Fixed taxi fares in Bremen: The Hanseatic City opens the way for more competition with Uber and Bolt

The taximeter has been a familiar fixture in every taxi for decades. It measures distance and time, calculates the fare, and ensures that every ride is billed according to the same rules. In Bremen, the device will now lose some of its previous significance.

The municipal delegation for Mobility, Construction and Urban Development has decided to introduce fixed prices for pre-booked taxi rides as of November 1, 2026. Customers will then be able to learn in advance what their ride will cost – regardless of whether a traffic jam is waiting along the way or the traffic lights are red. The option has existed since the reform of the Passenger Transport Act (PBefG) in 2021. § 51 PBefG expressly allows municipalities to introduce fixed prices or tariff corridors for pre-booked taxi rides.

For Bremen's Mobility Senator Özlem Ünsal, the new regulation is above all a win for passengers:

"Whoever orders will henceforth know in advance what the ride will cost. No more nervous glances at the taximeter when the traffic jam doesn't move."

Response to Platform Competition

However, behind the tariff change lies not only the desire for greater transparency. It is also a reaction to the changed market conditions in on-demand transport. While taxis had so far been bound to government-set tariffs, ride-hailing platforms such as Uber or Bolt could display a guaranteed price to their customers long before the ride began. For many passengers, this price certainty became a decisive factor in choosing the means of transport.

Bremen is now taking action here. The local taxi trade had been pushing for a corresponding regulation for years. Ingo Heuermann of the Bremen Trade Association for Passenger Transport welcomes the decision accordingly:

“We have been working toward this for a long time and are pleased with the result.”

The introduction of fixed prices thus follows a trend that has already begun in other large cities. Munich was one of the first municipalities to introduce a so-called tariff corridor after the PBefG amendment. Berlin followed suit in 2024. Both cities justified the step, among other things, by the changed expectations of customers and the competition with app-based mobility services.

Fixed price yes – but not for every ride

The taximeter does not completely disappear from Bremen taxis, however. The new regulation applies exclusively to rides booked in advance, i.e., via phone, app or e-mail. Those who take a taxi at a stand or hail one on the street still pay the regular taxi fare. The Bremen transport authority also explicitly points this out.

Unlike some municipalities, the Hanseatic City relies on extensive data analysis. For this, more than 100,000 trip data records were analyzed. The result: around 11.6 percent of the average revenue is attributable to traffic-related waiting times. On this basis, going forward a flat-rate surcharge will be included in the fixed-price calculation. Additionally, the final fixed price may only deviate from the calculated reference price within a defined tariff corridor.