Taxi customers in Hesse will often have to dig deeper into their pockets in the future. Many municipalities adjust the tariffs because of the sharp price increases and the increase in the minimum wage in October.
Frankfurt/Kassel (dpa/lhe) – The taxi industry is groaning under the higher minimum wage and increased energy prices. In Hesse, the tariffs are therefore being increased in many places. Above all, the increased minimum wage is a burden on companies, said Hans-Peter Kratz, chairman of the Hesse Taxi Association. The gross minimum wage was raised to €12 an hour in October. At a good 70 percent, personnel costs are the biggest factor for taxi companies, explained Kratz. “We would like to pay more, but we have to get it back,” he said.
This is not always the case, especially with companies in the cities. After the pandemic-related slump in business, the situation there recovered a little. But with the current price increases, it remains tight. “The vehicle prices, which have skyrocketed since the spring, are also a huge problem, explained Kratz. An entrepreneur now pays about 30 percent more for a car. In this situation, the increased fuel prices are “just the icing on the cake”. Most companies are happy if they have one “red zero” wrote. “Some are also in the red.”
Against the background of this mixed situation, the taxi tariff in Frankfurt is now being adjusted. As the city announced, the basic price in the approximately 1700 taxis should rise from 3.50 euros to 4 euros. The journey price will also be more expensive – it will be raised from 2 euros for a journey of up to 15 kilometers or 1.75 euros from the 16th kilometer to 2.40 euros per kilometer driven. In future, those who make the taxi driver wait will also have to dig deeper into their pockets. 38 euros per hour should be due instead of the previous 33 euros.
The city is thus “ensuring the maintenance of profitability in the Frankfurt taxi trade” and thus securing the existence of the drivers employed there, it said. The prices were last increased in November 2015.
In Darmstadt, the prices had already been increased at the end of August, as a spokesman announced. Here the basic price is now 4 euros instead of 3.50 euros per trip. The fare per kilometer is now 2.20 euros and has therefore increased by 20 cents. The waiting time per hour is also more expensive: it now costs 36 euros instead of 33 euros.
Wiesbaden already adjusted the taxi tariff at the beginning of August. According to the city, the basic price there is now EUR 3.90 during the day instead of EUR 2.90 and in the evening EUR 4.90 instead of EUR 3.90. Among other things, the kilometer price and the fee for waiting times were also increased. According to the city, there was a tariff adjustment in 2015.
Higher prices have recently applied in Offenbach. The tariff had been increased at the request of both Offenbach taxi companies, the city said. The basic price there is now 5 euros instead of 4.50 euros. The fare per kilometer has also increased, from 1.85 euros to 2.20 euros during the day and 1.95 euros to 2.30 euros in the evening.
According to the city, several applications from concessionaires and the tax cooperative for an adjustment of the tariffs have been received in Hanau. The basic fee there has been 3 euros since the last increase in 2013 and the price per kilometer is 1.80 euros. According to the information, among other things, an increase in the basic fee to 4 euros is planned. The kilometer price should rise to 2.30 euros.
In Gießen, an adjustment of the taxi prices is currently being examined. “The application for an increase was received by the Gießen regulatory office at the end of October 2022 and is currently being processed,” said a spokeswoman. Details could not be communicated at this time. In the town in central Hesse, the basic price, which has not changed since December 2001, is 3 euros. The fare is EUR 1.80 per kilometer for the first ten kilometers and EUR 1.70 for each kilometer beyond that.
In Kassel, the basic fee has been 4 euros since September last year, and the price per kilometer is 2.10 euros. “Following the increase last year, the city of Kassel is currently not planning any adjustments. The taxi industry has not yet made any demands for a renewed increase in tariffs,” said a spokesman.
For Kratz, the current adjustments are just “catching up on the omissions of the past six or seven years”. “We should actually be making new applications now. However, there is of course a load limit for consumers,” he said. In the cities in particular, it is noticeable that people are currently more economical and, for example, eat less. “That hits us hard. People’s fear is causing our evening and nighttime business to collapse,” says Kratz.
Unfortunately, unlike local transport, the taxi industry is not subsidized. “The companies have to generate everything from their own resources,” said Kratz. “It is often hidden that the drivers also have to shop and take care of themselves. They live from their work, but more poorly than right.”