drinks industry irelandPublican Louis Fitzgerald may have found the answer to the drink-driving problem for one of his pubs at least. He has started a taxi service at the Poitin Stil in Rathcoole, County Dublin. The taxi is permanently based at the pub and he pays the driver €12 an hour, recouping the expense through fare paying passengers. “It did well over Christmas,” he told Drinks Industry Ireland, “Although naturally, the service doesn’t cover my costs in quiet times” A lot of people are starting to put on a hackney service, he says, even though there’s quite a bit of work in it. “The Poitin Stil has a restaurant so we have to make sure customers are facilitated,” he added. The Fitzgerald Group is also putting a taxi rank in the car parks in a few of its pubs and will rent the space out to taxis. “Pub car parks are not such a significant requirement as they used to be,” he concluded.
