Latest news with #taxi
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Why was I so afraid to complain to my taxi driver? Too much time spent in Ireland
I had just jumped in the taxi, swearing to myself that this would be the last one I would take to work this month. No, this year. The kind of promise you know you're going to break as you're speaking it into existence. Just like you beg St Anthony to help you find a lost earring that just fell to the floor and turned invisible on the way down. You'll start going back to Mass, you'll always put your shopping trolley back and just generally be a better person if he locates it. READ MORE Only to fall back being a garbage human once the item is in your hot little hand. This definitely would be the last unnecessary taxi fare handed over when there is perfectly good public transport in Sydney where I live now. But I had a fresh blow dry, it was raining, I was in full TV suit-and-heels regalia. This was my only way of getting to work on time. I might be losing money on the fare, but I was investing in staying employed. We got a few hundred metres down the road when suddenly the driver announced he needed to pull over. I immediately asked if he was okay, did he need medical attention, what could I do to help? I ran through the possibilities I needed to ready myself to confront. What if he was having a heart attack? Did I remember anything useful from that first aid course I did 10 years ago other than how to put drunk friends into the recovery position? Should I do CPR chest compressions to the beat of Stayin' Alive or the Another One Bites the Dust? Who even picked these songs with potentially the most insensitive names given the situations requiring CPR? Were we being pulled over by the police? What if there was actually just a massive spider in the car that just flipped out of the sun visor and into his lap? God, could I actually be any more useless in this situation? Luckily for both of us, it turned out to be none of these things. He had stopped because he had seen a cafe and wanted to get a coffee. He'd be back 'in a minute' he told me, his seat belt already unbuckled. His hand on the door. The meter still going. 'Um, sorry, actually would you mind not doing that? It's just that I'm going to be late for work and that's the reason I got a taxi in the first place. Sorry,' I squeaked out, trying to keep my voice as calm but firm as possible. Probably achieving neither. He sighed and put his headphones in. As we drove on, I flip flopped between feeling like an awful mean weapon who wouldn't let this poor man who was probably driving all morning get a little cup of coffee or that he was just being a chancer, stopping on his paying passenger's dime when they were rushing to work. Given this was the second time this had happened to me in the last three months with two different drivers, I gave into a quick mental spiral. Do I look like a soft target? Do I give off the sad, sorry vibes of a person who won't mind being inconvenienced? This hasn't happened to anyone else I know, so clearly I must be giving off the signals of someone whose boundaries are as porous as a J Cloth. When I told my colleagues what happened, they asked me 'if I went off on one?' (gave out stink to the driver). 'No, I felt guilty for not stopping while stewing in annoyance that he'd even asked. Then I gave him a good rating,' I replied. They shook their heads in disbelief. The internal debate wouldn't have happened on their watch. They would have set him straight. That's why they're all probably much better at their jobs than me. 'You've spent too long in Ireland,' one wise (Irish) friend advised. 'You're afraid of not being seen as sound, so you go along with things and simply let the resentment harden or you get the guilts.' Which was probably a) true and b) cheaper than paying a therapist to work that all out. Either way it's saving me money. I won't be getting a taxi again for a while. I can't risk showing my face to the poor man whose morning coffee I ruined by having to go to work.
Irish Times
16 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Freenow passengers face no immediate change after Lyft deal
Irish Freenow taxi passengers face no immediate changes following its €175 million sale to rival Lyft , says the company's general manager for Ireland, Danny O'Gorman. US-based Lyft completed its take over of European-focused Freenow on Thursday creating a global business that hosts more than 300 billion individual taxi trips a-year. Most Irish adults use Freenow's taxi hailing app, according to the company, which does not release precise customer numbers. Mr O'Gorman said on Thursday that they faced no immediate changes following the multinational deal, but pledged that they would see the service and mobile app improve in the months ahead. READ MORE Meanwhile, he noted that Irish drivers could get more business from US tourists as a result. US Lyft customers who arrive here will be prompted to download the Freenow app, which will offer them 50 per cent off their first taxi fare, Mr O'Gorman explained. He predicted that the alliance with Lyft would lure more drivers and passengers to the Freenow app, improving reliability, which Mr O'Gorman stressed was 'already very very high'. Lyft has its own mapping technology which aids drivers in negotiating traffic, forecasting demand and likely earnings. 'That will help route taxis to people quickly,' Mr O'Gorman said. However, he cautioned that the technology would not actually increase the number of taxis operating in the Republic, which he noted had grown by 2,000 within the last few years. Freenow employs around 30 people in the Republic in customer and driver support. Mr O'Gorman said that could increase over time. Freenow Ireland generated a turnover of €46.1 million in 2023, which was up from €38.4 million the previous year, according to the last accounts filed by the company. Profit for the year rose 9 per cent from €4.3 million to €4.7 million. Freenow operates in the Republic, UK, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Poland, France, and Austria, according to a statement on Thursday. The statement confirmed that local managers would remain in place in each country.
BBC News
21 hours ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Glasgow taxi number rise would cause 'irreversible damage'
Glasgow taxi and private hire drivers have claimed enough cabs are already operating in the city and say lifting a cap on numbers could risk public the union and the Scottish Private Hire Association (SPHA) led a rally outside Glasgow city chambers on Wednesday, calling for the retention of policies which limit the number of app Uber and business leaders in the city are in favour of scrapping the limit, while concerns have been raised about the availability of cabs, particularly late at night. However, drivers at the rally warned changes to the cap could "flood the market" and force them to work extra hours, causing safety risks. The council recently held a consultation on the policies were last reviewed in 2023, when Glasgow's licensing committee agreed to make 255 more private hire car licences available to address demand at busy research previously showed that anxieties over finding transport home can put people off visiting the city centre in the evening, which can hit the night time Scoffield, a private hire driver, said the city centre "is on its knees" currently, and upping the number of drivers would further squeeze money. He said: "You go through the city, there are cars parked up everywhere. If you increase the number, you are going to cause damage to the trade that is irreversible."Other drivers said they feared companies could "flood the market" with drivers having to "chase the work". 'Wide range of opinion' Currently, the limit on taxi operators is 1,420 and private hire cars 3,450. Private hires are at the limit, with hundreds of bids for new licences rejected over the past year. The number of taxis has been below the cap.A report on the findings from the consultation over numbers will be presented to the licensing committee in the coming months, before any decision is made.A spokesman for the city council said private hire car services had undergone considerable change in recent said: "Committee members therefore wished to reflect on whether the policies that regulate these services remain proportionate and necessary."The recent consultation on the number of taxi and private hire cars eligible to operate in Glasgow was open to all and has drawn in a wide range of opinion on this matter." Story by Local Democracy Reporting Service reporter Drew Sandelands.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
The conflict between taxis and ride-hailing services
Hong Kong's plan to regulate ride-hailing services aims to resolve a long-standing conflict between taxi drivers and app-based drivers, who often do not hold valid car-hire-permits.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Taxi driver fined after refusing to carry guide dog in Witham
A taxi driver has been fined after refusing to carry a guide dog in his vehicle. The incident happened at a taxi rank in Witham in Essex in August and a prosecution was brought by Braintree District Budulan, a 40-year-old licensed Hackney Carriage driver from Braintree, admitted failing to comply with the 2010 Equality Act and was fined £325 at Chelmsford Magistrates' Schaffer, chief executive officer at Support4Sight, said: "It really needs to be embraced that guide dog owners must have access to the same public transport as anyone else." Budulan, who was also ordered pay a £130 victim surcharge, was approached by a person who was registered a second Hackney Carriage driver did agree to take Cunningham, Conservative cabinet member for stronger communities at the council, stressed that most taxi drivers in Witham were helpful."This case sends a clear message that discrimination against passengers with a disability will not be tolerated," she said."We expect all licensed taxi drivers to understand and comply with their legal obligations and responsibilities." Budulan was also ordered to pay costs of £600 to the council. Rachel Dale, a taxi industry specialist in Essex, said: "The issue with this is it is a Hackney Carriage driver who is not monitored - he is his own boss."Paying a large sum of money is one thing, but they should be aware they could lose their licence."She added that drivers should have "compassion for people" and provide "a professional service".Ms Schaffer added: "When you are refused [a ride], the impact is really damaging both practically and emotionally." She added that guide dogs "are never going to be a threat" on any form of public transport but she understood some people might have medical reasons for not allowing animals in their emphasised that for people with assistance animals "the law is on your side". Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
