New research finds 45% of Irish people talk to their taxi driver about the weather

FREENOW, Ireland’s no.1 taxi app is gearing up for what has traditionally been the busiest period of the year on the app, and this St Patrick’s weekend is expected to be no different. This year peak booking times are predicted to be 7:00 p.m. on Sunday March 17th and 1:00 a.m. on Monday March 18th, with 12,000 requests per hour expected during these times. Despite St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Sunday this year, the bank holiday on Monday will likely result in large crowds heading out to celebrate the occasion.

To reward and incentivise drivers who work during peak times this weekend, helping to service the high demand for public transport over the upcoming St. Patrick’s weekend, FREENOW has announced a €1.25 million bonus fund for its driver partners.

With the large number of tourists expected to visit the country over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, pickups at Dublin Airport are also expected to rise by 12% versus the previous week. March 16th is expected to be the busiest day for airport pickups of the St. Patrick’s Day period with a 30% increase from the same day the previous week.

In the Capital city, the most popular destinations are anticipated to be Temple Bar and Camden Street as revellers head out to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Meanwhile in Galway, the Quays is expected to be the destination of choice, and in Cork, Oliver Plunkett Street is expected to see a significant influx of passengers to the area.

The Irish 'Gift of the Gab' is also alive and well in taxis, according to recent research from FREENOW. Ireland has been crowned the chattiest country in Europe, with 56% of passengers saying they always chat to their taxi driver, and 70% of those enjoying the experience. Across Europe, passengers in the UK were second chattiest at 46%, followed closely by Germans in third with 45%.

When it comes to cabbie conversations, it’s perhaps no surprise that the Irish speak about the weather more than any other European nation, with 45% unable to resist discussing the topic, come rain or shine. That’s compared to 37% of Brits, a quarter of Italians (24%) and only 19% of Greeks who regularly discuss the weather with their taxi driver. Other popular topics for Irish passengers include trivial small talk (50%) and traffic (35%).

Commenting on the findings, Charlie Gleeson, General Manager FREENOW Ireland said:

“With the scheduled St. Patrick’s festivities, as well as the highly anticipated Ireland vs Scotland match on Saturday, and expected influx of tourists, we are anticipating one of the busiest weekends on the FREENOW app this year. We are committing over €1.25 million in bonuses for drivers this coming weekend to reward and incentivise those who work during peak times this weekend.

Research also clearly shows that both our driver partners and passengers enjoy the chats, which will undoubtedly create a memorable journey for passengers, embodying the true spirit of St. Patrick's Day!”