New figures released by the National Transport Authority (NTA) show the number of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued against drivers last year totalled 1,600, resulting in cumulative financial fines of €76,930 on drivers.
The notices ranged in penalties from €40 to €250.
In response to a Freedom of Information request, the NTA confirmed that the number of complaints made by customers concerning taxis increased by 5.5% to 1,383 last year.
Of the 1,383 complaints last year by customers, overcharging complaints totalled 529 while complaints over driver conduct totalled 496.
The number of complaints concerning the condition of taxis totalled 78.
One taxi driver was fined last year by the NTA after a passenger complained that the taxi smelled of "urine". The driver was issued with a FPN over the failure to comply with vehicle standards.
In another driver behaviour case, a customer complained in December that a taxi driver told the passenger not to talk to him as "he had a long night" and "to leave him alone". The NTA issued the driver with a caution.
Last August, the NTA fined a taxi driver after upholding a complaint by a passenger after the taxi driver refused to allow a passenger bring a guide dog into the taxi.
That same month another passenger complained that "the interior of the vehicle was filthy, heavy staining on all seating with hairs and loose fibres all over the interior".
In September, a passenger flagged down a taxi in a town centre and stated that the smell in the taxi was rotten "and he had to travel with the windows open".
The passenger told the driver of the smell in the car and the driver "did not welcome any advice about the smell". He was later issued with a caution by the NTA.
In November, a passenger complained that a taxi driver refused to take the fare because he did not want to take his cello in the taxi.
The passenger stated that he had a flight to catch and that his cello fits in all cars and has not been damaged in 25 years.
Concerning another complaint in November, a passenger stated that a taxi "smelled of stale cigarettes and alcohol", while another one complained that a vehicle smelled of cigarette smoke, the seats were dirty and carpet ripped in places.
