Taxi driver refused fare - "Not going that way"

TheCosmicFrog

So I had an interesting experience a few hours ago, the first of my kind in Galway. I'm a frequent taxi customer in the city. Usually it's a simple case of "Hello, can I go to <destination> please? Thank you.", but tonight (around 3am) I went to the head of the taxi queue in Eyre Square and, as the driver had his front window down, I asked as a courtesy, "Are you okay to go to <destination>?" I was pretty surprised to hear the driver say, "Sorry, I'm not going that direction."

Direction? This is Galway, not London. The city isn't big enough to have "directions".

I moved on and hopped into another taxi. I asked the driver, out of curiosity, if such a thing happens regularly in Galway. He sounded pretty surprised and told me I should have taken his roof number and contacted the Taxi Regulator. When I asked why he thought the first guy had refused me in my "direction", the driver said, "Your fare probably wasn't high enough for him." I live about a ten minute drive from Eyre Square, which I thought would have been an average fare distance anyway. I just checked the Taxi Regulator website and spotted this line:

Unreasonable refusal of service
Taxi drivers may not unreasonably refuse service for journeys of 30km or less.


It's hard to put a definition on what "unreasonable" refusal of service is, but I reckon this probably falls under it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not annoyed in the slightest. There were plenty of other taxis to choose from, I was just a little embarrassed. I felt like I was rejected by a taxi driver, like my business wasn't good enough for him.


Has anyone experienced this before in Galway, or elsewhere?

biko

I've heard of it before but never had it happen to me.
They've spent a long time to get to the first spot in the rank and then someone wants to go just two miles down the road. This means they'll make a few euros and spend another 30 mins to get back in the good spot. Anyway this is how it was explained to me.
10 mins drive sounds like a normal fare to me. Maybe he was hoping for a fare in his direction so he could continue home afterwards.

galwayrush

Often happened to me years ago, my journey was about 10 miles, so the drivers could make a few city fares in the time it would take to bring me home. Often they would say wait an hour, sometimes a driver would say i live out that direction, i'll be going home at such a time, if you wait i'll bring you home for half price.

mikemac

Happened me once, Eyre Sq to the Hunstman
I'm not one for arguing, just get the next in the rank

The only other incidents were years ago, before deregulation.
Worked in a hotel in Taylors Hill and work paid to get me home to Ballybrit, that's a longish fare and probably fastest to head out the Headford Rd.

Finish up around 2am and our taxi company took aaaaaages to get drivers for us staff. Work paid set fares on account and the drivers ignored us and worked the city business and only get us when it died down.

Switched to Big O and they were better

Dunjohn

I remember a story in the Galway papers a few years ago, a taxi driver refused a fare because he was soon heading home and was only looking to pick up a fare on the way. He dropped the passenger off at the taxi office. He was later fined and labeled an "opportunist" by the judge, if I remember right.

So yeah, totally in the wrong there.

Cosmo Kramer

Dunjohn wrote: »

I remember a story in the Galway papers a few years ago, a taxi driver refused a fare because he was soon heading home and was only looking to pick up a fare on the way. He dropped the passenger off at the taxi office. He was later fined and labeled an "opportunist" by the judge, if I remember right.

So yeah, totally in the wrong there.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/driver-in-jail-after-threat-to-deck-taxi-customer-182553.html

I don't know if this is one you refer to or not but here is a case from a few years ago involving people I knew (the passengers, not the driver). A bit more extreme than the OPs case but the same general idea. We never expected him to get a sentence but it turned out he had a litany of previous convictions of a similar nature, it sounds like this attitude still exists among some city taxi drivers.

messrs

Used to happen me all the time in Longford, i live 7 miles outside the town so would take the driver over half hour to drop me out and back into town again and lots of taxi drivers wud refuse, coz they wud get lots of shorter runs in the town so wud never want to bring me out

galah

happened to me before (I think I started a thread on that then as well).
Fecker wouldnt give me a lift from The Living Room to St Mary's Road, said it wasn't worth his while...(I was a girl in heels, it was after midnight, etc etc. Ended up walking home, seething.)

tan11ie

galah wrote: »

happened to me before (I think I started a thread on that then as well).
Fecker wouldnt give me a lift from The Living Room to St Mary's Road, said it wasn't worth his while...(I was a girl in heels, it was after midnight, etc etc. Ended up walking home, seething.)

Well that's just wrong!! the stupid fecker!!!

tan11ie

My guess is he was heading home and looking for a fare going his direction.....if it ever happens again take his number and report him! It gives the rest of the guys/gals in the game a bad name.

Karona

Happened me before, i was stuck in Dublin with no way back to drogheda on my own at 3 o clock in the morning. I hailed a taxi and he was like sorry not going to Drogheda. Next one i eventually hailed was saying he couldnt do that.

barryd09

Who cares if it isnt 'worth their while' or they 'arent going that way'.
Thats a complete cop out.They are taxi drivers with a que of customers there for them,its the luck of the draw as to where the customer wants to go.

If youre on the rank & touting for business & spend all your life whinging abour deregulation then you should take whats given to you.

Id bet very much this same driver would have picked up a fare from a 'hailer' on his way back too.

Jesus SOME people.

filmbuffboy

This has happened to me before too. Dunno why but the driver thought the fare wasnt worth his while. Anymore I take note of the number plate just in case something happens so i can report em!

TheCosmicFrog

OP again. Just spotted this on the Taxi Regulator site:

When can a taxi driver refuse service?

A taxi driver may reasonably refuse:

• To undertake journeys of more than 30km;
• To allow passengers to consume food or drink in the vehicle;
• To carry, or continue to carry, passengers who are acting in a disorderly, abusive or offensive manner; and
• To carry, or continue to carry, passengers who are likely to soil or damage the vehicle.

I definitely didn't meet any of those criteria.

DRakE

TheCosmicFrog wrote: »

OP again. Just spotted this on the Taxi Regulator site:

When can a taxi driver refuse service?

A taxi driver may reasonably refuse:

• To undertake journeys of more than 30km;
• To allow passengers to consume food or drink in the vehicle;
• To carry, or continue to carry, passengers who are acting in a disorderly, abusive or offensive manner; and
• To carry, or continue to carry, passengers who are likely to soil or damage the vehicle.

I definitely didn't meet any of those criteria.

he could always say he thought you were a risk if it ever came back on him though, even if you weren't

drum!

Is it really a big deal if it happens in a queue though? There was probably another 25 taxis behind this fella.

996tt

Ive been a victim of this carry on plenty of saturday nights(and I can assure you drink is not the reason), if its busy allot of them point blank refuse to bring me my 10miles home even though they get e25 for it. So ive a nice payback, when they stop i open the rear passenger door and ask them will they bring me home, if they say no i get out and dont close the rear door meaning they have to get out and close it. Petty I know but they deserve it

drum! wrote: »

Is it really a big deal if it happens in a queue though? There was probably another 25 taxis behind this fella.

to me it is. Its hypocritical carry on by taxi drivers, under the law customers are allowed to pick which taxi we want, try doing that in a rank and no driver behind the 1st one will take you.

TheCosmicFrog

drum! wrote: »

Is it really a big deal if it happens in a queue though? There was probably another 25 taxis behind this fella.

No big deal at all. This was simply a thread asking if anyone else had experienced this. There was about forty taxis behind him so I went to the next guy who was happy to have my business.

dcukhunter

From what I had heard before (not sure if it's right though) if you asked before you sat into the car he can refuse you. Once you get into the car he can't refuse as long as it's within a reasonable distance or you aren't drunk, abusive etc.

spinandscribble

I think the issue here might be you asked if he was going in your direction (i'm not sure why you asked this). He might have thought (oh what a nice chap, probably realises i'm close to clocking off home) and told you not my direction. For you to then report him considering you verbally gave him the choice would be a tad mean in my opinion. In the future just get in and say your please and thank yous no need for the extra courtesy of are you going in my direction.

hyperbaby

This happened to me twice in one night in Salthill. Two taxis stopped and when i told them where i was going (10 miles away) neither of them would bring me home. I told the next driver who picked me up and he informed me that that they weren't supposed to do that.

dave1982

Funny thing is, he will probably be the 1st to complain of lack of work

TheCosmicFrog

dcukhunter wrote: »

From what I had heard before (not sure if it's right though) if you asked before you sat into the car he can refuse you. Once you get into the car he can't refuse as long as it's within a reasonable distance or you aren't drunk, abusive etc.

Nope, I asked something like, "Are you okay to go?". It was him who asked me where I was going.

edit - I'd edit my original post to correct that, but it won't let me. It was him that asked me where I wanted to go.

dolphin city

did you not say you asked him "was he okay to go to ........"

why did you ask that question - why didn't you just sit in the taxi and tell him where you wanted to go - I'm sure he would have brought you.

the fact that you asked him if he was "okay" to bring to to your destination gave him a choice to say yes or no. Not his fault.

Next time be more pro-active - sit in and tell him where you are going. The end. :rolleyes:

Also if it was not a big deal why are you still going on about it.

TheCosmicFrog

dolphin city wrote: »

did you not say you asked him "was he okay to go to ........"

The exact thing I said was, "Are you okay to go?". It's my slightly awkward and poorly phrased way of being polite towards taxi drivers. As I mentioned in my last post, it was actually him who asked me where I wanted to go - I can't edit my original post.

why did you ask that question - why didn't you just sit in the taxi and tell him where you wanted to go - I'm sure he would have brought you.

Common courtesy I guess. Also the back door was locked (fair enough - I'd do the same) but his front window was down. I asked him the question through the window.

the fact that you asked him if he was "okay" to bring to to your destination gave him a choice to say yes or no. Not his fault.

Not really. According to the Taxi Regulator it's not his right to refuse me based on where I'm going as long as it's <30km.

Next time be more pro-active - sit in and tell him where you are going. The end. :rolleyes:

Fair enough. If the door is open.

Also if it was not a big deal why are you still going on about it.

It's easy to confuse regular replies to other peoples' posts as "still going on about it". I post a lot. I'm also subscribed to this thread so I get emails as soon as someone posts in it, which means I usually reply quickly.

dolphin city

i find the whole thing a bit strange really. First you say you asked was he okay to go to a certain destination and then you say that no you didn't actually mention a destination - that you just said "are you okay to go" obviously he is going to say "go where"? You still gave him the choice.

now a new fact, that the car was all locked up except for an open window even tho he was the next person off the rank. Strange.

I say next time keep your mouth closed - get in and tell him where you are going. Saves hassle.

Also, to be honest I don't think the driver would have refused you because the journey wasn't long enough. At 3 a.m. in the morning, most of the journeys would be local and within a ten minute drive radius. If he was to refuse all of these less than ten minute journeys he wouldn't have moved at all. I'm sure if the driver was here he would have a different story.

No offence, but taxi drivers get a bad rap as it is - and have to put up with a lot of abuse, assault, and ignorence that people have no idea about.

Overall, (and I am not talking about you here) I think they have a hard job to do and get an unfair rap. They can't open their mouths but there is fault with it. People think that they can do what they like in a taxi with no consequences, screaming, shouting, banging seats, sneaking alcohol in, fiddling with the radio, antagonising the driver - they seem to forget that they are paying for a lift home, not to treat the car and the driver like dirt. IMO taxi drivers are entitled to make an informed choice on whether the person getting into their taxi is going to cause them hassle or not.

Somebody mentioned something about "oh he'd be the first one to complain about lack of business" or something like that. Just because you are a taxi driver it does not mean that you have to put up with abuse/assault - you don't - believe me sometimes it's better to forget the fiver, and not take a passenger. Why should he have to put up with abuse for a fiver. Would you? I would suggest you might look at both sides of the story before coming out with statements like that.

dolphin city

also you say it was in Eyre Square at 3 a.m. on a Saturday night - you obviously weren't coming from mass. The worst place you could possible be at that time of night - outside Supermacs at 3 a.m. This would the the taxi person busiest night with nightclubs out and people wanting to go home.

What kind of state were you in - had the taxi man maybe have been watching your behaviour and locked his doors when he saw you coming - if he was at the top of the rank. You state that the taxi regulator can refuse a fare if it is over 30 km. but they can also refuse passengers who are acting in a disorderly, abusive or offensive manner or passengers who are likely to soil or damage the vehicle. They can also refuse you if you want to bring food or drink into the cab.

Another thing to consider - are you a student? Are you living in a student village? Wasn't there lots of trouble last week with students - hurling bottles at emergency services, barricading themselves in, etc. Did you want the taxi man to drive to one of these student areas at 3 a.m.m on a saturday morning after night clubs are out. Would you drive into one of these areas after hearing what was going on during the week there? Lots of things to consider.

the_syco

Personally, I get into the passenger seat, and tell the taxi driver where i want to go. The only place I don't do this is in Belfast, as I know some taxi drivers won't go into certain estates as their registration plates are from the wrong area, or something, which is fair enough, so I'd usually ask them can they goto X before i get into the taxi.

TheCosmicFrog

dolphin city wrote: »

now a new fact, that the car was all locked up except for an open window even tho he was the next person off the rank. Strange.

I agree. I started this thread about 3 hours after it happened. I didn't think at the time that the exact details would matter to anyone.

I say next time keep your mouth closed - get in and tell him where you are going. Saves hassle.

Again, if the door is open.

Also, to be honest I don't think the driver would have refused you because the journey wasn't long enough. At 3 a.m. in the morning, most of the journeys would be local and within a ten minute drive radius. If he was to refuse all of these less than ten minute journeys he wouldn't have moved at all. I'm sure if the driver was here he would have a different story.

Agreed. I'd be curious to hear his reason too.

No offence, but taxi drivers get a bad rap as it is

Why would I be offended? This thread was just an observation.

The worst place you could possible be at that time of night - outside Supermacs at 3 a.m. This would the the taxi person busiest night with nightclubs out and people wanting to go home.

It was completely dead. There was nobody around. I even commented on this to the next taxi driver.

What kind of state were you in - had the taxi man maybe have been watching your behaviour and locked his doors when he saw you coming - if he was at the top of the rank.

I wasn't drinking. I was in a friend's house and walked to Gala with him to get a 3V voucher and a litre of milk.

Another thing to consider - are you a student? Are you living in a student village? Wasn't there lots of trouble last week with students - hurling bottles at emergency services, barricading themselves in, etc. Did you want the taxi man to drive to one of these student areas at 3 a.m.m on a saturday morning after night clubs are out. Would you drive into one of these areas after hearing what was going on during the week there? Lots of things to consider.

I'm a student, but I wasn't going to a student estate. Also, it was a Saturday night - that's a locals night, there's no students around.

dolphin city

jeez ya must have been gasping for a cuppa tae to be going out at 3a.m. on a saturday night for a carton of milk

TheCosmicFrog

dolphin city wrote: »

jeez ya must have been gasping for a cuppa tae to be going out at 3a.m. on a saturday night for a carton of milk

Haha, it was my friend buying the milk for his house after we had to borrow his roommate's. I only wanted a 3V voucher!