Free Now has introduced a new "technology fee" for people who use the taxi app.
The move has caused outrage online, but the company has defended itself by insisting it's necessary to improve the quality of the service.
It comes amid a severe shortage of taxis in Dublin and across the country in 2022 so far.
In an email to customers, the company said it was updating it's terms and conditions for passengers: "To allow for the introduction of new mobility services such as eBikes and eScooters, provided by our mobility partners through the Free Now app.
"A technology fee of €1 will apply to all taxi trips booked and successfully completed via the Free Now app."
The company added: "These updates will allow us to continue to invest in improving Free Now’s technology and app quality."
But the move has been heavily criticised, as there is already a €2 booking fee in place, as well as a controversial fee of €5 if you cancel on a driver, but nothing if a driver cancels on you.
One user slammed them , writing: "The neck of Free Now adding €1 fee to all bookings ON TOP of the 15% they take from drivers and just as fare increases are about to land in Sept."
"FreeNow thinks they have a monopoly now" mused a second.
On Saturday, June 11, the app received a whopping 17,000 requests between midnight and 1am.
Last month, Niall Carson, General Manager of FREE NOW Ireland told the Irish Mirror: “Since the start of the pandemic we have added an additional 1,000 driver partners to our existing fleet, with over 14,000 drivers now registered with the Free Now mobility app.
“Although our overall driver fleet has grown, the active driver base has been affected and has only recently returned to 2019 levels of approximately 10,000 active drivers per month.
“These active drivers are now completing more trips than pre-pandemic and are servicing around 35% more taxi journeys than they provided prior to 2020.
“Despite our active driver numbers returning to pre-pandemic levels in recent months, we have experienced exponential growth in passenger demand particularly at peak times since the start of 2022.”
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