In the late hours, while many people are left waiting at an empty taxi rank, numerous taxis summoned through mobile phone apps are silently parked in a nearby car park. The situation has become particularly dire as multiple flights from holiday destinations arrive after midnight. There have been instances where 60 adults, along with numerous children, have been forced to queue at the official taxi rank.
According to a source cited by the Irish Independent, “There were no taxis. In the 15 minutes we waited, only one arrived.” However, during the same timeframe, there were 30 taxis available through the FreeNow app. These taxis were easily accessible by walking a few hundred meters to the car park, where there was no wait time.
The problem seems to arise from the fact that only taxis permitted by the airport are granted access to the rank. Online taxi services have permission to park in the car park, but travelers are unaware of their availability.
A spokesperson for the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) addressed the issue by stating, “Some passengers may occasionally face short queues late at night due to high demand for taxis in Dublin city, especially during major sporting or concert events. The Dublin Airport team actively makes calls to attract additional taxis to the airport, which helps to quickly clear the queues.”
DAA asserts that in the past month, 90% of passengers waiting for a taxi at the airport rank waited for 10 minutes or less, with an average waiting time of less than five minutes. This signifies an improvement from less than eight minutes of waiting time during the same period last year.
The spokesperson further added, “The DAA is dedicated to further reducing wait times for passengers. We have recently issued an additional 300 new permits, bringing the total number of permits in operation at Dublin Airport to over 2,000. We closely monitor driver activity to ensure that all permit holders complete a minimum number of journeys from the airport each quarter.”
However, one TD (Teachta Dála, an Irish parliament member) raised concerns about the taxi service and its management by DAA, stating that it is “not fit for purpose” due to reports of infrequent arrivals at the rank during early hours. Jennifer Whitmore, TD for the Social Democrats, expressed her disapproval, saying, “It is unacceptable that young families have to queue for considerable periods in the middle of the night just to get home.” She further emphasized the impact of this failure on both holidaymakers and business and incoming tourists, emphasizing the need for Dublin Airport to ensure an adequate transportation service is available when needed. She also highlighted the reputational risks this poses for Ireland.
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