"Taxi Revolution": Association criticizes displacement by rental car platforms

As part of the annual conference of VdK Versicherung der Kraftfahrt, which now belongs to the Signal Iduna Group, around 60 participants from sales and management met at the Dortmund headquarters. The occasion was, among other things, the 45th anniversary of the partnership between VdK and the Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Cars.

Lecture on the Current Market Situation

Svenja Lange-Wilde, Communications Officer at the Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Cars, gave a lecture titled "Taxi Revolution" on the current situation in the industry. The focus was on the impact of platform-based rental car providers like Uber or Bolt. These put the taxi industry under massive pricing pressure in many German cities and lead to unfair competition, according to the association's analysis.

"We see, based on current figures for the Berlin federal state as well as medium-sized cities, a migration effect. So the rental cars are not gone, they're just elsewhere, namely in the Berlin suburbs or they migrate to smaller, not yet affected cities like Bielefeld," she explains and concludes: "The only solution that the industry needs nationwide for truly fair competition and to stop the dying off of taxis is minimum prices."

Need for Regulation and Legal Measures

A central point of the lecture was the demand for nationwide minimum prices for rental vehicle traffic. Lange-Wilde cited the city of Berlin as an example, where intensified control measures—such as the revocation of licenses and the monitoring of the obligation to return—had shown initial effects. Nevertheless, the problem has not been solved but merely shifted to smaller cities and the surrounding areas.

Association Work and Protest Actions

The Federal Association of Taxis and Rental Cars has initiated various measures in recent months to raise political and public awareness. These include regular informational formats such as a newsletter, an internal authority portal with expert opinions and position papers, as well as the annual PBefG symposium. Additionally, the association coordinates the "National Taxi Action Day," which is scheduled to take place on July 2, 2025, in 14 cities.

New Regulation on Driver Qualification

Another topic was the introduction of the so-called "Small Expertise." This qualification measure is set to be mandatory for drivers of taxis and rental cars starting this year. The aim is to increase road safety through basic training content.

Digitalization and Cooperations

Lange-Wilde also reported on progress in the digitalization of taxi vouchers as part of the ongoing cooperation with Deutsche Bahn. The transition to digital processes is seen as a step towards better integration of taxis into public transportation.