Swiss taxi waiting for customer - Photo courtesy of TaxiSwiss
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Swiss cantons and communes should allow greater competition among taxi services, says Comco, the Swiss Competition Commission. Services from other areas should be given more freedom, in particular the commission says.
Local authorities in several major Swiss cities are not applying federal competition regulations, says Comco, citing the federal Internal Markets Law, when it comes to allowing out-of -area taxis to work within their communes. Comco’s report, issued last week, is based on research into taxi services in Basel, Zurich and Bern.
The report recommends that authorities issue operating concessions (licenses) to taxis from other localities and that they open parking areas for taxis to all cab operators without discrimination.
A recent German study shows cab fares in Swiss cities to be much pricier than those in Germany and Austria.
Swiss taxi waiting for customer - Photo courtesy of TaxiSwiss
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Ever feel like it’s more expensive taking a cab in Switzerland than in other countries? It’s not your imagination. According to a comparative study of taxi rates in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, for most types of trips, the Swiss have the highest daytime cab fares.
The German portal ab-in-den-urlaub.de, compared taxicab fares in 128 cities in the three countries. The results show that taking a taxi in a Swiss city costs twice as much as in most major German cities. The highest rates are found in Basel and Bern, with Geneva and Zurich not far behind.
The survey compared the base price, standard rate-per-kilometer and cost for 20 minutes in traffic.
On average, a 5-km ride including five minutes of traffic stops costs more than CHF28 in Switzerland. In western Germany, the same trip goes for less than CHF9. In Berlin or Hamburg, it is less than CHF15. Vienna cab fares are even lower.
Hailing a cab in Bern costs CHF6.80 plus CHF3.90 for the first kilometer. The price decreases only slightly in Basel CHF6.70, Geneva CHF6.50 and Zurich CHF6.20. Lugano is the least expensive of the large Swiss cities at CHF5.20. Although Lausanne was not included in the German study, cab fares are similar to those in Zurich.
Hailing a cab in Berlin costs less than CHF4 while in Vienna it is considerably less at just over CHF3. However, don’t let the low base price fool you; sitting in Vienna traffic for 20 minutes costs CHF15.75 while in Zurich the rate is “only” CHF11.50.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The United States is planning to spend $300-500 million on each of at least two firms that will design space taxis to shuttle astronauts to the International Space Station, Nasa, the US space agency, announced Tuesday 8 February. Russia is currently the only country offering this service, reports Reuters: “Russia charges Nasa about $60 million per person for rides to the station, which flies about 240 miles above Earth and is staffed by rotating crews of six astronauts from the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada.”
The CS Monitor points out that safety and not just cost is also an issue. “The Soyuz has experienced unprecedented recent problems with both the Soyuz rocket and now a delay in the next two Soyuz flights to the ISS due to a leak of the capsule during testing.
Bids will be taken during the summer of 2012, and the taxis should be ready for runs by 2017. The new call to tender continues previous investments and deals for a taxi fleet, reports Space.com.
Zurich Airport tightens rules for cross-border taxi rides
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – German and Austrian taxis have until July 2012 to freely drop off and pick up Swiss clients who call for them at Zurich Airport, but 1 July of next year new rules kick in.
The cross-border taxi business picked up once the Schengen Accord opened the borders, but Swiss federal authorities have been working since the start of 2011 with the canton, the city and the airport to put order into the taxi business.
Taxis, under the new rules, will be allowed to drop off and pick up fares for 90 days in any given year, after which they are free to drop off clients, but not to pick them up at Zurich Airport.
Taxis, Geneva Airport
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Several taxi drivers in Geneva are not working Monday morning 11 January in protest against a proposed change to the law, reports the Tribune de Genève, but not all companies have gone along with the strike. There are currently two proposals, and the group Mouvement citoyens genevois is preparing a third, according to the Geneva newspaper. One of the main issues is the current distinction between public taxis and private ones, with only the first group allowed to use taxi lanes and to benefit from other privileges. Taxis from France and from other Swiss cantons are also not accorded the same privileges as the public taxis.
Public debates in the past over the public/private taxis distinction have centred around complaints that there is too little competition and high prices.
Background, GenevaLunch
Not jolly, Roger.
Lucerne and Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A husband and wife taxi driver team in Kriens, canton Lucerne, have received a notice from Billag demanding that they pay the television and radio license fee for the car radio installed in their taxi, reports Blick newspaper, 22 October.
Normally, a car radio is covered by the fee paid per household, however many radios or tvs the household owns. Unless, that is, the radio is used commercially. Then the license costs from CHF223.6o per year. That is Billag’s argument in this case.
US space shuttles will be taken out of service in 2010 after the International Space Station, a multi-nation construction, is completed. At that point the US will be reliant on Russia for travel to and from the station. Nasa, which oversees the American space programme, is taking bids and expects to award $50 million, part of the government stimulus package, in seed money to encourage the development of commercial travel to and from the station, as well as eventually to the moon and other locations in space. The winners of the contract are likely to be announced in late September. Nasa, Reuters
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Tribune de Geneve 13 February carries a lengthy article about the problems passengers have with taxis at the airport, in particular the illegal refusal of some drivers to accept clients for short drives to nearby hotels.
