Taxi fares from Paris airports have dropped
As RFI reports, since the beginning of March, a passenger traveling from Orly Airport, located south of Paris, must pay 30 euros to get to the left bank of the Seine and 35 euros to the right bank. If you are traveling from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, located north of Paris, you pay 50 euros to go to the right bank of the Seine or 55 euros to the left bank. The same fares are set for trips in the opposite direction – from the city to the airports.
Previously, it was practically impossible to get there for such amounts. And if the car got stuck in traffic for about half an hour on the way from Charles de Gaulle Airport, by the end of the trip the meter would spin a sum close to 80-90 euros.
The introduction of fixed taxi fares, which are already in effect in many other tourist capitals, was proposed back in 2014 by then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Fabius, who devoted a lot of his working time to the development of tourism. Then deputy Thomas Thévenoud, appointed responsible for resolving the conflict between taxi drivers and drivers of so-called VTC ("tourist vehicles with driver" – like Uber service), included this measure in his report presented to the government.
The deputy believed that this measure would allow taxi drivers to withstand competition from VTCs, which have long offered fixed fares for trips. Given that only official taxis have the right to wait at airport stands, the introduction of fixed fares will help taxi drivers win back a decent portion of customers from competitors.
By the way, the introduction of the new measure will also hurt the numerous semi-legal drivers from the former Soviet Union, who often lured compatriots arriving in Paris with low fares.
Among other things, official taxis will gain in speed: from now on, dedicated lanes on the suburban highways A1 and A6, leading from airports to Paris, will be open to them (as for buses).
There will be no need to pay extra in the taxi for luggage or for transporting animals. However, starting from the fifth passenger, each 'extra' passenger will have to pay an additional 4 euros.
Finally, the price for calling a taxi will become fixed: 7 euros for an advance call, 4 euros for an 'instant' call. This is also good for the customer: previously, quite often taxi drivers who came from far away would bring the meter with larger amounts.
But calling a taxi in Paris is not at all necessary – almost always, especially in the center, you can find a stand nearby, and at the airport you should definitely not do that – just go outside. However, on the street an unpleasant surprise may await you: sometimes a line of those wishing to take a taxi forms for 10-15 minutes or more. And with the new fares, queues may grow.