Your spending your money so you are entitled to choose what car you want to travel in, so i'd take a new Mercedes over a 15 year old heap anyday even if it was 10 cars back in the queue.
Taxi Drivers....lack of knowledge!!
- Thread starter sam h
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Your spending your money so you are entitled to choose what car you want to travel in, so i'd take a new Mercedes over a 15 year old heap anyday even if it was 10 cars back in the queue.
Never really thought of it that way. Would you not consider that the driver at the front has been waiting there longer for a fare?
You'd be great fun outside an airport.
truthseeker
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This is a good point. Recently I called a taxi to the house and the car that showed up was disgusting. Smelly, dirty, (driver was smelly and dirty too), bits of stuffing sticking out of the seat, sticky bits on the backs of the seats, grit and small bits of rubbish on the floors. The suspension of the car was also questionable, as were the brakes. Unfortunately we had tickets to a show and he was already late getting to us so we took him - but we phoned the taxi company the minute we got out and told them they were never, under any circumstances, to send such a badly maintained dirty smelly car to us again.
A few weeks later a friend was getting married in the registry office and he went to the taxi company (same company as our smelly car experience) in person a few days before to explain that he wanted a nice taxi for the morning of the wedding, as his wife to be would be wearing a long cream coat so imperative the car was spotless etc... They sent another dirty car, again in a position of not wanting to be late he took it, but was disapointed and complained to the taxi company afterwards.
Its a problem if the car you call to your home to collect you is in bad shape because if you have tickets to an event or some other engagement that you cant be late for youre stuck - you dont have time to make alternative arrangements.
It wouldn't really bother me to be honest. The sooner better regulation regarding the standard of taxi's comes in the better. Some of the cars on the road are a complete disgrace.
Been there, done it. Had a screamin match with one of them one day. A taxi driver at the top of the queue wouldnt bring me to the long term car park in Dublin airport, so I went to the next car, he said no too. So i said feck that, saw a taxi pull up to drop someone off and jumped in. The faces on the drivers in the queue was comical
Females travelling alone would sometimes prefer a female driver. An elderly person would not necessarily want to have to climb in and out of one of those large cabs designed to take half a dozen passangers. Sometimes a particular driver might just make you feel uneasy. Or, as other posters have said, some cars look cleaner and more comfortable than others.
Point taken but..
I just don't know anyone who would be that particular when choosing a cab. What if you were to order a private hire taxi to a hotel/bar/restaurant etc?
"yes that's right... I wan't a nice looking chap who makes me feel comfortable, a car with a low slung chassis, preferably a 2009 Merceds E class,.. Valeted... Oh and a blue one if you have it".
Just read Truthseekers post... Fair enough so.
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truthseeker
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Just to add, when using that taxi company now my husband always specifies 'can you send a clean car please' on the phone
C'mon, you know what we mean. I don't want to travel in a filthy taxi with a driver who stinks of stale smoke/BO. And, very occasionally, a particularly sleazy or surly looking driver would make me, as a female on my own, feel uneasy.
#sorry, that was a response to GarBow before s/he edited their post.
#sorry, that was a response to GarBow before s/he edited their post.
I do agree that taxi regulation leaves a lot to be desired in this country and yes, of course you should be able to pick up whatever cab you feel comfortable travelling in.
I do also see taxi drivers' reasons for pointing you in the direction of the first cab, the one at the front of their queue. I guess it's a unwritten thing that they don't snatch fellow driver's fares. So i would find it petty if someone were to go to the middle of the queue puerly because they are entitled to, without good reason.
Truthseeker,
Why are you still using that same company?
truthseeker
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Because most of the time the cars/drivers are fine, they are the closest local taxi company (so they tend to get to you faster than other local ones) and they have indeed responded to our complaint and never sent us a dirty smelly car again (although they have sent guys with no knowledge of Dublin).
I think youre always going to get the odd blip like your booking being lost or forgotten, the odd dirty car etc....but overall theyre fine.
On a side note. We visit family in the UK on a regular basis and actually use taxi's there quite a bit. The Borough Council regulate the taxis in the town. They all have to be one colour (white, but are different models). Might seem a bit OTT but it comes accross as very professional and all of the cars we have travelled in have been immaculate. Also never had any problems with directions etc.
We were actually told that under their taxi licence test (again issued by the Bourough Council), that if they were unsure as to where an address was that they were allowed to look at a map ONCE, before starting the meter.
A couple of them had SatNavs but said they weren't really supposed to
We were actually told that under their taxi licence test (again issued by the Bourough Council), that if they were unsure as to where an address was that they were allowed to look at a map ONCE, before starting the meter.
A couple of them had SatNavs but said they weren't really supposed to
have you considered that the driver with the nice car has invested more in their business in order to provide better a service and so deserved more support?
I'm amazed at the number of taxis who drive around with broken headlights, brakelights etc. as well as those idiots who drive with headlights switched off and fog lights on. Considering that they are supposed to be public service vehicles with members of the public travelling in them, there should be a zero tolerance stance taken by the Gardai.
papervalue
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I am referring to rank where taxis are parked in foster place, by bank, their is no order to who is first in que
Taxi service has really deteriorated in recent months. One guy refused to take us to a destination two miles from the airport. Another guy tried to drive in a totally circuitous route from Dublin City Centre to our home, telling us he knew the best way of getting to our home of twenty years! When ordering from home wenow ask for a clean safe taxi driven by an Irish driver and the taxi company never have a problem with the request. My daughter and her friends have had "problems" too with drivers over the past year making inappropriate offers and conversation. They now arrange lifts instead... no fun for the dads on Saturday night/Sunday morning!
There seems to be a general problem at the airport, with drivers getting into a strop if someone who's 'only' going to Whitehall or Swords is next in the queue when they pull up at the rank. I know they may have been waiting in the holding bay for some time in order to get a place at the rank but surely the general public are entitled to avail of the taxi service if they need/want it without having to apologise or be told to 'get the bus' (not easy if you have bags and baggage or kids or are a lone female travelling late at night.)
I do know that in Heathrow they have a system in place whereby if you are only going within a certain radius of the airport ( I think it may be 3 or 5 miles), then the taxi can return and jump to the top of the queue.
As regards the varying standards of taxis and drivers, this needs to be seriously looked at by the regulator and strict guidlines implemented, and more importantly, enforced.
They could then say that you must take the first car at a rank ( with limited exceptions) and this would make it fairer for the taxis queuing.
As regards the varying standards of taxis and drivers, this needs to be seriously looked at by the regulator and strict guidlines implemented, and more importantly, enforced.
They could then say that you must take the first car at a rank ( with limited exceptions) and this would make it fairer for the taxis queuing.
I know this is off-topic, but I think the analysis of the pre & post deregulation of the taxi industry could be an interesting topic for an economics undergrad thesis. Granted, the price is set by the regulator, but the barriers to entry have been effectively removed. The regulator should be able to provide figures on the number of taxis running along with the amount of complaints recevied, average ages of new / existing taxis etc.