Well, frankly, deregulation isn’t the answer to everything. Sweden completely deregulated the taxi business in 1990. While this meant that the number of available taxis went up, it also had the effect that some small (typically one-driver) taxi companies have enormously inflated prices. It is not unheard of for people taking a taxi from Arlanda airport to central Stockholm to pay 10 times (or even more) the “normal” fare (which is about €60 for a 40 km trip).
But surely the answer to this problem (which is shared among many major airports in large cities) is not the complete regulation of the entire taxi business in the country.
Personally, I don’t care – when I travel to a large city unknown to me, I make sure I know what to expect. If I know locals, I’ll ask them. If not, I’ll find out on wikitravel what to look out for (take the pink cabs in Belgrade, get a prepaid taxi in Mumbai, NY, …, etc). It’s also easy to find out what the fare should be approximately. If people still get fooled, it really is their own fault, isn’t it?
But if a city is worried about their reputation and wants to fix the problem for travelers, you can easily do that by mandating fixed prices for rides from the airport or by only allowing taxis with an “Airport Driver” certification (Düsseldorf introduced that some time ago and that has notably improved the quality of the available taxis).
But if a city is worried about their reputation and wants to fix the problem for travelers, you can easily do that by mandating fixed prices for rides from the airport
..which would mean re-regulation, if only partial.
or by only allowing taxis with an “Airport Driver” certification (Düsseldorf introduced that some time ago and that has notably improved the quality of the available taxis).
That’s not legal in Sweden — although the airports (and major railway stations as well) try to get around it by having separate lanes for the “good” and the “bad” companies.
We have just had a weekend in Paris (the EuroGA fly-in) and I am a total convert to Uber.
It is a fantastic facility. Well implemented and half the price (or less) of taxis. Other advantages include online payment so no need to carry any means of payment.
It is about 2x the price of the Paris metro / train system.
The drivers were all polite which one cannot always say about taxi drivers – but then the Uber driver needs to get good feedback 
I can confirm that specifically for Paris. Tried a taxi to get to the hotel next to Toussus-le-Noble LFPN last year. I think when it arrived it already had 20 € on the counter, and it was around a 35 € total. Mind you, according to Google Maps it’s a 5.5 km ride! On the way back, I used Uber and paid 18 € which is still steep for a weekday. But especially with this silly rule in France where they make you pay their way to pick you up, I really think it’s their own fault if they lose business as soon as there are alternatives.
Sometimes, the apparently closest hotel isn’t the best to reach. So last week I booked the hotel in Versailles and used Uber to get from LFPN to Versailles and back. 13,42 € on the way out and 12,66 € on the way back. Worked like a charm.
In the US, it works even better, though I found the quality of the drivers more mixed. And one drawback is that you can’t really plan on using them if you really need them – if there’s no driver available, then it’s tough luck (though in some US cities, you can now pre-order Ubers for a specific ride). I had wanted to use Uber to get from the airport to my hotel in Poznan and back when I was there three weeks ago, but no cars available. But taxis are actually almost at Uber-prices in Poland, the 15 minute ride cost me 5 €.
I have been a loyal Uber user since the very beginning. The service everywhere has been exemplary (Amsterdam, Paris, Lisbon, Bordeaux, Sydney, Wellington, Melbourne, Singapore, Hong Kong…)
Taxis in France are and always have been a huge rip-off.
The high prices come from the extortionate social security contributions that self -employed taxi drivers have to pay. Vast sums every month whether they have earned money or not. And this is the main issue in France: the dinosaur institutions are simply incompatible with new business models, and rather than encouraging innovation, they fall over themselves trying to respond to riots and complaints from established businesses.
In most cities, there are only a certain number of taxi licences, and the only way to get one is to buy it from somebody who is retiring. In Paris you can stump up anything up to 100 grand for a licence which you then sell at the end of your career to pay for your retirement.
Recently, the government has decided to create a new “fond de garantie” to compensate drivers for the falling value of their licences due to the rise of the “VTC” (equivalent to private hire in the UK). And how are they going to fund this? Through a tax on all drivers, whether they have this kind of licence or not!
The problem with this, or course, is that the licences themselves are free, and it is the taxi drivers who created their own racket… so people are essentially being taxed to fund a private arrangement!
When Uber arrived in Bordeaux, it was a huge hit. They started with “UberPop” which was essentially a system whereby anybody could install the app and start driving people around in their own car. No tax, no social security, so of course it cost a lot less than ordinary taxis (almost half the price). At one time, Bordeaux had more than 100 of the Pop drivers. I used it very often.
Then came the “vigilante” period, when normal taxi drivers (who had no more passengers) started chasing UberPop drivers around Bordeaux and telling their passengers to get out, vandalising their cars, etc.
Eventually, after huge riots, Uber decided to shut down UberPop.
What remains, UberX (and various other versions of the service), is still cheaper than normal taxis, and as has been stated before, the drivers are very service oriented because they care about the feedback they get : Would you like some water? What music would you like? Feel free to charge your phone……all the things your average cab driver just cant be arsed to do.
I still point blank refuse to pay for an ordinary taxi anywhere in France unless there is no other choice, and Uber still wins hands down in my opinion.
Eventually, after huge riots, Uber decided to shut down UberPop.
Someone told me that France banned UberPop via some legal device. I know no more…
This morning we paid €16 for Uber from the apartment in Paris to to Eurostar station. That was 2x the cost of the Metro and 1/3 the cost of a normal taxi which would have been about €50. That was UberX which is required for more than 2 people.
What is curious is why Uber is not available in so many places – for example Brighton. It seems to be a purely online thing so could be anywhere.
Peter wrote:
What is curious is why Uber is not available in so many places – for example Brighton. It seems to be a purely online thing so could be anywhere.
I think they concentrate on major cities during the roll-out. Here is a list where they operate as of now.
Agree with all that has been said about French cab drivers – the vilest lot on the planet. I’d rather pay more for an Uber than ever use a Parisian taxi again.
Peter wrote:
Someone told me that France banned UberPop via some legal device.
I think that was Germany.
I believe Hungary has banned Uber via legislation.
As someone who has to routinely pay 20€ for a 5 minute taxi ride in Germany I long for Uber – sadly it is not allowed there.
Have used it multiple times at other places – worked great. The drivers in the UK are however not treated well by Uber bit they still did a great job and were very friendly!
LFPN → Paris with taxi – 70€
Paris → LFPN with Uber 28€
We have Uber in Croatia but the difference is no so huge – it’s usually 20% cheaper than taxi.
I had similar experience in Krakow – Uber was half of taxi price.
