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All good things come in threes! Frankfurt's taxis are increasing the pressure.
“Enough is enough! Minimum fare for all – now!” is the motto of the current protest series. The first large demonstration ride had already taken place last Tuesday, weaving across the Main metropolis. The date for today’s protest ride was deliberately chosen: With the start of the international trade fair IMEX, the city expected increased traffic around the exhibition grounds, the city center, and the airport. Exactly there the taxi industry wanted to be visible.
The meeting point was this morning in Gateway Gardens at Frankfurt Airport. From there the motorcade moved along several of the city’s most important traffic arteries: A5, A648, Wiesbadener Straße and Theodor-Heuss-Allee. The route thus touched not only commuter routes, but also central access roads for trade fair guests and business travelers. The message behind it was clear: The taxi industry continues to see itself as part of the public mobility infrastructure – regulated, available and controllable.
Taxi operators facing existential threat
Behind the protest lies an economic development that many entrepreneurs have described for years as existentially threatening. Platform-mediated rental cars increasingly dominate the urban ride-service market, with customers usually opting for the cheaper offer. According to the Frankfurt am Main Taxi Association e. V., however, these low prices arise only under conditions that conventional taxi structures can hardly compete with.
In Frankfurt, this is particularly evident. The city has around 750,000 inhabitants, plus daily commuters, business travelers and trade-show visitors. At the same time, the number of concessioned taxis from surrounding counties is steadily increasing. Many vehicles operate effectively permanently in the city area. For the taxi industry, this displacement competition has long become visible—not only on the streets, but now also for authorities and policymakers.
200 Taxis at the First Demonstration
Already last week, around 200 drivers and entrepreneurs demonstrated. Now additional actions are planned for May 19 and 26. The Taxi Association wants to prevent the introduction of a minimum fare from being postponed again. The trigger of the current escalation also includes the recent large-scale checks by authorities in the Rhine-Main region. During these checks, forged passenger transport certificates, violations of driving license regulations, and technical defects were detected. The police have initiated criminal proceedings against numerous participants.
“For many entrepreneurs, these results are no longer a surprise, but an expression of a system that has long been under massive economic pressure,” explains the Taxi Association.
Many businesses now have difficulties finding qualified drivers. At the same time, drivers are moving from the rental-car sector into the taxi trade, with recurring problems with documents, permits and proof of qualifications.
Frankfurt authorities not consistent enough
The new chairman of the taxi association, Ergin Koc, directly links the current situation to price pressure in the market. “Whoever works at prices that are economically barely viable in the long run inevitably creates enormous pressure on drivers, entrepreneurs and structures. The consequences are now seen not only by us, but also by the supervisory authorities.”
Indeed, the city of Frankfurt has been under pressure for years. Entrepreneurs accuse politics and administration of not pursuing illegal practices in the rental-car sector hard enough. The criticism is mainly that platform vehicles carried out taxi-like transports without being subject to the same regulatory requirements. The city, in turn, points to intensified controls and cooperation with platform companies. There is also now data exchange with surrounding authorities. But impatience is growing in the trade. Especially the head of the regulatory department, Annette Rinn (FDP), has long been criticized. The accusation: Frankfurt does not exploit the possibilities of the Passenger Transport Act sufficiently.
Utilize the PBefG provisions!
Indeed, the amended PBefG since 2021 expressly provides the possibility to set minimum fares for rental cars. Several cities and regions have since taken this path. The district of Lörrach was among the first municipalities. Later followed, among others, Heidelberg, Solingen and Essen. In Cologne and Munich, corresponding regulations have been adopted. Leipzig did implement an MBE, but after legal disputes it withdrew it (for now).
Paradoxically, in Berlin and Frankfurt, i.e., in those cities with particularly high platform density, the discussion barely progresses. Frankfurt is currently awaiting an assessment of the functioning of the taxi trade, which the city commissioned at the end of last year. It was originally to be ready within a few weeks.
“But to this day, there is still no result,” criticizes Koc. This very waiting is now causing growing frustration in the trade. For many entrepreneurs, they no longer believe that the assessment will fundamentally yield new insights.
Thus the demonstrations are not only to attract attention; they are also a clear signal from the Frankfurt taxi trade to city politics: The era of inspection orders and working groups is over; action must finally follow!
Content automatically translated.
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