Following the easing of almost all Covid-19 restrictions on Saturday, the number of taxi trips taken over the weekend recorded a year-on-year increase of 250 per cent.
According to Free Now, Saturday was the busiest day in January on record for the company, weekend’ with a 60 per cent uplift in ride-hailing requests compared to the previous weekend.
Cork experienced the largest increase in service demand. Requests for taxis almost doubling compared to the previous weekend, as the county also recorded the latest nights with 2am being the most popular time to hail a taxi.
City centres proved to be the most popular drop-off locations, with Dublin, Limerick and Galway ranking just behind Cork.
On Sunday, 1am was the most popular time to hail a taxi, with six requests being made per second, according to Free Now.
The company expects bookings to continue to increase as the week goes on.
Niall Carson, general manager of Free Now said: “The past 20 months of the pandemic and national restrictions have weighed heavily on every aspect of life in Ireland - but it is uplifting to see the country opening back up again and regaining a sense of normality.
“Free Now and our driver partners are committed to keeping the nation moving with flexible transport in the coming weeks and months as they get from A to B - whether it’s their workplace, local pubs and restaurants or various other destinations that we will be returning to in 2022.”
