Taxi drivers blocked roads and went on a ‘go slow’ in the centre of Dublin on the evening of 3 December 2025, in just the latest protest against Uber’s introduction of an ‘upfront’ fares policy.
In Ireland, fare prices in the taxi sector are supposed to be regulated by the National Transport Authority (NTA), which sets the taximeter maximum rate.
However, on 4 November Uber introduced a system of ‘upfront pricing’, where rates are determined algorithmically rather than according to objective metrics. With upfront fares, taxi drivers have received rates often set significantly below the taximeter rate, in effect undermining the taximeter.
The road blockages by hundreds of drivers in central Dublin and at the airport led to significant disruption, with reports of heavy traffic.
Drivers called on the Irish Government to review the fares regulation to bar dynamic pay policies, with the transport minister asking the NTA to examine the drivers’ complaints.
Uber claimed that the change was necessary to prevent “meter anxiety” for customers and that the commission it takes on each trip would still be no more than 12%.