With restrictions easing across the country over the Bank Holiday weekend, it seems that many took advantage of the later closing times according to new data released today by Ireland’s leading multi-mobility app.
Ride-hailing requests on the app increased by 22% compared to the previous weekend with a surge in late-night bookings due to nightclubs reopening. 2.00 am was the busiest time to request a trip over the weekend with 200 requests per minute.
As restrictions have gradually eased over the summer months and into autumn, the busiest time for trip requests at the weekend is extending later into the evening. The most popular time for passengers now looking to hail their trips home has shifted from a 23.40 pm average to 00.30 am in October.
We saw the queue for Coppers reopening go viral on social media over the weekend so it’s perhaps no surprise that in all the major cities across Ireland, city centre destinations where popular night clubs are located were the most requested drop-off points indicating that many were eager to hit the dancefloor once again.
Niall Carson, General Manager FREE NOW Ireland commented,
“Taxi drivers play a key role in the late-night hospitality industry and FREE NOW was delighted to see such strong support for pubs and clubs on the reopening weekend.
Like the hospitality industry, the transport sector and specifically taxi drivers have been impacted significantly by the Covid-19 pandemic so it’s a hugely positive sign that trips are up 22% during the first weekend of reopening and we are hopeful that this will continue as we head into the busy festive season.”
