Taxi fares rise 12% today: Here's how journey prices will change
A The Fare To Structure The Rise Initial Mean 80 New Will €3 Taxi 20 For €4 From That Will Charge Journey
Taxi fares will rise by 12% from today but customers must be given the option of paying by card.
New measures have been introduced by the National Transport Authority, which said the rise in fares reflects the increase in operating costs faced by taxi drivers from high fuel costs.
The NTA is also set to spend up to €360,000 on a comprehensive review of the entry test to become a taxi driver, with a view to reforming how the industry operates.
The new fare structure will mean that the initial charge for a journey will rise from €3.80 to €4.20.
At premium times, after 8pm at night, on Sundays, and on Bank Holidays, the initial fare will now stand at €4.80.
Fares will also increase slightly more during premium times, as a means of incentivising drivers to work peak night-time hours.
For a typical 10-minute journey, it’ll add roughly €1 to €1.50 to the fare. A 20 to 25-minute journey could rise as much as €3 to €4.
Earlier this year, taxi company faced criticism after introducing a “technology fee” of €1 on all taxi trips booked on the platform.
The National Transport Authority said its analysis suggested that the cost of running a taxi in Ireland had risen between 10.7% and 11.5% between 2017 and 2022. Together with a 1% increase to reflect the cost of implementing cashless payments, this brought about the 12% figure for the fare increases.
Currently, 92% of drivers offer a cashless payment option, according to the NTA, with 3% stating they did not wish to offer such an option.
Under the regulations, drivers will be required to have a cashless payment device which is defined as a physical card machine that can be used for contactless payment or chip and pin payment.
As of April this year, there were 22,155 taxis, hackneys and limousines licenced to drive on the roads.
Ireland has around 3.2 taxis per 1,000 people but this rises to 7 taxis per 1,000 in Dublin.
The NTA’s director of public transport regulation Wendy Thompson said a review of fares examined all the running costs that a driver has while consideration was given to the sharp increase in demand for late-night taxis.
She said the increased fares had been “heavily” weighted towards the night-time economy where “demand is outstripping supply”.
"This time, because of what is going on the post-pandemic era and renewed socialising, we also strongly considered passenger demand and how that has changed from pre-Covid times, particularly for night-time trips which are up 45%," she said.
Separately, the NTA is set to review the entry test required to become a taxi driver.
According to tender documents, it is seeking a thorough analysis of its testing regime, looking back at over 44,000 tests since 2009.
The current test focuses on industry knowledge and on local area knowledge. It is seeking analysis of over-performing and under-performing ways, and suggestions of ways to amend and improve the test that prospective taxi drivers must take.
The estimated Budget for this project is up to €360,000 over a potential maximum four-year period.