General Industry

Free Now Predicts Busy St Patrick's Weekend

By Dave Simpson
Free Now Predicts Busy St Patrick's Weekend

Taxi app Free Now is predicting that St Patrick's weekend will be its busiest period of the year to date, and has announced a €1.5 million St Patrick's weekend fund for its driver partners.

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The fund aims to reward and incentivise drivers who work during peak times - helping to service the high demand for public transport over the upcoming St Patrick's weekend.

With the scheduled St Patrick's festivities, as well as the Ireland vs England match on Saturday 18 March, Free Now predicts that the period between 17 and 18 March will be the busiest of the year to date, with a predicted 30% year on year increase over the three day weekend.

Free Now predicts that 1am on Saturday the 18 March will be the busiest hour to book a taxi, with up to 30,000 requests an hour and eights requests per second expected. As parades will close off much of the city centre on 17 March, FREENOW expects to see significant demand from the suburbs during the day, with key drop-off points around Merrion Square and other city centre hot spots.

Approximately 432,000 passengers are expected to pass through Dublin Airport over the coming St Patrick's Day weekend, and Free Now will be supporting many of these tourists travelling to Ireland, with an anticipated 73% uplift compared to the same period last year.

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Statement By General Manager Of Free Now Ireland

Niall Carson, general manager of Free Now Ireland, said, "St Patrick's weekend is yet another period where taxi drivers in Ireland rise to the challenge and keep the country moving, that is why we are committing over €1.5 million in bonuses for drivers this coming week for one of our busiest weekends of the year.

"Where possible we would advise passengers to book their journeys in advance using our Reserve booking option to avoid delays."

Read More: St Patrick's Weekend To Bring Bumper Trading For Hospitality

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