Congrats! A new record with 6% increase in complaints

[watty]

Keep up the good work, lads 

Record number of complaints made about taxi drivers last year

A record number of complaints about taxi drivers were made to the National Transport Authority last year, while there was also a 15 per cent increase in the number of fines issued to licence holders.  New figures published by the NTA show a 6 per cent increase in complaints against taxi drivers, with a total of 1,815 recorded in 2025 – 106 more than the previous year.

Disputes about fares accounted for 54 per cent of all complaints, followed by hiring matters (22 per cent); driver behaviour (20 per cent) and the condition of taxis (4 per cent).

... The NTA, which acts as the regulator for the taxi industry, said no further action was deemed necessary or possible in relation to approximately six out of every 10 complaints following an initial investigation.  A total of 165 complaints resulted in taxi drivers being issued with fines, while 28 complaints were referred to other agencies for attention, including An Garda Síochána, the Department of Social Protection and Revenue.  Two complaints – one relating to driver behaviour and the other a dispute over fares – led to taxi drivers being prosecuted.  In around a quarter of complaints, the NTA said licence holders were instructed about their legal rights and responsibilities.

... As part of other compliance measures, more than 213,000 vehicle and driver remote licensing checks were carried out last year on over 19,400 individual vehicles.  The NTA said it meant that 92 per cent of the country’s taxi, hackney and limousine fleet were checked while operating during the year.  In addition, compliance officers conducted over 16,700 face-to-face audits of drivers and vehicles at the roadside during 2025.  The NTA said such compliance activities resulted in taxi drivers being issued with 1,043 on-the-spot fines for breaches of taxi regulations – an increase of 15 per cent on the previous year.

... The NTA said it initiated 133 criminal prosecutions last year, of which almost half related to the operation of an unlicensed service.

... A total of 19 taxi drivers were fined for failing to carry a functioning cashless payment device, while five were fined for refusing to accept a cashless payment.

... Meanwhile, the number of licensed taxis, hackneys and limousines rose by 3 per cent in 2025 to 21,170 – more than 600 extra than in 2024.

1,815 complaints in 2025 - let's try and break the 2,000 barrier this year 

[Rat Catcher]

1815 out of how many rides?

[Taxi driver42]

Was on drive time
Theres more cabs so its less really
Overcharged is the main complaint

UNLESS UR FREENOW THEY CAN CHARGE ANYTHING
AND UBER
THEY CAN ROB US AND CUSTOMERS

[Rat Catcher]

To be fair, Uber only ever charge €1 tech fee so their fares never exceed the meter plus that €1 and it's generally a lot less than that because they habitually offer riders discounts of up to, and occasionally in excess of, 30% while still paying the driver the full fare.

Free Now, on the other hand, alter it's technology fee in accordance with perceived demand. There have been reports of a rock star being charged in the region of €40 surge fee by Free Now on one occasion and a TV star being charged a similar amount on another occasion.

Traditionally, the villains licenced by DAA are the main offenders where overcharging is concerned.

[Taxi driver42]

Uber are robbing us with set fares
Robin Hood in reverse robbing the poor to feed the rich
I'm being robbed of my proper wages to let some knob from d4 with 250 k of cars in garden get to the pub for 8 euro

[markmiwurdz]

Just blank the cunts TD42,leave them to the naan vans

[Taxi driver42]

I take odd job off them

[watty]

Namaste

[Rat Catcher]

So far I've found the fixed fares to be OK. Less than 1% loss on aggregate and, to be fair, they work very well in North County Dublin. Folk in these parts like to know what stuff costs before committing to buy it. Fact is, armed with that knowledge they will (and do) use more taxis. Also, there's a cultural hatred of taximeters among the older punters, the vast majority of whom have a horror story or ten to tell about non local drivers playing their meters like slot machines or something equally unpredictable. Of course, they don't think of extras for phoning for a cab or higher rates at different times of the day or week but if losing less than 1% off the total fares gives them some peace of mind that's okay with me. In reality, you'd probably lose a lot more rounding down anyway... which is something I never do on app payment jobs so there's an element of swings and roundabouts, I guess.

Don't forget the Dublin taximeter area was only extended nationwide to stop Dublin drivers taking the piss at peak times as the commuter belt extended beyond the traditional 10/15 mile radius of the GPO. I guess, to that extent, it works well as long as it's a maximum. I think any minimum metered fare should be restricted to traditional meter areas and governed by local authorities in consultation with local taxi drivers. One size doesn't necessarily fit all.

The problem, of course, is that Uber currently subsidises our wages by giving clients very substantial discounts financed out of it's own very deep pockets. As we have seen with Free Now that won't last forever so it's pretty certain that the fixed fare rates will be reduced and/or rates of commission will be significantly increased going forward. Things might (and do) work pretty well while there's loads of money around and while Uber are subsidising our wages to the tune of millions of euros every month but neither of those factors will last forever... bet then neither will any of us!

[Octavia1]

If yur doing discounts for uber .... you are takin the hit not them ..... tink ur startin to understand rat  what  ive bean tellin ya since "fixed  fares "  became a ting..... that uber is attemptin to set its own pricing and dispense with the meter . The ultimate goal is to make you volunteer for that to be   the norm....  and for them to decide how much they pay you and how much they charge the customer..... in other words introduce uber without regulations in order to extract maximum profit as it exists in other jurisdictions .... the end result of that will be as it is in orher duristictions  ....driving for uber becomes non profitable with uber enjoying the luxury of an endless supply of naive part timers who give up after a year wen the penny drops  ther  bean robbed an its non profitable .  Full time taxi drivers in ireland  cannot opt  out like the " naive part timers " ..especially if they have invested large ammounts of money for wheelchair vehicles and high insurance cost . A taxi driver who agrees to become an uber driver also agrees to dispense with regulations to protect his income and also dispense with the protection it gives to customers. 
You are volunteerin to destroy yur own business and on  the behalf of the customer  their right to have the protection a fair regulated price .
Your other argument  alledges or implies that apes in workin class ares demand to know what they are  going to pay before the journey .... they are not purchasing a pound o sausages in the butchers .... the metet again calculates a fair price in the event of road closures,  traffic jams  or delays and the meter compensates in that event again to calculate a fair and reasonable price expected for the journey .
If we wer to facilitate ubers model and volunteer to  ubers  control of the pricing ....wud those same " working class apes " then complain wen surge pricing is trust opon them and they are paying multiples of wat the meter wud be asking  at rush hour or 3 o clock sat morning ?

 

[Taxi driver42]

Dis a airport in traffic last week
39 on clock
24.80 off uber

[watty]

... as the commuter belt extended beyond the traditional 10/15 mile radius of the GPO.

Is everything optional with the NTA?

GPO Radius optional
Vehicle age (10/15yrs & WATever you can tolerate with WATs)
Fare maximums (just call it a tech fee and charge what you like)
213,000 driver and vehicles 'checked' but done from a desk.
'No further action' on 60% of complaints.

[markmiwurdz]

Dis a airport in traffic last week
39 on clock
24.80 off uber

Fixed fares that are not fixed fares....you couldn't make it up....Airport jobs are poison off that app and 95% chance of coming back empty.

[Rat Catcher]

If you work for Uber you're covering discounted work full stop, Octy. The fact that they cover the discount is neither here nor there. As with Free Now it will eventually be covered by drivers. I never mentioned working class areas... my experience is mostly in the North County which was never in any taximeter area until the National Taximeter Area was introduced as a maximum permissible fare. As a maximum it works but it was never intended to be anything other than that and should never become anything else, IMO. How did you cope when the taximeter area only extended to a 15 mile radius from the GPO up above in Dublin?

I don't see why you would take a fixed fare in traffic, TD42... unless there's no other work and you conclude that you might as well earn something or it's taking you where you want to be or something like that? Your example certainly makes a good case for introducing a second meter to record a minimum permissible rate within areas that previously had independent taximeter areas. In practice, I guess a single smart meter could record both the minimum and maximum and present the driver with a range on completion of a fare within a traditional taximeter area.

The GPO radius was eliminated by the National Taximeter Area, Watty... we could say with no regard for the difference between rural and city but, to be fair, it was only ever intended to be a maximum to attempt to tackle Dublin drivers taking the piss at peak times as the commuter belt expanded beyond the traditional Dublin Taximeter Area. The most harm that has done is handing the Dublin scum free reign to steal work from their rural colleagues... particularly evident in towns like Drogheda. I guess the evolution of the trade to being largely controlled by multinationals has eliminated geographic restrictions on drivers noting that creation of the National Taximeter Area rescinded the previous geographical restrictions that applied to vehicles in accordance with vehicle plate licences issued by local authorities.

[Rat Catcher]

I guess in the wider context what Uber is doing with it's huge discounts - discounts that will eventually be passed on to drivers - isn't a million miles away from what Swords Cabs or Checkers done in Swords and the Northside suburbs respectively through the hackney trade back before entry liberalisation. Checkers is a good example of a predominately working class circuit (Coolock - Ballymun - Finglas - Parnell St) that was developed simply by offering low fares and maximising driver efficiency. The low fares created sufficient demand to keep the drivers wheels turning pretty much 18/7 while rarely (if ever) leaving the circuit. That's a market that we've largely lost through a combination of entry liberalisation and a booming economy. There's obviously a case for encouraging the revitalisation of that sector through lifting the current temporary moratorium on the issue of saloon hackney plates coupled with restricting the taxi market to EVs under 3YO with no subsidies i.e. switching from the carrot to the stick.

Ironically, it was increased paramilitary control of firms like checkers that was the real reason for entry liberalisation way back in 1999.