Even here in the region, the financial burden on taxi companies has continued to increase in recent months. Higher energy costs aren’t the only problem here.
Horb – A lot has changed for taxi companies since the last fare adjustment in September 2019. The year 2022 brought with it a huge cost increase for entrepreneurs, which is hardly manageable.
There has been a sharp increase in fuel prices in Germany since December 2020. The attempt to somehow slow down this price increase by introducing the fuel discount has had little effect on the taxi companies. This was dropped again in September this year. Now not only the CO2 tax introduced in 2021 and the increase in the inflation rate, but also the increase in the minimum wage to twelve euros per hour and the increase in the mini-job limit to 520 euros bring with it high additional costs.
High energy costs, but few customers
“We face high energy costs and high expenses in general, but only a few customers,” complains Turgay Topal of Horber City Taxi. He estimates that the number of passengers has decreased by 20 to 30% in recent months.
Politics is necessary
Since taxi prices are subject to tariffs, it is now up to politicians to provide financial support to the taxi industry. In the district of Rottweil, for example, passengers will have to expect significantly higher prices in the future and the district will increase the fares. The higher costs cannot be passed on directly to customers, but must be borne by the companies themselves.
Even now, the enormously increased costs can often no longer be absorbed by companies. “Everything is just too expensive,” explains Cezair Atas, owner of Taxi-Atas in Empfingen. In November, prices at German petrol stations dropped significantly, which is at least a small relief for companies. The significantly higher expenses of the companies in the previous months are still clearly evident. How things will play out for the taxi industry is still uncertain.
