VISION mobility kostenlos Probelesen
Die Zeitschrift VISION mobility richtet sich an mobilitätsbegeisterte Menschen bzw. Flottenmanager und begleitet den Technologiewandel in Sachen Automotive und Mobilität.
Aktueller Termin
Meist gelesen
No distance counters for rental cars? Darmstadt wants to turn the exception into the rule and thereby opens the doors for Uber & Co.
The obligation to install a distance counter in rental cars has raised questions for years – between the demands of regulation, new competitive pressure and digital booking models. A recent letter from the Darmstadt Regional Presidency has now caused a stir: rental cars that exclusively perform fixed-price trips should in general be exempt from the installation obligation.
The statutory requirement
According to § 30(1) of the Regulation on the Operation of Motor Vehicle Companies in Passenger Transport (BOKraft), rental cars must be equipped with a clearly readable distance counter – regardless of whether the fare is ultimately calculated based on distance or not. The Passenger Transport Act (PBefG) provides here a clear directive: transparency in pricing, traceability for customers, control for authorities. Only if fixed prices are agreed without exception and documented before the trip does BOKraft provide the possibility to forego the installation through an exemption permit.
The practice and the role of fixed prices
In practice, this means: For rides where the price is calculated individually according to distance (for example classic rental-car assignments or rides arranged via app without a prior fixed price), the trip meter remains mandatory. However, if every transport order is billed exclusively at the fixed tariff, and this is attested by corresponding entries in the authorization documents, an exception can be granted. This exception has been incorporated into the regulation for companies that do not operate taxi-like traffic — for example chauffeur services.
Darmstadt's general exemption
The Darmstadt regional authority has, with the general exemption for rental cars that operate only fixed prices, decided on an extremely far-reaching liberalization: companies no longer have to install a mileage meter, provided that no per-kilometre price is charged and this is noted in the concession. Proponents may justify this with 'bureaucracy reduction' or with 'adapting to digital brokerage practices.'
Bureaucracy reduction at the wrong place
The exemption provides an entry point for abuse. Car rental operators can simply claim fixed prices, circumventing the measurability and verifiability of actual driving distances, which will further increase the risk of the shadow economy and tax evasion. TSE-compliant mileage meters, on the other hand, provide a tamper-proof protection similar to that in taxis, even for cashless payments.
It seems odd: From 2026 all taxi operators will be subject to the TSE obligation and will thus be even more easily controllable from a tax perspective. At the same time, Darmstadt is relinquishing an instrument that would allow inspecting rental-car operations.
Some administrative officials may briefly be pleased by the simplified licensing process for a new rental-car operation. Within the shortest possible time, Uber & Co. will flood the Darmstadt administrative region with applications. The losers will not only be the taxi operators in Darmstadt - Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, as well as Mannheim and Heidelberg, will also feel the consequences of the misguided policy.
A Step Backward in Transparency
The goal of ensuring transparency and fairness for consumers and authorities is undermined by the blanket exemption. Setting the legal bar for everyone to the same height would be essential in the sense of a transparent, fair competition and sustainable industry development. Only then can tax authorities, customers, and fair providers ensure that traceable data underpin every rental-car trip—no matter how the price ends up being determined.
The Darmstadt Regierungspräsidium's blanket exemption rule is, above all, a gift to Uber & Co., weakens the important efforts toward transparency and equal opportunity in a fiercely competitive industry, and sends an extremely troubling signal!
Content automatically translated.
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
