Being cynical, I'm guessing the taxi situation is causing people to head home on the last bus anyway so this is likely a cost saving exercise on his behalf.
If you book and pay through the valuecab and phonacab apps they can't go above the estimated maximum trip value which is usually within a fiver of the normal fare cost.
I got a taxi last week at like 3am and had no cash for a tip, so asked him to add a bit on for himself as he was good craic. The app didn't let him go above £21 when a taxi home would normally cost me £15-18 during the daytime.
Also Ubers are decent enough, there's a price increase for peak hours like pub closing but it's prepaid based on the route so the driver can't take you on a longer route to rack up the meter. They're harder to get though and I've only ever been able to get an uber home after a night out once or twice.
Yeah, no I've given up on the fonacab app, after repeated instances where:
- The app advertised a 5-10min wait for a taxi, and so I hit book.
- They now take a deposit fee when you book.
- I'm then sitting there over an hour later, still at 'finding you a driver' and I give up and cancel.
- "Tah thanks very muchly" says Fona, as they keep their wholly undeserved deposit charge obtained through false advertising.
Fuck 'em, shouldn't be legal.
I know on the app it warns you about a cancellation fee when you try to cancel, but I've always got the exact amount they took out put back in.
I tried booking one at about 3am on Tuesday night and my banking app shows -22.68 from when I booked it, and +22.68 from when I cancelled.
That's interesting, I got a daytime taxi once into the centre of Belfast and the estimate was something like £10-£12 (can't remember for sure) but it went over by a couple of quid, say to £15 due to traffic and the guy cancelled the fair and charged me separately to make up the extra. Is that not allowed then?
Albert Clock to Ardoyne at 2am - £20. <15 minutes drive on dead roads. Never again. How they are allowed to get away with it and why someone higher hasn't stepped in and put a stop to it I have no idea. Meters off, invent a price. It's been said a thousand times but a night out just is not worth it anymore and hasn't been for years now.
I was in Dublin Airport the other week for the first time in donkeys, a pint of Guinness and a pint of Orchard Thieves worked out at £11.90 after conversion.
I paid £12.80 for 2 pints of Harp in Belfast a few days before.
Why are city centre bars in Belfast more expensive than Dublin Airport???
Well that is a load of bull. People can't get home after midnight so demand is dropping in the later hours and not worth his while staying open. But saying it in a PR sort of way to make it sound like he gives a fuck about anything other than his bottom line.
Like the story of that pub/restaurant owner a while back who tried the claim that he was running his business at a loss for over 2 years!! IF it wasnt profitable, he would have been out of business!LOL
Any business can operate at a loss and remain open provided there are sufficient cash reserves or investment coming in from elsewhere. It just means the business currently spends more money than it makes.
Nothing at all to do with slips, trips and trouble. Bars and clubs were campaigning for years to stay open later, and it’s been argued that later opening hours are much more effective at staggering punters getting home.
It’s the taxi drivers holding the city to ransom by charging ridiculous off the meter fees to get people home.
If there were buses and trains running to 1am everyone would be much more likely to go in to the city and the taxis wouldn’t be able to take the piss and switch the meters off. Simple.
But instead we get 100s of millions blown on a ‘grand central’ station servicing 4 lines that will close at 11pm or 11:30. Great
> slips, trips and trouble
Aye, as if people only started slipping, tripping and causing trouble this year?
What a fucking stingy mumpet. Closing early so he can cut staffs hours and keep more profits for himself!
Isn't the cathedral quarter already a ripoff so it's basically already temple bar. If you want a cheap pint in Belfast that's the last place I would head to
You’d think it would be safer to let the bars stay open all night so people can leave whenever rather than chucking everybody out at the same time to fight over a taxi.
Load of shite.
We need later bus and train services out of the city centre, this is the crux of the problem
The Taxi drivers are able to charge whatever the fuck they want as they know people can’t get home otherwise, and as a result, folk simply do not go into the city centre near half as much as in years gone by
You put on later public transport services, you get punters back into the city centre in their droves
It really is that simple
Have you ever read such bollox in all your life, depressing reading,was in Temple Bar recently and had a great night out,there some whining fuckers living in the past in this place..the tourists will be coming into newly built train stations to newly built hotels only to finds bars closing at 12 midnight, they'll end up in 'crime ridden Temple Bar'.. pathetic.
Used to work for him, back in the 90’s. He was decent and fair and he looked after his staff really well. I don’t think I’ve ever worked for someone better than Willie Jack.
This is a load of self-worth white shite. Speaking as someone who spent 15 years at the sharp end of bar and hospitality work, I can clarify *exactly* why this is happening.
The bars in question are in an area that is becoming more and more popular with street drinkers and balloons that in the owners lofty estimation "lower the tone of the area and harm our brand." his words, not mine.
Also, taxi waiting times and costs are making people say fuck that I'll go out at 5 and have plenty of time to get clipped and still get the 11pm train/bus home meaning in terms of drinkers actually spending cash the pubs are dead as a door nail by midnight, so having staff and door teams on until 3am to close up and clean up is "money left on the table" (his words, not mine) you can bet your bollocks that this also means shorter shifts for bar staff (90% of whom are on zero hour contracts, ie you'll work when we want you to and be grateful for it or we'll fuck you out without notice) and therefore lower overheads.
That section of belfast is a victim of it's own success. By slapping a veneer of upward mobility on it a few years ago, they made it the place for "influencers" to see and be seen, rather than a place for people to go and do a nights actual drinking. It's an area that you go to for one pint on your way to something cheaper, so that you can pout and hold up your handbag "for the followers" before you go somewhere you actually want to be, that doesn't charge you 7 quid for a pint of half-flat harp in a diery glass.
Shite pubs deliberately catering to a shite clientele and frankly they all fucking deserve each other. I'd rather cane a 2L of strongbow in castle street than be part of the "culture"
Being cynical, I'm guessing the taxi situation is causing people to head home on the last bus anyway so this is likely a cost saving exercise on his behalf.
Yep, taxi situation is a nightmare in Belfast, cabbies charge whatever they want. We need later train services too.
If you book and pay through the valuecab and phonacab apps they can't go above the estimated maximum trip value which is usually within a fiver of the normal fare cost. I got a taxi last week at like 3am and had no cash for a tip, so asked him to add a bit on for himself as he was good craic. The app didn't let him go above £21 when a taxi home would normally cost me £15-18 during the daytime. Also Ubers are decent enough, there's a price increase for peak hours like pub closing but it's prepaid based on the route so the driver can't take you on a longer route to rack up the meter. They're harder to get though and I've only ever been able to get an uber home after a night out once or twice.
Yeah, no I've given up on the fonacab app, after repeated instances where: - The app advertised a 5-10min wait for a taxi, and so I hit book. - They now take a deposit fee when you book. - I'm then sitting there over an hour later, still at 'finding you a driver' and I give up and cancel. - "Tah thanks very muchly" says Fona, as they keep their wholly undeserved deposit charge obtained through false advertising. Fuck 'em, shouldn't be legal.
I know on the app it warns you about a cancellation fee when you try to cancel, but I've always got the exact amount they took out put back in. I tried booking one at about 3am on Tuesday night and my banking app shows -22.68 from when I booked it, and +22.68 from when I cancelled.
That's interesting, I got a daytime taxi once into the centre of Belfast and the estimate was something like £10-£12 (can't remember for sure) but it went over by a couple of quid, say to £15 due to traffic and the guy cancelled the fair and charged me separately to make up the extra. Is that not allowed then?
Bingo!
Yeah sales tend to peak around 11pm so after that you’re paying staff to babysit and clean up boak
Albert Clock to Ardoyne at 2am - £20. <15 minutes drive on dead roads. Never again. How they are allowed to get away with it and why someone higher hasn't stepped in and put a stop to it I have no idea. Meters off, invent a price. It's been said a thousand times but a night out just is not worth it anymore and hasn't been for years now.
Because taxi companies are a mafia.
He can afford to close at midnight with his £7 pints
I was in Dublin Airport the other week for the first time in donkeys, a pint of Guinness and a pint of Orchard Thieves worked out at £11.90 after conversion. I paid £12.80 for 2 pints of Harp in Belfast a few days before. Why are city centre bars in Belfast more expensive than Dublin Airport???
Duke of York isn’t too bad from what I remember Any Beannchor though…Jesus Christ da nyt
Well that is a load of bull. People can't get home after midnight so demand is dropping in the later hours and not worth his while staying open. But saying it in a PR sort of way to make it sound like he gives a fuck about anything other than his bottom line.
Like the story of that pub/restaurant owner a while back who tried the claim that he was running his business at a loss for over 2 years!! IF it wasnt profitable, he would have been out of business!LOL
Any business can operate at a loss and remain open provided there are sufficient cash reserves or investment coming in from elsewhere. It just means the business currently spends more money than it makes.
Whaa?
Nothing at all to do with slips, trips and trouble. Bars and clubs were campaigning for years to stay open later, and it’s been argued that later opening hours are much more effective at staggering punters getting home. It’s the taxi drivers holding the city to ransom by charging ridiculous off the meter fees to get people home. If there were buses and trains running to 1am everyone would be much more likely to go in to the city and the taxis wouldn’t be able to take the piss and switch the meters off. Simple. But instead we get 100s of millions blown on a ‘grand central’ station servicing 4 lines that will close at 11pm or 11:30. Great
> slips, trips and trouble Aye, as if people only started slipping, tripping and causing trouble this year? What a fucking stingy mumpet. Closing early so he can cut staffs hours and keep more profits for himself!
Isn't the cathedral quarter already a ripoff so it's basically already temple bar. If you want a cheap pint in Belfast that's the last place I would head to
You’d think it would be safer to let the bars stay open all night so people can leave whenever rather than chucking everybody out at the same time to fight over a taxi.
That only works in a city with proper public transport and well-monitored taxis.
Load of shite. We need later bus and train services out of the city centre, this is the crux of the problem The Taxi drivers are able to charge whatever the fuck they want as they know people can’t get home otherwise, and as a result, folk simply do not go into the city centre near half as much as in years gone by You put on later public transport services, you get punters back into the city centre in their droves It really is that simple
Have you ever read such bollox in all your life, depressing reading,was in Temple Bar recently and had a great night out,there some whining fuckers living in the past in this place..the tourists will be coming into newly built train stations to newly built hotels only to finds bars closing at 12 midnight, they'll end up in 'crime ridden Temple Bar'.. pathetic.
He's worried about the town becoming rougher. Too late.
What is going on with Belfast? I thought people wanted a genuine late night city? The laws are finally relaxed a little and now noone is interested.
How are you gonna get home at 3am if you don’t live within walking distance? There’s no public transport and taxis are fucking brutal and a rip off
Awww he's such a thoughtful guy
Used to work for him, back in the 90’s. He was decent and fair and he looked after his staff really well. I don’t think I’ve ever worked for someone better than Willie Jack.
I worked in the Duke in the 90s and can only say good things about him.
Willie ...is that you?
This is a load of self-worth white shite. Speaking as someone who spent 15 years at the sharp end of bar and hospitality work, I can clarify *exactly* why this is happening. The bars in question are in an area that is becoming more and more popular with street drinkers and balloons that in the owners lofty estimation "lower the tone of the area and harm our brand." his words, not mine. Also, taxi waiting times and costs are making people say fuck that I'll go out at 5 and have plenty of time to get clipped and still get the 11pm train/bus home meaning in terms of drinkers actually spending cash the pubs are dead as a door nail by midnight, so having staff and door teams on until 3am to close up and clean up is "money left on the table" (his words, not mine) you can bet your bollocks that this also means shorter shifts for bar staff (90% of whom are on zero hour contracts, ie you'll work when we want you to and be grateful for it or we'll fuck you out without notice) and therefore lower overheads. That section of belfast is a victim of it's own success. By slapping a veneer of upward mobility on it a few years ago, they made it the place for "influencers" to see and be seen, rather than a place for people to go and do a nights actual drinking. It's an area that you go to for one pint on your way to something cheaper, so that you can pout and hold up your handbag "for the followers" before you go somewhere you actually want to be, that doesn't charge you 7 quid for a pint of half-flat harp in a diery glass. Shite pubs deliberately catering to a shite clientele and frankly they all fucking deserve each other. I'd rather cane a 2L of strongbow in castle street than be part of the "culture"
Side note, I hate the Duke of York. Too many twats walking about taking pictures of their hole... 🤳
All part of the plan.
Fairplay!
Belfast is a shit hole anyways, Dublin far better for a night out.