Economy
Taxi fares to be raised sharply in Budapest as of July
As of July, the HUF 450 base fare will be raised to HUF 700, the fare per kilometre will go up to HUF 300 from HUF 280 currently and HUF 75 will be charged for every minute spent waiting instead of the current HUF 70.
Deputy Mayor Balázs Szeneczey said there had been regular negotiations between the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BKIK), passenger transport companies and taxi representative bodies over the last six months, and the consensus reached is accepted by a vast majority of the taxi drivers.
He stressed that taxi fares in the capital city have been unchanged since 2013 and that the raise approved is less dramatic than what the cabbies were proposing.
József Sipeki, a representative of BKIK, said it is increasingly difficult to hail a cab in Budapest, which indicates that it is not worth it to start a career as a cab driver for the profitability of this business is shrinking. Sipeki said that on the whole - despite the negative press the hike was given - the 10% fare hike (compared to the average ride) should be viewed as acceptable.
According to hvg.hu, Mayor István Tarlós said before the vote that if taxi fares are overly high, people will stop riding in cabs and will use public transport instead.
Let’s see what this “10% fare hike" will consist of:
You don’t need to be Albert Einstein to see that the three items above do not add up to a 10% hike. The actual fare increase is more than 23%. Those hailing a cab for short trips would be the worst off, as a result. But let’s see a few concrete examples!
Deputy Mayor Balázs Szeneczey said there had been regular negotiations between the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BKIK), passenger transport companies and taxi representative bodies over the last six months, and the consensus reached is accepted by a vast majority of the taxi drivers.
He stressed that taxi fares in the capital city have been unchanged since 2013 and that the raise approved is less dramatic than what the cabbies were proposing.
József Sipeki, a representative of BKIK, said it is increasingly difficult to hail a cab in Budapest, which indicates that it is not worth it to start a career as a cab driver for the profitability of this business is shrinking. Sipeki said that on the whole - despite the negative press the hike was given - the 10% fare hike (compared to the average ride) should be viewed as acceptable.
According to hvg.hu, Mayor István Tarlós said before the vote that if taxi fares are overly high, people will stop riding in cabs and will use public transport instead.
Let’s see what this “10% fare hike" will consist of:
- The fare per kilometre is to be raised to HUF 300 from the current HUF 280, which corresponds to a 7.1% hike.
- The fare per minute would be raised to HUF 75 from HUF 70, also by 7.1%.
- The base fare is to be HUF 700 instead of HUF 450 currently, which marks a 55.6% (!) raise.
You don’t need to be Albert Einstein to see that the three items above do not add up to a 10% hike. The actual fare increase is more than 23%. Those hailing a cab for short trips would be the worst off, as a result. But let’s see a few concrete examples!
- If you get a cab for a two-kilometre trip which takes five minutes, you pay HUF 1,360 now. After the hike, it will cost you HUF 1,675, which would equal a 23.2% increase.
- Let’s say a five-kilometre trip takes ten minutes. The current fare of HUF 2,550 would go up to HUF 2,950, a 15.7% increase.
- A 10-km trip taking 20 minutes would cost HUF 5,200 if the proposals are approved versus HUF 4,650 currently, which would correspond to an 11.8% increase.
