Taxi Driver Online

Stockholm tourists stung in taxi-fare battle


Tourists visiting Stockholm face a greater chance of being ripped off by taxi drivers than almost every other major city in the world, The Local's Geoff Mortimore discovers.

When hailing a cab in the Swedish capital, tourists should be on their guard, according to the results of a recent survey which found that visitors to Stockholm are easy prey for unscrupulous taxi drivers.

"Charging high prices is not illegal, so all we can really do is try to make tourists as aware as possible," says Peter Lindqvist, head of the Stockholm Visitors Board.

Lindqvist fears the growing problem could have serious consequences for tourism in the country, particularly in Stockholm where it appears to be worst of all, as the situation threatens to get out of hand.

The survey exposing Stockholm's taxi price problems, carried out by the Swedish Hotel and Restaurant Managers Association (SHR), warns that this growing problem could have a long term detrimental effect on Stockholm’s reputation and popularity among visitors.

Tourists are apparently being regularly targeted and tricked into paying exorbitant taxi bills, while hotel staff also claim they receive threats and abuse as the battle for prospective clients rages on their doorstep.

With reports in the press claiming that unsuspecting visitors have been charged as much as 2,000 kronor ($295), for a journey from Stockholm's Arlanda Airport to the middle of the capital, several hotels have even started their own taxi companies, to ensure their guests travel with a reputable company, supplying safe vehicles and standardized pricing.

The confusion arises because there is effectively a three-tier system in operation.

The main taxi companies in Stockholm by-and-large charge roughly the same prices for the same journey. Then, muddying the waters somewhat, there are legal private companies, who are free to charge what they like, while a third group, illegal drivers, are also vying for the same passengers.

The problem of legal, but excessive charging has steadily progressed since the deregulation of the industry in the 1990s, according to Lindqvist.

Passengers caught out have no legal recourse, because the taxi companies can, in effect, charge what they like in a free market, as long as there is a meter showing the cost.

Under current legislation, the minute a customer climbs into a taxi he or she effectively enters into an agreement with the driver and are obligated to pay, no matter how high the charge ends up.

A police control recently carried out near the ferry port Värtahamn in Stockholm, revealed the true extent of the problem. The authorities discovered that some independent drivers were charging more than 20 times the amount that the larger companies charged for the same journey.

All of which could have grave consequences for Stockholm, if it cannot shrug off a reputation for conning visitors.

“It could turn into a serious problem, because tourists are going to feel ripped off and frustrated when they realize they have paid a lot for a journey that they can see would have been half the amount if they had used another company. The fact that it is legal means it is even more irritating for them,” says Lindqvist.

Meanwhile, the taxi drivers' association is also incensed by the increasing tension caused by rogue drivers as well as high charging legal operators, and has called for a new law to fix pricing.

In a free market however, this may prove problematic.

In their defence, those smaller companies, free to charge what they like, complain that they are victimised and tarred with the same brush as illegal drivers. As a result, some claim, they are abused, threatened and have to put up with hotel staff warning their guests from taking their taxis.

These operators argue that because they cannot run in the same way as their larger rivals, who have call up operations and pre-booking possibilities, they have to, at times, charge higher rates.

Finding a solution may not be easy. There have been calls for a price capping system, but whether that in itself would help stem the rising number of rogue operators who already work outside such guidelines, is questionable.

The taxi drivers' association urges people to always check the price sticker before they jump into a taxi on the street, but any further possible measures are tricky, because of the way the law stands.

“For us, the best thing we can do is work together with those within the industry and do as much as we can to inform people of the potential dangers,” says Peter Lindqvist.

“We need to be better at warning people at airports, train stations and hotels that there is a pricing structure depending on what company is operating the service. That way, at least they can make an informed choice for themselves. Beyond that it is hard to see what more we can do.”

There are few winners in this battle, but if it is allowed to carry on too long, Stockholm as a whole may pay the highest price of all.

source: http://www.thelocal.se/40476/20120425/

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

BEFORE AND AFTER DEREGULATION
Stockholm, Sweden - 10 Years Experience
by Pepe Arninge
Taxi Driver, Journalist
as published in the February 1998 issue of Call-Sign
Journal of Dial-A-Cab, London, UK


After more than seven years of deregulation, the situation for the honest and hardworking Swedish cab driver is still the same. Trying to survive on an income level lower than the minimum standards of the Swedish social welfare law. Many drivers have suffered badly both from nervous breakdowns and heart attacks as well as personal bankruptcies and heart-rending divorces.

But why this situation. And what happened to the taxi industry to put people within it in such an unprofitable position?

Well, before 1990 there was only one major taxi company in each Swedish city. Permits, which were very tough to obtain, were issued by the City Council in each community after a thorough check of the cabby's credentials and background. One mistake, like a speeding ticket, was enough to refuse an applicant a permit to operate his or her own cab for years. And as this wasn't enough, there was also a queue to get the chance to apply for a permit - in most cases a waiting period for 12 years or more.

At the same time, these were the golden years of the Swedish and European economies. The yuppies overflowed on the streets of Stockholm and hailing a cab, which at the end of the 70's and the first years of the 80 's had been considered a bit luxurious, was something everyone did around the clock! These were great times for the Swedish cabby and most of the guys and gals made good money. Some even made small fortunes.

But times change. During the autumn of 1988 the Conservative's, together with the Liberal's, proposed a total deregulation of the Swedish taxi industry. With arguments not even close to reality, they convinced the Social Democratic leadership to vote 'yes' to the new ideas; a campaign that succeeded after an intensive lobbying period within the political parties and among their representatives.

After an energetic debate, in which one of the most positive parts to the alleviation was the Swedish Taxi Association, the resolution for a deregulation became a fact late December 1988 though without any real structure or realistic goals for the future transportation industry. The only thing one knew for certain was that, with the start on July 1st 1990 , it would be easier than ever to get a taxi at any time of the day.

UNIFORMED DRIVERS

To deregulate an industry that has been untouched for ages cannot happen in a single night. At the same time, due to the major changes within the application process, it became really easy for anyone to get hold of a taxi permit. Unfortunately, there were also those with criminal records that got hold of the sought-after windshield badge.

To Taxi Stockholm, which had had the grip of the Swedish capital's taxi industry for more than 96 years, the changes became those of the extraordinary kind. A very costly computer system, designed by Motorola and bought from Canada, totally hollowed the company's economy for years to come and the redesign of all cabs, to strengthen the taxi company's outdo or profile, was a frustrating process in which specially trained inspectors patrolled the streets to report those drivers who didn't wear the new, blue uniforms.

During the first years, there were many protests among the drivers who didn't like the new order as they thought they were being messed around. But today most of the cabbies have accepted the situation as it is. Therefore, despite the fact that most drivers are, and always will be individualists, the visitor to Sweden today can be sure of one thing - to always be met by a uniformed taxi driver.

FOOD, COCA-COLA AND TAXI FARES

Before deregulation, each cab in Sweden had the same type of taximeter and exactly the same price. The fare was set with a combined time/kilometer tariff, which made a trip in a cab anywhere in Sweden both similar and quite easy to calculate in advance. Things like fixed prices or pre-calculated fares were forbidden in law and each trip went strictly on the meter.

Therefore the night between June 30th and July 1st 1990 became more than a new way of thinking for tens of thousands of taxi drivers. Suddenly, there wasn't just one single cab company in Stockholm, there were 21. Each of them with fantastic names, odd roof lights and - most important of all - each of them with different ways to calculate a fare.

Frequently, the tax is within one specific company also used differentiated prices, even though the thought was that cabs belonging to one dispatch should use the same price setting. But nobody really cared, or were too occupied making money on his or her own by finding optional and competitive markets to taxi driving like selling food, tickets and Coca-Cola! Some even gave their passengers the latest films on monitors mounted in the rear seat of the taxi.

AIRPORT OVERPRICING

During the first three years of the deregulation, there were also those cabbies who specialised in working solely at Stockholm's International Airport, a place that before 1990 was more or less impossible to get even close to. Now, on the free market, they could demand any price from a newly arrived tourist. During the first year of the new era, there was such a chaotic situation with an overflow of taxis outside the airport's main entrance, that most attempts to rob passengers succeeded. And quite often , the customer had to pay as much as A3180 for a trip to downtown Stockholm, a 40 kilometer motorway ride that normally should cost about A335. At the same time, credit cards were not accepted by the drivers, in spite of recommendations from most companies, which resulted in a 'Pay-cash-or-die' situation which upset many of the visitors to Sweden!

It wasn't long before the rising number of complaints from both tourists and Swedes hit the Mayor's table and an investigation, led by the local police, started. Even though the price setting was free and no cab driver had done anything officially wrong, there were still some aspects of usury that started to interest the authorities. After spending thousand of hours following specific cabs that were among the most reported by passengers for profiteering, the investigations were shut down permanently. The reason? To pinpoint specific taxi drivers was too costly and nothing could be done about the problem as the deregulation was a fact and the market was free!

COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT

So how about the current situation, seven and a half years after the big bang? Well, in Stockholm, which has been one of the most turbulent areas since the industry was deregulated, there are today still over 2000 cabs which do not belong to any dispatch and that still charge their own prices. Then there are another 3000 cabs, divided in 21 different taxi companies, in which Taxi Stockholm with its' 1600 cabs is still the biggest. This means there are still 5000 taxis in Sweden's capital; a city with a population of 1.4 million, most of them not used to using such a wonderful way of transportation as the taxi is, but still take the bus.

As the competitive situation and tight economical frames still are very much of a reality for most of the drivers, more than a few feel forced to hide some money from taxation to survive. "Thank God for the fixed prices ", some of them say, meaning that a fare that doesn't show on the meter and a passenger that doesn't require a receipt, saves the whole day.

Unfortunately, many of the drivers are therefore disrespected by society and pinpointed as dishonest and corrupt. Some of the spokesmen for the City Council even talk about "some kind of collective punishment" to get hold of the situation.

But is the Swedish deregulation solely the taxi industry's problem. Or is it something that concerns the whole of society, even though most of the authorities' representatives choose to shut their eyes?

Well, my own personal opinion is that this is a major problem that ought to be solved by the authorities as the deregulation was forced onto the drivers - against their will.

Controversially, an Order was made in October 1997 by the City Council which determined that only the three biggest taxi companies - including Taxi Stockholm - would be allowed to pick up at Stockholm Central train station following complaints against the 'independent' taxi drivers overcharging.

Unfortunately, the situation led to rioting by the independent drivers. The police became involved and the situation ended with the independents having a sit-down strike before being carted off. The station now employs smartly dressed inspectors - known as yellow jackets - to ensure that only the correct taxi companies pick up at the station.

After speaking with cabbies around Stockholm during the last ten years, I can tell you Londoners on Dial a Cab that 95 per cent of your colleagues over here hate the present deregulated situation and most certainly do not want anything more than the possibility to survive in their occupation. Unfortunately, the City Council lost a grip on the taxi industry years ago and therefore - in pure panic - have forced new techniques onto the taxi owners in an attempt to stop the never ending tax fraud and the accelerated overpricing.

Just during the last four or five years, there have been over ten major updates of the computerised taximeters, mostly by demanding that the owners install new software into the cabs. This has, unfortunately, put the taxi owners into even worse economic stress as they have been forced to borrow even more money to pay for the unwanted goods.

As many taxi owners have now given up their jobs and sent their permits back to the City Council, there are always newcomers who want to try to make some fast money. By establishing a small company, which is easy and takes a week, they then run their business without any dispatch services or book-keeping for the permitted 18 months and then put the company into bankruptcy. The money they have made, without paying any taxes or social welfare, is placed abroad on an account that isn't reachable for the taxation authorities.

Is there then any salvation to the honest core of taxi drivers in Sweden? As it looks right now - not really. As the authorities will not admit that they made a terrible mistake when they chose to deregulate the industry at the beginning of an economic recession, there will only be survivors among those who cheat and overprice. The rest - the majority - are and will continue to be losers as long as nobody take their part when discussing the problems with the politicians.

I feel sorry for the honest and hard working Swedish taxi driver who has to live this kind of life. Or as a spokesman at the City Council, who perhaps understand the problems better than most, said: "I think that a re-regulation is the only way to solve this tragic mess that has been part of each taxi drivers life for more than seven years".

Pepe Arninge
Sweden

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Riksdag move to fight Stockholm taxi-fare battle

After increased discussions about the problem with taxi drivers in Stockholm, the parliament decided Wednesday to begin taking steps towards regulating the city’s taxi service.

The parliament discussed the issue on Wednesday, in the wake of a slew of recent Swedish media attention in which it was reported how wildly varying a taxi fare can be in the nation’s capital.

The Dagens Nyheter newspaper (DN) claimed that a taxi ride from the Arlanda airport to central Stockholm can cost anywhere from 300 kronor ($45) to over a thousand, depending which taxi is chosen.

The government decided to appoint a commission and to introduce mandatory reporting centres. There will also be a new requirement for the taxi drivers' local knowledge, which used to be required in Stockholm earlier but was removed on April 1st this year.

The drivers will also be controlled through the Swedish Tax Authority (Skatteverket) and will be required to report their incomes.

While the new laws will not affect the drivers on the black market, the tax agency considers that this increase in reporting earnings will allow access to withheld taxes that are estimated to be worth around one to 1.5 billion kronor per year.

The process of bringing the laws into effect is something that MP Anders Ygeman of the Riksdag's committee on traffic (Trafikutskottet) believes may take up to a year, but will be worthwhile.

“You can’t get access to all the tax evasion, but by establishing these reporting centres, the tax agency believes it can bring in 400 million kronor through the operation of taxis with clear signs,” he told DN.

However, the introduction of the new laws still leaves the possibility of exorbitant taxi prices aimed at visitors to Sweden.

“We still will have the freedom of set prices, so the drivers are doing nothing illegal, even if it is deeply immoral and aims to trick travellers,” he told the paper.

The Local/og

http://www.thelocal.se/40516/20120427/

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Most taxis have a fixed price displayed to Arlanda in the rear quarter light, £350 being the norm.

If people want a fair price, I always use one of the two big circuits, taxi kurir, or Stockholm taxi. Most of their drivers are native Swedes. That's all I'll say on the subject !