Garda campaign targeting rogue taxis detects seven offenders on Monday

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