Politics

On September 20, Berliners will elect a new state parliament. For the taxi and rental-car sector, this is about far more than the question of the next governing mayor. Minimum fares, the regulation of Uber and Bolt, and the role of taxis in the mobility transition are among the topics on which the parties place notably different emphases.

With the reappointment of Christian Hirte as State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Transport, the mobility association VSPV has clear expectations. The association calls for a comprehensive evaluation of the Passenger Transport Act (PBefG) and advocates for a broad dialogue about the future of taxi, rental cars, and public transport.

(dpa) The new taxi offering for rides between suburban areas and train stations has started. Demand has so far lagged behind expectations, but could soon rise significantly.

Turbulent days in Berlin. First the surprising ouster of Patrick Schnieder, then the already-discussed successor Fritz Güntzler – and now Steffen Bilger takes over the Ministry of Transport. The taxi trade is now looking on with anticipation at the new man at the top.

The news came as a surprise, even though it had apparently been in preparation in Berlin for days. Federal Minister of Transport Patrick Schnieder (CDU) loses his post as part of a cabinet reshuffle. According to information from the Deutsche Presse-Agentur and ARD's Hauptstadtstudio, the CDU member of the Bundestag from Lower Saxony, Fritz Güntzler, is set to take over the post. An official confirmation had not yet been issued.

The VSPV continues its political work for the introduction of a statutory entitlement to inclusion taxis. In a meeting with the chair of the Bundestag's Committee on Labour and Social Affairs, Bernd Rützel, the association presented its proposals for codification in the Social Code.

(dpa) With the expiry of the temporary tax cut on fuels, consumer centers expect rising prices. They demand tight oversight by the Federal Cartel Office and further relief in energy costs.

A meeting between politics and industry representatives brings the taxi trade's central demands back into focus and highlights common areas for action.

According to the association, the planned end of contribution-free mini-jobs and the mandatory pension insurance for new self-employed could hinder staff recruitment and business startups in the trades.

While the public debate about the new GKV contribution-rate stabilization law revolves mainly around hospitals, doctors, and rising health insurance contributions, the taxi and rental-car industry looks to Berlin with growing concern. For there, with the GKV reform, nothing less than the future of many taxi businesses is at stake.

In the Berlin House of Representatives, a motion will be discussed in early June, in which the SPD and CDU press for changes to the Passenger Transport Act. The focus is on digital oversight, greater market transparency, and stricter rules for platform-mediated ride-hailing traffic.

(dpa) Due to rising fuel prices, Kassel raises the price per kilometer to 2.80 euros. Other cities in Hesse are examining adjustments or sticking to stable tariffs.

The digitization of public transport often begins where everyday life becomes particularly complex: in organizing school transport and special-needs transport. The Dresden-based company Stadt.Land.Netz has specialized precisely in this area—and is now receiving fresh capital for further growth.

The Taxi and Rental Car Association Germany (TMV) has hardly opened its new capital city office, and work there is already being done on one of the industry’s most conflict-prone topics: the handling of platform-mediated rental cars and the growing tensions between taxi and rental-car traffic in the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region.

In Germany, the discussion about barrier-free mobility is often reduced to elevators, train platforms and low-floor buses – but that is only part of the problem. Taxi and rental-car traffic has so far mostly played only a secondary role in it. The VSPV and the SoVD are pressing to enshrine the Inclusion Taxi in the Social Code as binding.

At the LTV's annual meeting, in addition to numerous industry representatives and well-known exhibitors, high-ranking politicians also attended. Thuringia's Minister of Transport Steffen Schütz, the Parliamentary State Secretary Christian Hirte, and BVTM President Gregor Beiner also delivered opening remarks.

While public debates often stay at the level of fundamental questions, behind the scenes it is about concrete interfaces – between regulation, digitization and market organization. An example of this is provided by a meeting of the Association of Private Commercial Road Passenger Transport in North Rhine-Westphalia (VSPV) with Johannes Wieczorek.

At its 36th annual general meeting in Weimar-Legefeld, the Thuringia state association of the transport industry (LTV) e.V. unanimously adopted a resolution that takes a harsher tone than in previous years. The industry describes its situation as tense — economically as well as politically — and puts forward clear demands to the federal government and the states.

Taxi companies in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are sounding the alarm. After talks with the Minister-President, the question remains as to how dumping contracts can be prevented.

A ministerial draft from the Federal Ministry of Health is to link patient transports to the base wage rate. The VSPV warns of economic distortions in rural areas and sees legal conflicts with existing law.

On the occasion of the first "World Public Transport Day," attention turns to the backbone of mobility – and its gaps. The Association of Private Commercial Road Passenger Transport in North Rhine-Westphalia (VSPV) uses April 17 to issue an open letter to Federal Minister of Transport Patrick Schnieder.

Despite the tax cut on fuels, industry representatives see unresolved structural problems and demand lasting reforms in energy and levies.

Germany's Taxi and Rental Car Association welcomes the energy tax cut, but warns of insufficient impact and calls for additional steps in the event of persistently high prices.

The General Authorized Signatory of the Mobility Association VSPV assumes a leadership role in the Association for the Promotion of a Competitive Economy. The Berlin network brings together 25 associations and more than 200 members from politics and the SME sector.

Minimum fare, glut of rental cars in the Berlin suburbs – and the future Transport Senator Schopf? Hermann Waldner has invited the SPD top candidate for the Berlin state election 2026, Steffen Krach, and the SPD MP and tireless advocate for Berlin's taxi trade, Tino Schopf.

According to the associations, around 70 million euros annually could enable the creation of a nationwide, secured solution for accessible taxi services.

President Gregor Beiner held discussions with the European Commission and Members of the European Parliament on decarbonisation, autonomous vehicles and the initiative “Clean Corporate Vehicles”.

Beyond pure road traffic, the Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Cars (BVTM) is currently looking ahead. Last Friday, BVTM managing director Michael Oppermann and Floris Cooijmans, Policy Adviser for Governmental Relations & Regulation, met with Member of the Bundestag Victoria Brossart (Alliance 90/The Greens). Brossart is a member of the Transport Committee and is regarded as a key contact for transport policy questions in the Bundestag.

The taxi industry is reorganizing itself. In Berlin and Leipzig two key players have decided to pool their resources. On January 23, 2026, the Berlin-based TAXI ONE GmbH and the Leipzig Taxi Central 4884 – Oldest Leipzig Radio Taxi Dispatch Center Ltd., agreed to merge their operations. The move is a reaction to a market that is changing rapidly – and to competitive pressure that is no longer fought solely on price.

New Year's reception at Taxi Deutschland e.V.: Politics, minimum prices and rental-car regulation in focus. On January 5, 2025, the traditional New Year's reception of Taxi Deutschland e.V. was held in Berlin. The event brought together representatives from politics, administration, and the taxi industry—a good occasion to acknowledge the constructive cooperation between Berlin's politics and the taxi trade in the federal capital.

The new board of the Federal Association for Taxi and Rental Cars (BVTM) aims to recalibrate the industry's advocacy. At a two-day retreat in Kassel, the body set the priorities at the end of January that are to guide its actions in the coming years: non-emergency medical transport services and a stronger embedding of the industry in the societal mobility discourse.

Schiphol Taxi Network, one of the four new taxi licensees at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, is launching a digital taxi service based on Invers' car-sharing technology. Since November 1, 2025, Schiphol Taxi Network has been operating a fleet of 50 vehicles at the airport.

After failed negotiations, pressure on AOK and transport service providers is mounting. The minister warns of the consequences of the strained finances of the funds, but emphasizes that insured persons can continue to be transported – also through other contracting partners.

The Association of Private Commercial Road Passenger Transport of North Rhine-Westphalia (VSPV e.V.) is expanding its political presence in the federal capital. Patrick Meinhardt, one of the best-known figures in the taxi and rental-car industry, will from January 1, 2026 serve as General Authorized Representative and head of the newly established capital city office.

In discussions with state politicians and trade association partners, Gregor Beiner outlined the central themes of his term in office. The focus was on transport policy issues as well as the role of taxi and rental-car traffic in future mobility concepts.

When it comes to dealing with illegitimate rental-car companies, pressure is mounting in Brandenburg. A report by rbb has recently shown how great the uncertainty in Brandenburg has become. In the taxi industry there is a sense that politics and authorities are reacting too slowly – and that, as a result, mistakes that Berlin has already made could be repeated.

The taxi industry has a new president – and he comes from Munich. Gregor Beiner, 39-year-old and owner of the Munich Taxi Center (mtz), was elected on Wednesday as the chairman of the Federal Association of Taxi and Mietwagen (BVTM). He succeeds Herwig Kollar, who has led the association in recent years through a period of far-reaching upheavals. Congratulations are now also coming from the Bavarian capital.

The Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Cars warns of ruinous competition through dumping prices by platform providers. It calls on the state government to quickly introduce minimum prices for rental cars in order to create fair conditions in Berlin's passenger transport.

With the new decision, the nationwide debate on professional qualifications ends. The TMV sees opportunities for flexible solutions, but calls for clear procedures, short routes, and the preservation of proven training models in rural areas.

After months of debate, the Conference of Transport Ministers drops the uniform solution. The introduction of a small professional qualification is now in the hands of the states – a step with consequences for drivers, testing organizations and associations.

At Oslo Airport, travelers no longer enter their destinations into the app, but into a terminal in the arrivals area. A few minutes later, the taxi is at your door—with a fixed fare, the desired features, and, if requested, also with a child seat or an electric drive. The system that enables this smooth handling comes from the Norwegian start-up Fast Travel and could serve as a model for German airports.

The TMV's chief executive, Patrick Meinhardt, is seeking direct contact with policymakers. He then met in Berlin with Dietmar Nietan, the SPD's federal treasurer and long-serving member of the Bundestag. The discussion focused on the future of the passenger transport industry, the role of taxis in public local transport, and political backing for the SME sector.

The Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Cars (BVTM) invited guests to its Parliamentary Evening for this year last Wednesday at the VW Drive event venue on Unter den Linden. The occasion for a review of four years of the Passenger Transport Act (PBefG) - and a look at the future of the taxi ecosystem.

The taxi and rental-car association criticizes the lack of results from the latest automotive summit. It demands stable funding conditions for alternative powertrains and an end to the combustion-engine phase-out in order to strengthen planning certainty and innovation capacity in the SME sector.

What opportunities does "Taxi 4.0" offer for the economy and public transport? The TMV's think tank wants to provide answers – with discussions on efficiency, digitalisation and fair competitive conditions in the taxi and rental-car sector.

(dpa / kk) For many taxi operators, the economic viability of their fleets plays a decisive role – especially when transitioning to electric mobility. Now there is tailwind from Berlin: The federal government intends to extend the vehicle tax exemption for electric vehicles until 2035. That is also an important signal for the taxi industry. Because those who opt for an electric taxi in the coming years can continue to benefit from a substantial tax relief.

How can taxis be more strongly integrated into rural local transport? What rules are needed for fair competition with platform providers? These questions were the focus of the discussion between TMV and CSU politician Alexander Hoffmann.

In a letter to Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder, the association is pressing for a reversal of the strict ban on internal combustion engines. Instead, it calls for planning certainty and support for various propulsion systems.

To mark the industry's 125th anniversary, the association made a joint appearance with the Berlin Taxi Guild. The focus was on the challenges posed by illegal private hire vehicles, as well as the importance of solidarity within the SME sector.

Insufficient funding for patient transport jeopardizes the mobility of people in need of assistance. Policymakers and the association aim to develop solutions through dialogue.

Digital application channels accelerate permitting procedures in the passenger transport sector. But industry representatives warn: The simplified registration could further strengthen Uber and similar operators in cities such as Frankfurt or Wiesbaden.

The taxi industry warns of ruinous competition and urges swift action. Minimum fares for private hire vehicles and a monitoring period are intended to reorganize market conditions in the capital.

At the Think Tank, controversial issues take center stage — from illegal hire vehicles, through the handling of platform providers, to new efficiency requirements. SPD politician Tino Schopf also provides insights during a “Current Affairs Hour”.

Ahead of tomorrow's special transport ministers' conference, Patrick Meinhardt, chief executive of TMV, is advocating the Deutschlandticket plus. The nationwide ticket should in future be valid not only for buses and trains, but also for taxi rides.

In talks with Bavaria’s Minister-President, the association highlights the importance of accessible taxis and taxis that complement local public transport. It is calling for binding fares as well as stronger action against social-security fraud in the passenger transport market.