Complaints over taxi driver behaviour made to the National Transport Authority (NTA) accounted for more than half of the total complaints concerning taxis last year.
Among the complaint details released by the National Transport Authority (NTA), were concerns raised by a small number of customers who felt frightened by taxi driver behaviour.
In one case, a hotel worker said that a driver told the worker to f**k off several times, and that he would “see me on Monday night when I am alone”.
As a result of the complaint, the NTA issued the driver with a reminder of his duties and responsibilities as a taxi driver.
Vehicle condition
In response to a Freedom of Information request, the NTA confirmed that the number of taxi complaints last year totalled 928, compared to 952 in 2014.
The detailed breakdown shows that complaints about taxi driver behaviour totalled 491 last year, or 53 per cent of complaints, with 53 complaints about vehicle condition.
One passenger wrote to the NTA to complain that there was hair literally everywhere in a very dirty taxi, “and a smell I can only describe as days-old sweat”.
Another passenger, complaining about the condition of a taxi, said, “the car was like a fridge and the seats felt damp. When I got out of the car at Hatch St, Dublin 2, I realised that the car was missing the entire large glass panel at the rear that forms part of the boot underneath the rear windscreen”.
The outcome was that the vehicle was repaired and then inspected. The NTA stated: “All found to be in order. Advice given.”
The second most frequent reason for complaint related to fares, accounting for 297, or 32 per cent of complaints. The NTA also received 83 complaints relating to ‘hiring matters’ and four in relation to identification.
Warnings
In only 2 per cent of complaints did the NRA issue the driver with a fixed payment notice, while in another 2 per cent drivers were given warnings concerning their behaviour.
The figures show that in 58 per cent of complaints, no further action was taken, while in 29 per cent of cases, advice was given to the drivers by the NTA.The NTA said that 202 complaints were referred to the Garda last year.
However, the NRA stressed that the complaints referred are not based on the gravity of the offence, but the nature of the complaint and the powers of the Garda to deal with them.
