Minimum transport charges: Federal association supports municipalities despite court proceedings

The Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Car Operators supports municipalities in introducing minimum fares for rental cars and in continuing to develop them despite ongoing court proceedings. From the association's perspective, the legal disputes in several cities are not a reason to fundamentally question the instrument. With the amendment to the Passenger Transport Act, the federal legislature has given municipalities the option to set minimum fares for rental cars.

According to the association, the instrument is intended to respond to local misdevelopments and to create a balance between the regulated taxi traffic and the rental-car traffic. Judicial reviews are part of the development of a robust body of case law.

Court proceedings should specify the regulations

The association urges cities and permitting authorities not to be fundamentally swayed from minimum fare charges by decisions in expedited proceedings. Objections to individual justifications, procedures or components of an order, in the association's view, do not automatically mean that the instrument as such is unlawful.

Municipalities could instead use court decisions to adjust their decrees and to have open legal questions clarified further. Which legal requirements will permanently apply to minimum fare charges, the association estimates, will only become clear through further case law and, in particular, through decisions of higher courts.

Cologne files an appeal

In Cologne, minimum fare charges have been in effect since early June. Under the regulation, rental-car rides may be no more than 20 percent below the corresponding taxi fare.

The Administrative Court of Cologne granted urgent applications against the general decree in July. According to the Federal Association, the court criticized, among other things, the mayor's authority without the involvement of the council and the scope of the regulation.

The legal dispute is thus not over yet. The city of Cologne has filed an appeal. At the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia in Münster, according to the statement, appeals against two urgent decisions in favor of Bolt and of a rental-car company are pending.

Essen adjusts the General Decree

Essen had introduced minimum prices for rental cars at the beginning of 2026 as the first city in North Rhine-Westphalia. Following an urgent ruling by the Administrative Court in Gelsenkirchen, the city initially suspended the then-existing decree.

Subsequently, Essen revised the general decree and re-enacted it in adjusted form. The Federal Association regards this approach as an example of how municipalities can respond to judicial indications of legal weaknesses in their regulations.