Has Dublin got the friendliest taxi drivers in the world?
Our survey says… no.
That honour belongs to London, who have topped the poll for the fifth consecutive year as the best taxis in the world.
The Dubs, meanwhile, were ranked fifth in the world for friendliness and 13th best in the world, down four places from last year, according to a recent survey carried out by Hotels.com.
We’re not so sure that Irish taxis should be so far down the list, but what we do know is that getting a taxi in Ireland is a very different experience to getting one anywhere else in the world… we’ve got five reasons why, but leave a comment if you have any more to add!
€2.25? About the only time we’d ever be happy to go by the meter price…
We barter before we get in
Ah sure never mind the meter! “Will you take me home for a tenner?” Agreeing a price in advance is something we’re very proud of, and if you can swear blind you usually get it for a couple of euro cheaper and the driver believes you – win. Though you usually end up leaving the savings as a tip anyway, since he’s the “Nicest taxi man ever!”
We sit in the front seat
Not for us the cosy confines of silence in the back seat with a partition to keep driver away. Oh no, straight in to the front seat to start as we mean to go on… for the chat. Which leads us to….
Both parties share life stories
We’re sure spilling your guts to a taxi driver, perhaps after a glass of wine or two, is not limited to the Irish. The sharing back though, seems to be a rarer phenomenon. We’ve heard tales of ex-wives, money made and lost, how it was back in his/her youth, and ALL about the children. Imelda turned out great in the end, has a big fancy job in London now…
“Are ya busy tonight?”
Yes, of course he/she is busy – they’re working. Yet still we ask, every single time. A taxi driver on a night out is the earliest predictor of how you night will be, they can tell you which spots are looking dead, and where the craic is to be found. We’re usually still concerned for their welfare though…
“What time did you start/what time are you finishing?
There is no working schedule on earth that fascinates an Irish person more than that of their taxi driver. Without fail we ask the poor driver the same question they’ve likely been asked twenty times already that night, and in the great Irish tradition of believing nothing is ever as bad as it could be, the stock response whether driver says 12am, 3am or 6am is always “Ah, that’s not so bad so…”
