You get into a taxi, say the address and for the next few minutes you look at the taximeter with increasing concern for your wallet, where the price climbs and climbs – until you get out and have to pay much more than you originally thought: At least this sometimes nerve-wracking experience passengers in Munich can soon save themselves. In future, you will be able to agree a fixed price with the taxi company before you set off, which also applies when traffic is slow or detours are necessary. The state capital introduces the fixed price option for taxi rides – as the first city in Germany.
The district administration committee of the city council made the corresponding decision, the city hall announced. The regulation was made together with the Bavarian Ministry of Transport and the local taxi companies. This means that taxi companies will be able to offer their customers fixed prices from September if they order their journey by phone or app. The background to the change is the competition that taxi companies have faced from rental car providers or car sharing apps, where prices fixed before the start of the journey are often already possible today.
“The new regulation was urgently needed so that the taxi industry can remain competitive,” says Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD). But if you like your taxi ride to be a bit exciting and don’t want to do without the anxious look at the taximeter, you don’t have to worry: the price can be determined in the future as before while the traffic is moving.