App to check taxi details launched

A smartphone app to help taxi passengers feel safer on their journeys has been released by the National Transport Authority today.

The new app allows passengers to check the licence details of the driver (name, expiry date, area) and the vehicle (licence, registration, make, colour) and to see a photograph of the authorised drivers.

To use the app, customers have to enter one detail: car registration number, licence number (on roof-signs and doors) or driver licence number (on the driver’s ID card). They can also scan a QR code on the front and rear windscreens of the vehicle. Passengers should be able to check the taxi details before they get into the car.

For security the 'Driver Check' app allows the passengers to send these details (without the photograph) to a friend to give a record of their journey.

Some 70 per cent of drivers are registered with the database, according to the National Transport Authority.

Minister of State for Public Transport Alan Kelly urged the public to help with the other 30 per cent by pressing “report” when the database returns no details.

“People will begin walking away from taxis which return a 'no details available' screen on the app so I would call on drivers to ensure they are on the database,” Mr Kelly said.

A fine of €40 is to be imposed by the National Transport Authority on drivers who have not registered.

Technology was being used to give customers “more confidence” in the taxi sector and to make taxi users feel “safer”, Mr Kelly said. It would also make people more likely to use a taxi, he added.

It would also promote greater professionalism among drivers, he added.

The data was already on public record but the app was making it easily accessible, he said.

The 'Driver Check' app is available for free in the Apple App store and Android's Google Play store.