by the app. So then I got hit again. For an €8.80 fare, I basically ended up getting a fiver."

Last weekend saw a number social media users saying they felt unsafe in the city due to the lack of taxi drivers at night.

James said: "I don’t like to see anybody walking on the side of the road. We don’t like to see anybody being vulnerable.

"But we're getting blamed for something that is not our fault. The gardai should be making sure the city is safe for vulnerable people.

"Also, Dublin Bus are putting up more routes so I can’t blame Dublin Bus. But Luas and DART need to start putting on extra services because by doing that it takes the pressure off us and it gets the people home safely."

The pandemic resulted in nearly 40% of drivers leaving the industry, James said.

He added: "The average age of a taxi driver would be between 64 and 67. So a lot of them would be ex-guards, ex- soldiers. They’ve got two pensions so they realised they could survive on them so they left the industry.

"A lot of the foreign lads have either gone back home or gone into trades like construction. There’s nobody new coming into the business.

"Plus the expensive insurance fees mean a lot of people are not coming into the business because taxi insurance has always been expensive but it’s exorbitant for new entries and if you’re a foreign driver it’s even more."

Niall Carson, General Manager for FREE NOW said: "We have always offered incentives around completing peak time jobs, removing commission is not the answer to the current taxi and transport issue.

"Our commission charge is essential to the continued provision and improvement of our app which many drivers and passengers use and rely upon for flexible transport.

"This is not just a taxi shortage issue. This is a transport shortage issue that needs to be addressed by the transport sector as a whole, in a proactive and integrated manner. This will in turn help alleviate the pressure currently placed on the taxi sector to cater to the enormous need of passengers at peak times."

[mercenary for hire]

What's never mentioned is the thousands of requests for app taxis might include multiple attempts by one individual or multiple people in the one group making multiple requests from the pub because they're sitting over their last drink.Thats a lot of distortion of the truth .In the old days you rang your local company and they phoned you back if they had anyone near you in town if at all.

You could between 4/5 people put in a 100 app taxi requsts in ten minutes.A lot of spoofing and exaggeration going on even on the Freenow side too.

[Malone]

What driver with any common sense is going to try and get a job on the app at a gig with 30000 people , on purpose I’ll stay the other side of the city .same goes for harcourt street, Camden street and dame street absolute no go areas when busy .

[Octavia1]

 .....
Wen I heard pat Kenny yesterday  morning opening a topic about the " taxi shortage crisis " were   he immediately introduced a representative from
Women's aid advising women how not to get raped and protect themselves from taxi drivers  and other men ......

It drove home to me the even bigger crisis in irish media ...

We are living in a very sick society  wer taxi drivers are blamed  for a lack of social order and increase in violence against women

It's actually alarming and disturbing...

This whole topic has now become a   national malignant toxic shitfest in   gaslighting, lies , deception ,blaming and scapegoating

Ther in the Dail today  talking shit about people starving  because of the cost of living and inflation  and the airport can't cope with the unprecedented numbers going to holidays , every restaurant is full every nite of the week , and every park packed wit concert goers ....

Mass psychogenic illness I tink they call it ....or in other words ...yous irish are  a shower of lying bastards .

[Bob Shillin]

"The poor will always be with us", "let them eat cake".

[silverbullet]

Dropping a fare to  Swords vis Phibsboro last night. The first woman out said to the remaining passenger "Text me when you're home".
So while chatting I told the woman I kinda find it offensive that people assume we're likely to be rapists. To prevent women from sexual assaults there's an outcry for more taxis! A dichotomy for sure.

Is that not adding fuel to the fire?

It turns out the passenger had been raped by her father, who in turn raped a stranger. and went to jail for the second offence. She believed that her father also raped her mother. The mother never pressed charges.

We agreed that rape is about power NOT sex.

Strangely, when we finally got to Swords the fare was €35, I was handed a €50 and told to keep the change.

Cheaper than a shrink I guess.

[Octavia1]

Dropping a fare to  Swords vis Phibsboro last night. The first woman out said to the remaining passenger "Text me when you're home".
So while chatting I told the woman I kinda find it offensive that people assume we're likely to be rapists. To prevent women from sexual assaults there's an outcry for more taxis! A dichotomy for sure.

Is that not adding fuel to the fire?

It turns out the passenger had been raped by her father, who in turn raped a stranger. and went to jail for the second offence. She believed that her father also raped her mother. The mother never pressed charges.

We agreed that rape is about power NOT sex.

Strangely, when we finally got to Swords the fare was €35, I was handed a €50 and told to keep the change.

Cheaper than a shrink I guess.

I don't mind the " text me wen yur home"   or even ther friends photographing my ID or any other method of recording my identity .....ide hope  my daughters friends  would do the same .
It's good sense .....but blaming taxi drivers or an  alleged  lack of taxis for a potential increase in  incidence of rape is psychotic ...
Are luas  or bus drivers also guilty ?
Perhaps the judicial system and society as a whole have questions to answer

[Octavia1]

Lovely lite this evening bullits

[John m]

The Plank and Ballyfermot Joseph pander to the loudest barkers .If you were up early this morning before 6Am the Lad that use to be head of Bank of Ireland but now runs the ECB was on CNN yes an American TV channel not a European one and he made the most Important Financial statement in years but Joe and Wacker must of been asleep same with all the other Print Journalists .He announced the ECB will increase interest rates by .25% in July but then he added in a whisper then there will be another increase in September and he could not say how large that increase would be as it will be data dependent .I will bet now that when we get an increase Ballyer Joe and the Plank will have mothers of students on the wireless complaining about the taxi fare increase and linking us with the cost of living increases and young students suicides and job losses and evictions .After Friends in Low Places plays the North Circular Field the feel good factor will be gone and we will all be trying to rank on the Aston or Green looking for work

Listening to what was actually being said by the DAA Mouthpiece he said in coded hushed tones that he wasn't going to be bothering his bollox recruiting and training more staff as the Black death was on the way .He hinted at Aviation fuel Shortages and a reduced winter schedule .Watch the newspapers for announcements of cuts to existing bus routes and new ones to replace them .Usually means Dublin bus have been out bid by Go Bus for that rout Yellowpack drivers lower pension entitlements and not super annuated pay packets ..Double Decker Bus drivers on 14.20 an hour no shift allowance 24/7 roster no Sunday Premium .I wonder how many young men looking for a Bus Driving Career

[Belker]

Dropping a fare to  Swords vis Phibsboro last night. The first woman out said to the remaining passenger "Text me when you're home".
So while chatting I told the woman I kinda find it offensive that people assume we're likely to be rapists.......

I don't mind the " text me wen yur home"   or even ther friends photographing my ID or any other method of recording my identity ..... ........

I always say to the lady who sez; "Text me when ur home safe" to her friend,
"I'LL TEXT YA IF I GET HOME SAFE !".

It keeps the mood light and usually reassures the passenger.

[Belker]

To add to the opening post, a lot of drivers are leaving the night time game fer the simple reason that the pax just will not behave themselves in the cab at night.

[Rat Catcher]

With an average driver age of 65.5 it's unlikely very many need the extra money that may be available at night. Obviously the Green Minister throwing millions of euros at us to subsidise our cars will further reduce drivers' takings budgets as will the upcoming fare increase to whatever extent it applies to "off-peak" hours.

[silverbullet]

Lovely lite this evening bullits

After the rain, lovely.

[silverbullet]

Interesting comments from a Dublin Colleague:

https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/dublin-man-claims-free-now-24237598?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=organic

Dublin man claims Free Now charges are forcing taxi drivers to switch off app

The taxi situation in the capital was described as a "shambles" last weekend

By Aakanksha Surve
15:55, 16 JUN 2022
NEWS

A Dublin man has revealed taxi drivers are switching off their apps at night due to the rising costs of doing business with FREE NOW.

The taxi situation in the capital was described as a "shambles" after many people were forced to walk long distances home over the weekend.

Taxi driver James Cullen told Dublin Live: "FREE NOW says that x amount of trips are going through the system and the drivers are not covering. One of the reasons why is because it's too expensive."

James, who has been a taxi driver for nearly 30 years, explained that drivers are hit with a variety of extra fees every time they use the app to pick up a customer.

He said that FREE NOW charges 15% commission on every job plus they have brought in a "hospitality charge" which takes an extra €2 from the drivers when they pick someone up from a hotel and some bars and restaurants.

He said: "For example, I brought a couple from a hotel in Cardiff Lane to Connolly Station.

"The fare was around €8.80. I lost €2 out of that job so we’re down to €6.80, then I had to pay a 15% commission on top of that. So we’re down to about €5.50.

"And then they handed me a credit card which added a charge separate from the ones put in place by the app. So then I got hit again. For an €8.80 fare, I basically ended up getting a fiver."

Last weekend saw a number social media users saying they felt unsafe in the city due to the lack of taxi drivers at night.

James said: "I don’t like to see anybody walking on the side of the road. We don’t like to see anybody being vulnerable.

"But we're getting blamed for something that is not our fault. The gardai should be making sure the city is safe for vulnerable people.

"Also, Dublin Bus are putting up more routes so I can’t blame Dublin Bus. But Luas and DART need to start putting on extra services because by doing that it takes the pressure off us and it gets the people home safely."

The pandemic resulted in nearly 40% of drivers leaving the industry, James said.

He added: "The average age of a taxi driver would be between 64 and 67. So a lot of them would be ex-guards, ex- soldiers. They’ve got two pensions so they realised they could survive on them so they left the industry.

"A lot of the foreign lads have either gone back home or gone into trades like construction. There’s nobody new coming into the business.

"Plus the expensive insurance fees mean a lot of people are not coming into the business because taxi insurance has always been expensive but it’s exorbitant for new entries and if you’re a foreign driver it’s even more."

Niall Carson, General Manager for FREE NOW said: "We have always offered incentives around completing peak time jobs, removing commission is not the answer to the current taxi and transport issue.

"Our commission charge is essential to the continued provision and improvement of our app which many drivers and passengers use and rely upon for flexible transport.

"This is not just a taxi shortage issue. This is a transport shortage issue that needs to be addressed by the transport sector as a whole, in a proactive and integrated manner. This will in turn help alleviate the pressure currently placed on the taxi sector to cater to the enormous need of passengers at peak times."

Nice guy. Does he still work with NRC/X-it? There are few if any cabbies amongst the new influx that are anywhere near 60. You have to admire them doing 12-15 hours a shift just to put rent on the owner's table.

[Rat Catcher]

I'd find it hard to believe any driver working 12+ hours goes home with less than a monkey between used notes and wages due from Bolt/Uber/Taxy/Free Now.

How much can we rent our cabs out for these days... and is there a market for night shift cosies?