Ireland
In the Republic of Ireland, the term taxi is reserved for vehicles that may pick up on streets and where the fare is determined by a meter. In 2006 there were over 16,000 taxis in the Republic, the majority in Dublin. Taxi vehicles do not have to be a particular colour but all carry a distinctive roofsign with the licence number prominently displayed, some with the Irish word TACSAÍ instead of the usual "TAXI", also a sticker or stickers that determine their boundaries by county, these stickers carry a letter or letters that reflect the number plate county code (e.g. D=Dublin, MH=Meath etc.) (for full list see vehicle registration plates of Ireland). In September 2006 a nationwide taxi fare system was introduced so that charges no longer depend on the county or city council area. Mercedes E-class and Toyota Avensis are the most common types of taxicab, but free cycle rickshaws sponsored by 7up are also used, and a new fleet of TACSAITHE GHLAISE (Green Taxis) is due to launch in the near future. These will be all electric and include the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i. No vehicle is allocated as an Irish taxicab but they must have at least four doors.
The term hackney is used in Ireland to refer to a service which can only carry passengers from a pre-booked destination (or the hackney company's office) to another destination, similar to a minicab in Britain. Such vehicles are indicated by a small yellow plate above the registration plate with the word Hackney and the licence information. They normally operate for an agreed fare.
Both taxis and hackneys are licenced by the Commission for Taxi Regulation.
There is an interesting site,written by a Dublin Taxi driver Irish Taxi which gives regular updates on what's happening in the Irish Taxi business (currently quite volatile : August 2008)
Read more about this topic: Taxicabs By Country
Famous quotes containing the word ireland:
“There is no topic ... more soporific and generally boring than the topic of Ireland as Ireland, as a nation.”
—Ezra Pound (1885–1972)
“They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here, and sea fog, and eerie stories. That’s not because there are more ghosts here than in other places, mind you. It’s just that people who live hereabouts are strangely aware of them.”
—Dodie Smith, and Lewis Allen. Roderick Fitzgerald (Ray Milland)
“No people can more exactly interpret the inmost meaning of the present situation in Ireland than the American Negro. The scheme is simple. You knock a man down and then have him arrested for assault. You kill a man and then hang the corpse.”
—W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt)