Taxi drivers warned on fare poaching

TAXI drivers have been warned they risk a criminal prosecution if they attempt to illegally poach fares from people waiting at bus stops.

It follows recent reports that some taxi drivers in Dublin have made unsolicited approaches to bus passengers in a bid to win extra business.

One woman recently complained that a taxi driver had offered to take her to Dublin Airport while she was waiting at Leeson Street Bridge for a private coach service run by Aircoach.

The taxi driver offered to charge the woman the same €8 fare as Aircoach provided he could pick up two or three other passengers en route to the airport. When he subsequently failed to get other fares, he offered to take the woman the entire route for €20. “I ended up paying €20 for a trip for which I had intended to pay €8,” said the woman.

Taxi Regulator Kathleen Doyle said yesterday such activity was illegal as taxi drivers cannot ply for business outside a taxi rank unless hailed by a customer.

However, Ms Doyle said her office had not received any formal complaint, but would launch an inquiry if the matter was brought to the attention of the regulator. She said the decision to prosecute taxi drivers who were illegally seeking business was a matter for the gardaí as they still were the responsible body for the issuing of taxi licences.

No spokesperson for Aircoach was available for comment yesterday.

A spokesperson for the campaign group Taxi Drivers for Change said such behaviour was inevitable if not excusable given that many taxi drivers were finding it hard to earn a living because of the oversupply of taxis. However, he recommended any member of the public who came across such an incident to obtain a receipt for the fare and report it to the gardaí.