MyTaxi drivers have gathered outside the company’s headquarters today to protest a new “cab-sharing” feature that has been labelled “dangerous” by drivers.
The taxi company, which rebranded from Hailo early last year, has been toying with a cab-sharing feature for over a year – but the company is now close to launching the service according to 98fm.
The service would enable users to share a journey with another user going in the same direction, slashing the cost of their fare and also meaning there would be more taxis available in the city centre during busy periods.
As well as meaning less fares for drivers, many MyTaxi drivers reckon the introduction would be dangerous for passengers.
Jim Waldron from the National Private Hire and Taxi Association said:
“The taxi driver you get in with is a stranger, but they have been vetted by the police.
“The person you invite into the taxi beside you… it only has to go wrong once”.
FM104’s Emma Ni Riain shared a photo of the protest on Twitter.
Taxi drivers protesting outside MyTaxi offices in Dublin over plans to bring in cab sharing – they say it will put passengers and drivers in danger pic.twitter.com/MyYwFSnwGc
— Emma Ní Riain (@EmmaNiRiain) November 26, 2018
The cab sharing feature is similar to UberPOOL – which is already popular in a number of cities including London and New York.
Last year when the plans were announced, Newstalk’s tech correspondent Jess Kelly said the service will only use fully licensed taxi drivers:
“It is going to be fully regulated,” she said. “All the drivers are going to be licensed drivers.”
“But the concept is if three people on Friday night are looking for a taxi and they are going the same direction; they can share or split the fare and try and reduce the pressure and the demand on taxi drivers.”
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