Taxi drivers criticised for refusing short-distance journeys for women late at night

When it comes to travelling at night, women in particular are encouraged to take public transport or taxis rather than walk because it is considered safer. Picture: iStock

Passengers who have been hailing cabs over the busy Christmas period because they feared walking home alone have claimed drivers are refusing to take them because the distance is too short.

When it comes to travelling at night, women in particular are encouraged to take public transport or taxis rather than walk because it is considered safer.

One woman who spoke to the Irish Examiner said this was her reason for trying to get a taxi recently.

The distance was not the concern, it was the risk that walking would present, especially as the route was quiet and not well lit.

"If it was during the day, I would have no issue walking it. This isn't a case of being too lazy to walk, it is about women taking whatever steps they can to stay safe," she said.

Under Section 23 of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013, a driver has the right to refuse a potential passenger if they are acting in an aggressive, intoxicated, drunk or disorderly manner.

Drivers have the right to be safe as they work and so they do have the power to refuse passengers if they feel unsafe.

But a young woman who found herself in the city at 3.30am, unable to get a taxi, said she was not drinking and was not aggressive.

"I had been at a friend's birthday and was heading home. I had put a friend in a taxi first as she lived further away," she said.

"I knew it being the Christmas period, I could be waiting a while for a taxi but when two drivers refused to take me home because it wasn't far, I started to panic a little.

Things can get quite messy in town, especially at Christmas. Here I was, standing on the street on my own and there was no one willing to bring me home.

If taking a taxi between 8pm and 8am Monday to Saturday or on Sundays and bank holidays, there is an initial charge of €4.80.

This is the minimum fare a driver will receive. From there, it is a further €1.71 per kilometre or 60c per minute up to €29.60.

The National Transport Authority told the Irish Examiner  that public service vehicle drivers have obligations towards passengers and there was "no provision for refusal of a passenger for a journey of less than 20 kilometres".

The NTA said to unreasonably refuse to carry a passenger is a fixed payment offence for a small public service vehicles licence holder.

The issue was also raised on Cork's 96FM's Opinion Line, when a woman named Frances called about her daughter who had been refused by a taxi.

On her way to a Christmas party, the 21-year-old woman got a bus into Cork City and endeavoured to take a taxi for the second part of the journey.

The first taxi she approached said: "Why don't you walk? It's only around the corner."

The journey from the Grand Parade taxi rank to Friar's Walk Tavern takes about five minutes to drive and 13 minutes to walk.

Another couple at the rank told her they too had been refused as the distance of their journey was not considered long enough.

"I just can't understand why they are refusing. I know it is a short fare but in the same breath, anything could happen between where he would have picked her up and where she was going," Frances said.

Host PJ Coogan shared his daughter had a similar experience where four drivers had refused to take her home the previous weekend.

The NTA advises anyone who believes they have been unreasonably refused a journey to make a complaint to the NTA for investigation.