We know that waiting for a trip at the airport can be a bit of a guessing game. To make it a lot simpler and fairer, we have a virtual rank at Dublin and Cork Airport. It's a system designed to help you spend less time waiting and more time earning.
The virtual rank works just like a physical queue: the first driver to enter the waiting area gets the first ride offer that matches what the passenger is looking for, like an XL car or accessible vehicles.
FastPass: a shortcut to the front
FastPass is a feature that gives you priority access within the virtual rank. It’s designed to help you get your next ride offer without waiting as long as other drivers in the regular rank.
When you accept and complete a low-value trip from the airport, you'll automatically get a FastPass. This gives you priority placement in the virtual rank for the next 2 hours.
You can even 'chain' multiple FastPasses together: if you complete another eligible low-value trip while your FastPass is still active, you'll get a new one, extending your priority access for another 2 hours.
Example:
- You complete a low-value trip at 10:00 AM → You get a FastPass until 12:00 PM.
- At 11:30 PM, you complete another eligible trip → Your FastPass resets and is now valid until 13:30 PM.
How it works
- Just tap the airport icon on your Freenow app map.
- Once you enter the designated waiting area, you'll be prompted to join the 'Virtual Rank' by tapping the 'Join Queue' button.
- Stay in the waiting area (it’s outlined in grey) to get notifications for new jobs. The offers expire after 30 seconds.
Good to know
- You'll lose your spot in the rank if you leave the waiting area, lose your mobile signal, or use two phones at once.
- If you don't accept a request, you'll go to the back of the rank.
- If you accept a ride but the passenger cancels, you'll keep your first spot in the rank. The same thing happens if you have to cancel after waiting for five minutes because the passenger didn't show up.
- FastPass is only issued for eligible low-value trips. The definition of 'low-value' may change depending on your airport.
- Priority access doesn't guarantee an immediate trip, but it does significantly reduce your wait time.
- You can always see how many taxis are in the rank by tapping on the airport sign on your map. The pick-up spot in the car park remains the same.