Don’t get caught out…
Gardaí recently launched a campaign to tackle rogue taxis in Ireland who they believe are overcharging their customers by taking longer routes.
Gardaí from DMR Traffic Dublin Castle and National Transport Authority conducted a checkpoint on the Malahide road on Monday where they detected five taxis not using the shortest route.
This is one of a series of similar checks carried out in recent weeks and the offence results in a prosecution via summons and carries a fine of up to €2500.
Two other detections at the checkpoint were made for overcharging customers, an offence which carries a fixed charged penalty notice of €60.
In a similar checkpoint last week, six taxis were detected for failing to use the shortest route while another three were found to be overcharging customers.
In a post, Gardaí stressed that the vast majority of taxis are compliant with the legislation, but issued the following advice for customers when taking a taxi:
- If using a taxi, you should establish the likely cost in advance of the proposed journey
- They should also examine the receipt to ensure that date, time are accurately recorded and all additions applied are valid (e.g. number of passengers, booking fees)
- A customer walking up to a taxi rank and engaging a taxi does not attract a pre- booking fee
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