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BER outage for Berlin taxis: From 2027, the return trip without a passenger is at risk.
At the airport, it's about more than just a parking space. The agreement from 2020 had created a balance between the two regions: Up to 550 Berlin taxis were allowed to pick up passengers at BER. In return, companies from Dahme-Spreewald were allowed to pick up customers at Berlin taxi stands. With the end of the agreement, this mutual access ceases to exist. Whether a new solution would come about was initially unclear. The district justifies the step with changed market conditions. Drivers often had to wait more than three hours for a dispatch. At the same time, demand had fallen. The Flughafenexpress FEX has been running since December 2025 four times per hour in around 23 minutes from BER to Berlin Hauptbahnhof. Therefore, going forward, the district considers 500 to 600 vehicles sufficient. Also, competition from ride-hailing platforms such as Uber and Bolt is putting local taxi companies under pressure. District administrator Sven Herzberger welcomed the decision and stated:
“The current market conditions require an adjustment of the existing regulations,” he said. "In our assessment, the taxis licensed in the district will continue to be sufficient to reliably meet the airport's demand. This has also been assured by the local taxi associations.”
Empty trips for Berlin taxis
For Berlin taxi operators, the decision is nevertheless a turning point. They lose the possibility to wait for a spontaneous follow-up assignment after a trip to the airport. Whoever drives a passenger from Berlin to BER must, in the future, expect to drive back empty without a pre-booked return dispatch. That costs time, fuel and revenue. However, Berlin taxis are by no means completely excluded from the airport. Pre-booked pickups remain allowed when passengers order a taxi from a Berlin-based company by phone, via radio dispatch, or via the app. Transport Senator Ute Bonde announced that this option should be made more widely known and made more attractive through a guaranteed flat-rate price. The Senate administration is already in talks with the taxi trade about this.
„The current market conditions for Berlin's taxi trade are challenging,“ explains Transport Senator Ute Bonde (CDU).
The crucial question now is whether pre-booked trips can at least partially replace the disappearing spontaneous bookings. For taxi companies, a lot depends on how easy it is for passengers to book a Berlin taxi at BER and whether arrival, waiting time, and return trip can be economically calculated. At the same time, the airport must also be able to provide enough vehicles even at peak demand. Berlin and Dahme-Spreewald want to continue the discussion on this.
The conflict shows how closely the taxi trade is bound to administrative boundaries, even though passengers hardly perceive these boundaries in daily life. For some it is about protecting the local taxi trade, for others about an inherently difficult market. From January 2027, a clear regional jurisdiction could apply at BER. The allegedly reliable taxi availability will become apparent especially when many flights land at the same time or the train does not run…
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Taxi-Fahrzeuge (Pkw) , Taxi-Newsletter, Taxameter, Taxi-Fahrer , BZP – Deutscher Taxi- und Mietwagenverband , Straßenverkehrsordnung (StVO) , Krankenbeförderung , Weiterbildung , Taxi-Konzessionen , Verkehrspolitik , Mietwagenbranche , Taxi-Apps , Berufskraftfahrer-Qualifikations-Gesetz BKrFQG) , Taxizentralen , Personal, Gehälter, Arbeitsschutz , Wirtschaftsnachrichten , Werbung , Taxi-Folierung , Taxi-Umrüster , Straßenverkehr , Elektromobilität, Taxifuhrpark und -flottenmanagement , Taxi-Versicherungen , Hybrid, Diesel, Erdgas , Taxi-Magazin
