Taxi twice as expensive as Uber: Frankfurt plans minimum prices

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When you call an Uber in Frankfurt soon, the fare might surprise you – and that's upward. The city is planning minimum prices for rental-car ride services like Uber and Bolt. The background is a price difference many passengers know: A taxi ride in Frankfurt costs roughly twice as much as the same route with Uber, according to the Frankfurter Rundschau.

The legal opinion is in – with open questions

The city of Frankfurt commissioned a legal opinion to review minimum prices for ride services like Uber and Bolt. According to the Frankfurter Rundschau, the opinion has now been submitted – but still has open points. Which specific legal questions need to be clarified and what minimum prices might ultimately be set does not emerge from the report known so far.

Why minimum prices are coming into play

Taxis in Germany are bound to a fixed tariff. Rental-car ride services like Uber or Bolt can set their prices freely – and are therefore often significantly cheaper than taxis. With a minimum price, the city of Frankfurt wants to limit exactly this price advantage: If no provider is allowed to permanently fall below a certain price threshold, taxis and rental cars should operate under similar conditions.

What this means for you as a passenger

If you regularly use Uber or Bolt in Frankfurt because it's cheaper than a taxi: your rides could become more expensive as soon as minimum prices apply. In return, the price advantage of taxis would be reduced – depending on where the minimum price ultimately lands.

As long as the legal opinion still has open points, nothing changes for you for now. Currently, you can still ride in Frankfurt at the familiar fares.

What's still missing

Before the existing legal opinion actually becomes a minimum-price rule, the open legal questions must first be clarified, according to the newspaper. When that could happen and what specific minimum prices will ultimately be set remains open.