Taxi Company 20% Off

jack90210

Just heard an ad on the radio. 20% off the metered fair. 8202020.

Had to happen to be fair due to the excess supply. Who'll out do them and do 25%?

Edit: The ad also stated this will be place until the end of the year!

paulm17781

I saw a person with that number written on their clothes earlier, presumably a promotion. I was wondering what it was for.

Is this legal? It's a great thing to see and will probably help the taxi industry generally.

jlang

Should be legal. The regulator documents describe standard rates as maximums and give permission for passengers to offer a tip and drivers to offer a discount.

philcsl

I spotted this over in Bargin Alerts where they are saying its The Dublin Cab Co, will definitely give them a go for the next few months and if they are reliable they have a new customer!

fortuneteller

20% Off the fare....Ya! the bulk of their drivers are probably foreginers that cant speak english,and dont know their way around,so in a desperate bid to get work they do this....it will still cost you more than it should because most of their drivers Cant read maps and the maps on their navigation systems only have africa or dublin airport,,or the welfare offices on them!:cool:

Spook_ie

fortuneteller wrote: »

20% Off the fare....Ya! the bulk of their drivers are probably foreginers that cant speak english,and dont know their way around,so in a desperate bid to get work they do this....it will still cost you more than it should because most of their drivers Cant read maps and the maps on their navigation systems only have africa or dublin airport,,or the welfare offices on them!:cool:

Now Now don't be adding more fuel to the ol' racist fire, I'm still waiting for confirmation but I believe it's City Cabs trying to steal a march on their competitors, only one thing concerns me at the moment I don't hear anything about them giving the drivers 20% off their base fees.......

Can't wait for my 1st customer ( hopefully on a nice wet night ) to say can I have 20% off and I'll give them 20% off the distance too....:)

BendiBus

Spook_ie wrote: »

Can't wait for my 1st customer ( hopefully on a nice wet night ) to say can I have 20% off and I'll give them 20% off the distance too....:)

If it's me then I'll give you 20% of the fingers on my left hand and get another cab

acer911

its a great idea, new customer here too...

Spook_ie

BendiBus wrote: »

If it's me then I'll give you 20% of the fingers on my left hand and get another cab

oh yeah, that's 0.8 fingers, doesn't quite have the same effect as a whole digit

Serious side to this though, you only save on fares that are below €10, as you would have to book the taxi, therefore you pay €2 extra for the booking which makes €12 less 20% = €9.60, I am making the assumption here that they will be charging the booking fee, of course if you are willing to wait for the cab to go on a longer journey then you could, quite literaly, be quids in. Time will tell, but you still ain't getting 20% from me, 0.8 fingers or not....:cool:

Terrontress

Spook_ie wrote: »

oh yeah, that's 0.8 fingers, doesn't quite have the same effect as a whole digit

Serious side to this though, you only save on fares that are below €10, as you would have to book the taxi, therefore you pay €2 extra for the booking which makes €12 less 20% = €9.60, I am making the assumption here that they will be charging the booking fee, of course if you are willing to wait for the cab to go on a longer journey then you could, quite literaly, be quids in. Time will tell, but you still ain't getting 20% from me, 0.8 fingers or not....:cool:

Don't be making fun of the afflicted. You don't know how he lost that fockinh 0.2 finger. Could have been in the war.

Spook_ie

Terrontress wrote: »

Don't be making fun of the afflicted. You don't know how he lost that fockinh 0.2 finger. Could have been in the war.

That's true, in which case I would apologise wholeheartedly ( or should that be 80%heartedly ) but then again he might have just lost it picking his nose or scratching his ar$e in which case he can keep the 20% as I wouldn't want it...

But again to a serious side, I've just had confirmation that the drivers aren't getting a 20% reduction in the fees they pay the company so if you use them don't forget to tip well their drivers will need it.....

Terrontress

Spook_ie wrote: »

That's true, in which case I would apologise wholeheartedly ( or should that be 80%heartedly ) but then again he might have just lost it picking his nose or scratching his ar$e in which case he can keep the 20% as I wouldn't want it...

But again to a serious side, I've just had confirmation that the drivers aren't getting a 20% reduction in the fees they pay the company so if you use them don't forget to tip well their drivers will need it.....

If it leads to a 25% in fares they will break even so it needs to be more than thon. Realistic?

I think it's good that a company is operating outside the laid down regulations. Thinking for themselves. I remember being 18 and the licensing hours in Northern Ireland meant off licenses had to shut at 9. All offies shut at 9. The law changed to allow them to open untill 11. The two largest firms changed their closing times to 10. My opinion then, as it is now was that it is good to make a business decision within the spectrum available. Not simply aim for the top.

Taxipete29

This is great for consumers, but Im not sure how it helps drivers if their base fees are not reduced. Im all in favour of offering discounts to customers to increase business , but it always seems like its the driver taking the hit.

If companies are going to offer reductions in the order of 20%, then why not reduce base fees by 10%, thereby both driver and operator share the cost of the reduction.

Have seen this done in a few localised firms and it does cause some issues as you will always get some drivers who refuse to give the discount when the journey has ended, this is tricky as the driver has not advertised the fare and is under no legal obligation to give it. The customer gets annoyed and doesnt use that firm again.

These type of discounts can work if both driver and operator are working in tandem and not pulling against each other.

2qk4u

Its a good thing, its about time there was some competition in the taxi industry in relation to fares... After all its better for the driver to do more 20%off fares that just a few normal fares..
Some Taxi companies in Navan dont charge a booking fee or any extras..

Spook_ie

2qk4u wrote: »

Its a good thing, its about time there was some competition in the taxi industry in relation to fares... After all its better for the driver to do more 20%off fares that just a few normal fares..
Some Taxi companies in Navan dont charge a booking fee or any extras..

At the moment the jurys still out on it, say a driver did €250 normaly on a Saturday night, 20% off drops him down to €200, he then need to do €50 in extra fares to get back to where he began, will he do it? possibly, will he feel any benefit after driving to 3 or 4 booked fares ( they always take longer to do than fares off the street ) again possibly, will the driver find that due to increased demand the customer gets fed up waiting and decides they aren't going to wait any longer regardless of the discount and just walk out and hail a taxi, again possibly. Then again say the driver only does a €100 on a Monday night, he's then down to €80, is there enough business on a Monday to make up the €20 anyway, should prove to be an interesting experiment....

Spook_ie

Taxipete29 wrote: »

This is great for consumers, but Im not sure how it helps drivers if their base fees are not reduced. Im all in favour of offering discounts to customers to increase business , but it always seems like its the driver taking the hit.

If companies are going to offer reductions in the order of 20%, then why not reduce base fees by 10%, thereby both driver and operator share the cost of the reduction.

Have seen this done in a few localised firms and it does cause some issues as you will always get some drivers who refuse to give the discount when the journey has ended, this is tricky as the driver has not advertised the fare and is under no legal obligation to give it. The customer gets annoyed and doesnt use that firm again.

These type of discounts can work if both driver and operator are working in tandem and not pulling against each other.

Have to agree, it seems the drivers ( who you should all remember , are actualy the radio company's customer, as they pay the company to connect them with the final customer i.e you ) of the parent company were all told at Xmas that they had to pay an extra €30 each for corporate hospitality.....

Terrontress

If a taxi has one of this company's radios in their car are they obliged to take any work that comes through it?

The streets are busy at 100% and there is a radio job on at 80%. Obviously you won't want to take the radio job. The radio company cannot fulfill the jobs coming in over the phone. People stop phoning them as they cannot be relied on.

lods

Terrontress wrote: »

If a taxi has one of this company's radios in their car are they obliged to take any work that comes through it?

The streets are busy at 100% and there is a radio job on at 80%. Obviously you won't want to take the radio job. The radio company cannot fulfill the jobs coming in over the phone. People stop phoning them as they cannot be relied on.

In fairness i don't think the streets are busy any time these days. It might get more people to use cabs. Taxi sharing would be good too. I've scene taxis pulling up at aircoach stops offering to bring people to the airport for the same price.

Victor

Terrontress wrote: »

If a taxi has one of this company's radios in their car are they obliged to take any work that comes through it?

I think the rule of " a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush applies" - whoever (punter on street or base operator) gets to the driver first gets the transport.

Taxipete29

lods wrote: »

I've scene taxis pulling up at aircoach stops offering to bring people to the airport for the same price.

While I like the idea of doing this, Its illegal

bk

I think this is a great idea.

Other Taxi drivers could do it too. Put signs up on the side of your taxi saying 20% off the meter and then people might be more likely to hail your taxi at the side of the street or at the rank.

I'm pretty feed up with hearing all the moaning about lack of business from the taxi drivers, this is exactly the type of move that taxi drivers need to make if they want to get business.

Spook_ie

bk wrote: »

I think this is a great idea.

Other Taxi drivers could do it too. Put signs up on the side of your taxi saying 20% off the meter and then people might be more likely to hail your taxi at the side of the street or at the rank.

I'm pretty feed up with hearing all the moaning about lack of business from the taxi drivers, this is exactly the type of move that taxi drivers need to make if they want to get business.

For a radio company it might make sense, as you have a central contact number and they would be able ( you hope ) to cope with repeat business, but as a large proportion of taxis are totaly independant ( no radio ) and they rely on opportunistic business ( you see a taxi, you flag it ) so unless you are prepared to wait for someone with the right discount sign amount to drive past then the idea of discounting ALL fares for a particular cab will only result in that cab losing 20% of their turnover..

Spook_ie

Taxipete29 wrote: »

While I like the idea of doing this, Its illegal

Maybe, but as someone said to me "We're just trying harder, the TR said to"

jack90210

Spook_ie wrote: »

but as a large proportion of taxis are totaly independant ( no radio ) and they rely on opportunistic business ( you see a taxi, you flag it ) so unless you are prepared to wait for someone with the right discount sign amount to drive past then the idea of discounting ALL fares for a particular cab will only result in that cab losing 20% of their turnover..

If I thought I'd see a cab with a 20% off sign going past I defo wait 5 minutes rather then the usual 0.3 minutes.

Taxi drivers need to innovate and engage in price competition. Give the regulars significant discounts, student discounts etc.

Spook_ie

jack90210 wrote: »

If I thought I'd see a cab with a 20% off sign going past I defo wait 5 minutes rather then the usual 0.3 minutes.

Taxi drivers need to innovate and engage in price competition. Give the regulars significant discounts, student discounts etc.

Well as the answer often given goes.....when I get discounts on my insurance, fuel, repairs, tyres, bin charges, GP visits etc. as a regular customer, then you'll get a discount ( if you're a regular customer )......

bk

Spook_ie wrote: »

so unless you are prepared to wait for someone with the right discount sign amount to drive past then the idea of discounting ALL fares for a particular cab will only result in that cab losing 20% of their turnover..

I and I assume many people would be happy to wait a few minutes for a taxi with the right discount sign.

Also I'd be happy to walk the length of the taxi rank to get a discounted one, remember you don't need to take the first one that comes along.

L1011

Spook_ie wrote: »

Well as the answer often given goes.....when I get discounts on my insurance, fuel, repairs, tyres, bin charges, GP visits etc. as a regular customer, then you'll get a discount ( if you're a regular customer )......

Fuel card. Garage you use all the time. My GP.

I get discounts on those three...

Taxipete29

bk wrote: »

I think this is a great idea.

Other Taxi drivers could do it too. Put signs up on the side of your taxi saying 20% off the meter and then people might be more likely to hail your taxi at the side of the street or at the rank.

I'm pretty feed up with hearing all the moaning about lack of business from the taxi drivers, this is exactly the type of move that taxi drivers need to make if they want to get business.

Its illegal to advertise discounts on the car itself.

Spook_ie

MYOB wrote: »

Fuel card. Garage you use all the time. My GP.

I get discounts on those three...

I'll have to be moving to Maynooth then.....actualy now I just typed Maynooth maybe not...:)

Spook_ie

Anybody actualy used them yet?

ArseBurger

fortuneteller wrote: »

20% Off the fare....Ya! the bulk of their drivers are probably foreginers that cant speak english,and dont know their way around,so in a desperate bid to get work they do this....it will still cost you more than it should because most of their drivers Cant read maps and the maps on their navigation systems only have africa or dublin airport,,or the welfare offices on them!:cool:

You could say the same of the Irish a lot of the time.

For example, you can't spell foreigner...

Terrontress

Taxipete29 wrote: »

Its illegal to advertise discounts on the car itself.

It isn't. I have seen plenty of taxis advertise all sorts of things. There are all those City Cabs cars with their name and numbers up the side. There are the Scudos with the whole back covered in adverts. Does this law specifically cover discounts but all other ads are acceptable?

It seems that taxi drivers seem to find bureaucracy to prevent them giving or offering discounts. Claims of a waiver required to discount a fare yet, as mentioned previously by me, they'll knock the 40c off the end price.

The fact is that the drivers who post on here simply do not want to offer meaningful discount to customers.

If that is the case then fine. Just admit it.

paulm17781

Spook_ie wrote: »

Well as the answer often given goes.....when I get discounts on my insurance, fuel, repairs, tyres, bin charges, GP visits etc. as a regular customer, then you'll get a discount ( if you're a regular customer )......

Have you not been saying there are too many taxi drivers on the streets? Then when a discount could be offered you won't do this? Do we want our cake and to eat it too?

Taxipete29

Terrontress wrote: »

It isn't. I have seen plenty of taxis advertise all sorts of things. There are all those City Cabs cars with their name and numbers up the side. There are the Scudos with the whole back covered in adverts. Does this law specifically cover discounts but all other ads are acceptable?

It seems that taxi drivers seem to find bureaucracy to prevent them giving or offering discounts. Claims of a waiver required to discount a fare yet, as mentioned previously by me, they'll knock the 40c off the end price.

The fact is that the drivers who post on here simply do not want to offer meaningful discount to customers.

If that is the case then fine. Just admit it.

It is illegal to advertise fare discounts on the car. I can advertise my cab company or any other company all over my car, but I cant put a sign on the side that says X% of all fares. Thats the position from the regulator.

Dont you think that out of all the taxis in the country that if you could sonmeone would of done it already??? Afterall this discount from firms isnt exactly a new thing, local firms have being doing it for a while.

I would offer discounts if it meant I got repeat business( which is the whole point of doing it) But I know for a fact this would not happen, so Im not going to. Im not going to apologise my for my position. The simple fact is, weither I offer a discount or not is not going to have any meaningful effect on my business in the long term so I choose not to.

If you wish to see Taxis offering discounts at the roadside, petition the regulator for it to be allowed to advertise such discounts on the cars. When this is done come back to me and you will see my attitude change very quickly.

Terrontress

Taxipete29 wrote: »

It is illegal to advertise fare discounts on the car. I can advertise my cab company or any other company all over my car, but I cant put a sign on the side that says X% of all fares. Thats the position from the regulator.

Dont you think that out of all the taxis in the country that if you could sonmeone would of done it already??? Afterall this discount from firms isnt exactly a new thing, local firms have being doing it for a while.

I would offer discounts if it meant I got repeat business( which is the whole point of doing it) But I know for a fact this would not happen, so Im not going to. Im not going to apologise my for my position. The simple fact is, weither I offer a discount or not is not going to have any meaningful effect on my business in the long term so I choose not to.

If you wish to see Taxis offering discounts at the roadside, petition the regulator for it to be allowed to advertise such discounts on the cars. When this is done come back to me and you will see my attitude change very quickly.

Yes. 100%. It has nothing to do with regulators' rules on waiver forms or advertising on the side of cars. Drivers simply don't want to give discounts. I see nothing wrong with that as long as people are aware of the prices before they get in. It's perfectly reasonable. No point in blaming others.

Spook_ie

paulm17781 wrote: »

Have you not been saying there are too many taxi drivers on the streets? Then when a discount could be offered you won't do this? Do we want our cake and to eat it too?

No not cake, but I would like to be able to feed my family something, after working 60 hours...

Spook_ie

Terrontress wrote: »

Yes. 100%. It has nothing to do with regulators' rules on waiver forms or advertising on the side of cars. Drivers simply don't want to give discounts. I see nothing wrong with that as long as people are aware of the prices before they get in. It's perfectly reasonable. No point in blaming others.

But they are aware of the fare structure already, thats why the TR introduced a national fare structure, now the interesting question will be how many arguments will be caused by people saying " I only paid €15 on the way in, so you can eff off with charging €20 back " I can see the Garda being kept busy in the near future....

Taxipete29

Terrontress wrote: »

Yes. 100%. It has nothing to do with regulators' rules on waiver forms or advertising on the side of cars. Drivers simply don't want to give discounts. I see nothing wrong with that as long as people are aware of the prices before they get in. It's perfectly reasonable. No point in blaming others.

I honestly have no idea what you are trying to say here. If a driver doesnt want to give a discount thats his/her right. if a driver does he/she should be allowed to advertise said discount on their car.I think thats pretty straightforward. Thats my only point here

Terrontress

kajo wrote: »

We wanted more taxis and we got them now we want discounts.. where will it end???
If we dont pay a fair wage for a fair job then we end up with a crappy unsafe service.
How will drivers upgrade cars and service them if they don't get a fair wage?

Terrontress you were the one who complained about spooks car... how can he pay for a new one in 2012 if we dont pay him for doing his job?

This is all very sad... a race to the bottom

I have no idea who those people are.

I said that there is no problem whatsoever with someone charging the maximum fare. It is their choice as a service provider. My only point was that there has been alot of talk on here that discounts can't be advertised, complicated forms must be given to be able to give a discount, taxi drivers have no choice at all in what to charge etc.

All I'm saying is that a bit of honesty, like that by Pete is honest. His points being that he is pressurised enough as it is, won't get the chance to get repeat business and he is the boss so sets the fare to the max he is allowed.

So even if he was allowed to paint the car with "25% off", not have to sign anything and could run his car on fresh air, has no mortgage to pay and 100 fares per day; he'd chose not to.

SerialComplaint

Taxipete29 wrote: »

I would offer discounts if it meant I got repeat business

So maybe some of the firms will start offering discounts on corporate accounts, instead of the supercharge (10% iirc) that NRC currently charge.

Spook_ie

SerialComplaint wrote: »

So maybe some of the firms will start offering discounts on corporate accounts, instead of the supercharge (10% iirc) that NRC currently charge.

Odd you should mention that, did you know that some cabfirms actualy deduct a % off of any account fares before they pay them out to the drivers....

e.g Fare is €20, driver gets €18, company gets €2 plus any surcharge they foist on the customer as well..

As a thought

Just have a think on this...

You have taxi companies telling the Taxi Regulator ( through their seat on the Advisory Council ) that they don't have enough taxis, now just work out someone like CityCabs, approx 600 cars paying €90 a week, thats €2.8 million a year, no wonder they want more cars to sign up with them, and at the end of the day when they have enough of a slice of the pie do you think they will have the customers interests at heart...

Who's making more money the more taxis on the road, the drivers or the radio companies?

L1011

Spook_ie wrote: »

I'll have to be moving to Maynooth then.....actualy now I just typed Maynooth maybe not...:)

Moving to Maynooth is something advised only for students, priests and the clinically insane...

Spook_ie

MYOB wrote: »

Moving to Maynooth is something advised only for students, priests and the clericly insane...

FYP

antoinolachtnai

Taxipete29 wrote: »

While I like the idea of doing this, Its illegal

I don't see a written rule anywhere about price advertising. I really doubt whether it would be legally feasible to stop a taxi driver from advertising a price discount, whilst allowing other types of advertising. It would seem to me like a restriction on trade.

mikemac

Our company has an account with NRC. So even with all the business we throw their way and that includes many longish trips to the nearest airport, NRC still charge an extra percentage on the account. I don't know the exact figure, possibly 5% or maybe 10%.

WTF, we give you business and you charge us extra?
Hey if I was in charge of this I'd be expecting discounts and kickbacks, not 10% more but 10% less as a mininum. Yep, every Christmas we get cards thanking us for our support and chocolates and wine but all those gifts were paid for many times over in fees.

I think this 20% company will do well if they can pitch for the corporate accounts, I wish them the best of luck.

SerialComplaint

Spook_ie wrote: »

Odd you should mention that, did you know that some cabfirms actualy deduct a % off of any account fares before they pay them out to the drivers....

e.g Fare is €20, driver gets €18, company gets €2 plus any surcharge they foist on the customer as well..

As a thought

Just have a think on this...

You have taxi companies telling the Taxi Regulator ( through their seat on the Advisory Council ) that they don't have enough taxis, now just work out someone like CityCabs, approx 600 cars paying €90 a week, thats €2.8 million a year, no wonder they want more cars to sign up with them, and at the end of the day when they have enough of a slice of the pie do you think they will have the customers interests at heart...

Who's making more money the more taxis on the road, the drivers or the radio companies?

Maybe the drivers need to move towards a co-operative structure? I'm old enough to remember when Co-op Taxis (phone 777777) were the biggest taxi firm in the city, owned and managed by drivers.

Spook_ie

mikemac wrote: »

Our company has an account with NRC. So even with all the business we throw their way and that includes many longish trips to the nearest airport, NRC still charge an extra percentage on the account. I don't know the exact figure, possibly 5% or maybe 10%.

WTF, we give you business and you charge us extra?
Hey if I was in charge of this I'd be expecting discounts and kickbacks, not 10% more but 10% less as a mininum. Yep, every Christmas we get cards thanking us for our support and chocolates and wine but all those gifts were paid for many times over in fees.

I think this 20% company will do well if they can pitch for the corporate accounts, I wish them the best of luck.

202020 are a Global Taxis brand, Global taxis are affilated to City Cabs, as are Taxi7 and eight other companies. If I can find the list of them I'll post it, you might be in for a surprise when you see how monopolistic the trade has become...

http://www.taxiseven.com/
http://www.globaltaxis.ie/
http://www.citycabs.ie/

Ham'nd'egger

Spook_ie wrote: »

202020 are a Global Taxis brand, Global taxis are affilated to City Cabs, as are Taxi7 and eight other companies. If I can find the list of them I'll post it, you might be in for a surprise when you see how monopolistic the trade has become...

http://www.taxiseven.com/
http://www.globaltaxis.ie/
http://www.citycabs.ie/

Borough Cabs, Greyhound Cabs, Eurocabs, Speedy Cabs, Camden Cabs and Metro Cabs are all part of the Noel Ebbs set up.

It's worth pointing out that in spite of the fact that they can discount prices to account and corporate customers, they still lose large amounts of accounts to other taxi companies who charge" more but show up on time, have polite staff, decent cars, quicker routes taken places etc.

Taxipete29

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

I don't see a written rule anywhere about price advertising. I really doubt whether it would be legally feasible to stop a taxi driver from advertising a price discount, whilst allowing other types of advertising. It would seem to me like a restriction on trade.

Whilst there is no specific mention of pricing in the statute, that is the regulators position. As taxis are Public Service Vehicles rules such as restriction of trade may not apply as they would to a normal business.

scorpioishere

fortuneteller wrote: »

20% Off the fare....Ya! the bulk of their drivers are probably foreginers that cant speak english,and dont know their way around,so in a desperate bid to get work they do this....it will still cost you more than it should because most of their drivers Cant read maps and the maps on their navigation systems only have africa or dublin airport,,or the welfare offices on them!:cool:

Actually i was taking a taxi on oconnel street to go to the registry office one day for a wedding and the driver had to stop and asked for directions. He was an old prick who were suppose to know as he is working in the city centre.

Also i was getting a taxi one day with some mates to swords and the driver again didn't know how to get to swords. May be they are stupid or they act stupid so that they can get more money on the fare. And these two cases are irish drivers which is a shame.

scorpioishere

My colleague from work was coming from spain for his first time in dublin. He was staying at the travelodge and from the airport it costs around 12 euros.

The driver at first was not happy when my collegue said he was going to travelodge because it is so near.

Anyway while he was going to travelodge the driver was talking to him and found out he was at his first time into the country. Once he arrived at travelodge he decided to increase the fare to 28 euros. my friend was so shocked but didn't say anything as it was the company who was paying the fare. He asked for a receipt and the diver said he had not put his meter on as its broken. He then said dnt worry its the correct fare.

My collegue insists on a receipt having details from the airport to travelodge in swords, the time, the fare, his name, his signature etc etc..
The driver got angry and said ok give me only 5 euros. My colleague laughed at him and said receipt please. He was so tensed in case my colleague went to the police and said to him ok its free this time. My colleague then left the taxi.

It's quite horrible how irish drivers are so mean sometimes towards foreigners. If it was me i would have report him straight away. And they always asked for increase, they have to pay for this, they have to pay for that.. At least they should be honest in their jobs and try to learn some routes in dublin.