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20 Jul, 2017

2017 Taxi Price Index released – Travellers guide for taxi costs around the world

London, United Kingdom, 13 July 2017, Carspring News — Online used car dealership Carspring have produced a study revealing the price of taxi use in 80 cities around the world. With their interests in all things automotive, the online dealer looked to bring transparency to the public regarding taxi costs, particularly for those who may be travelling abroad this summer.

Included in the study are the prices of a 3km inner city taxi ride, a journey between the airport and the city centre, and the cost of one hour’s waiting time. To help those with real nerves about taxis altogether, the study also provides information on which models of car are most popular in each city, and if an alternative such as Uber is available in each location.

“Nothing beats the relief of hopping into a comfortable taxi after a long day of sightseeing in a new city,” says Maximilian Vollenbroich, Co-founder of Carspring. “But in some cities, this simply isn’t affordable, and in other places, tourists are at risk of being overcharged. We hope our research helps travellers prepare for safe, fun, and budget-friendly travel in whatever ride best suits them.”

To find out the cost of the initial hire, the cost per kilometre, the cost per additional kilometre and waiting time prices, data provided by the official website of each city was used, when available, as in some cases city governments regulate these prices. Official airport sites and tourist information web pages provided information on the cost of a journey between the international airport and city centre.

To account for the difference in price depending on the time of day, length of trip, number of passengers and the model of car, the average metered price of the different combinations was chosen. Multiple taxi companies per city were contacted regarding the most popular vehicle type amongst drivers.

In order to rank the cities, the price of a standard 3km taxi fare was calculated by taking into account the Initial Hire, the Cost per km and one minute of Waiting time.

Bangkok, Thailand placed in position 7 out of 80 cities (80 being most expensive), with a cost of US$1.64 for a 3km ride. Information and a breakdown of the costs for Bangkok can be seen below:

The five least expensive cities worldwide (based on a 3km/standard fare ride) are as follows:

The five most expensive cities worldwide for taxis are as follows:

Further Insights:

    • Of the 80 cities included, Uber was available in 65 of them.

    • A taxi from Tokyo-Narita International Airport to Tokyo City Centre was the most expensive airport-city ride at $189.91.

    • A taxi from Cairo International Airport to the city centre costs just $4.20, the least expensive airport-city ride in the Index.

    • Zurich, Switzerland has the highest initial fee of any city worldwide, costing $8.30 just to get into a taxi.

    • Tunis, Tunisia has the least expensive initial fee at 19 cents.

    • Asking a taxi to wait for one hour in Zurich costs $82.96, the most expensive waiting time cost in the Index.

    • In Bangalore, India a taxi will wait for one hour for just 97 cents, the least expensive waiting time cost in the Index.

    • Zurich has the highest price per kilometre of travel at $5.19.

    • Cairo has the lowest price per kilometre of travel at 10 cents.

Full results for all 80 cities can be found on the results page here: https://www.carspring.co.uk/taxi-price-index-usd/