Dublin Airport taxi drivers are coming under fire from angry and frustrated passengers who claim they are refusing to accept fares from people with large baggage or who are travelling short distances.

Large cases, christened "coffin bags" by taxi drivers, are said to be one cause of the tension between drivers and passengers.

One upset caller to RTE's Liveline programme told how a taxi driver refused his family's fare. Travelling with his wife and two children, the family were told they had ''too much baggage'' - even though all they had were a set of three suitcases and a buggy.

The caller said ''When we got to the first taxi, the driver got out of the car and said, 'No, no, I'm not taking you.'''

He continued: '' When I asked for an explanation, he just said 'It's my f****** car and I'm not taking you.'''

Taxi driver Gerry Fallon from Dublin slammed these claims. He said: ''the majority of taxi drivers provide an excellent service at the airport. The problem is that passengers get off flights at 2 or 3 in the morning exhausted and when they come out, the taxi drivers get it in the neck.''

Mr Fallon believes that taxi drivers are ''easy fodder'' for tired passengers and that in reality drivers lose money because of larger bags.

He explained ''some of the cases we are asked to carry are over 40 kilos. That's putting pressure on the car and we are not getting allowance for the extra fuel consumption. We should have a charge on luggage.''

One woman spoke of her anger of being refused a fare because it was too short a distance. She said: ''I was going to Bewley's Hotel and I missed the bus, so I needed to get a taxi. The first cab I went to refused me point blank and the second reluctantly took the fare.''

Evening Herald

18^th July 2007