Gotta catch ’em all? Lynk offers Pokemon Go tour of Dublin

Gotta catch 'em all but no car to get around? Dublin taxi service Lynk has begun offering a fixed-fare Pokémon-themed tour around the city to help out aspiring trainers.

The taxi firm said it has been inundated with requests to ferry people around Dublin in search of the elusive creature, a practice that landed one person with a €200 fare for an afternoon. With that in mind, it has launched a €30 an hour flat fare for those hunting within designated “Pokémon hunt zones”.

“Ever since Pokémon Go launched in Ireland, we have had customers playing the app in the back of our cars on a daily basis,” said Lynk driver Pat McCarthy No one else has provided these hunters with an opportunity to ‘up their game’ by getting to more places around the city, even faster, so we decided Lynk should be the first.”

Information on where the Pokémon hunt zones are located can be found on Lynk’s app.

Pokémon Go has been a surprise hit for developer Niantic since its launch on July 6th. The augmented reality game encourages players to get out and track down the animated monsters in the real world, sparking praise for its health and fitness implications.

But not everyone is happy about the game. It has caused controversy over its locations for gyms and pokéstops, where users can battle and collect items to use in their hunts, with people complaining that it has turned quiet neighbourhoods into a nightmare. There is already a class action lawsuit being brought in the US by one couple who object to the additional traffic that Pokémon Go has brought to their area.

The game also courted early controversy due to an "error" that saw the game's Google login feature gain access to more information than it needed. A number of people were also hit by robberies and muggings when they were hunting Pokémon in isolated areas.

Niantic has added several warnings into the game, including a notification not to trespass and also a pop up warning that is triggered if the player is travelling at a speed that suggests they may be driving.