Hail or pre-book a taxi?
On the taxi fare card you read “maximum €35,- Amsterdam <> Schiphol”. Once you arrive at your destination, however, the total price is almost twice that. The taxi meter gives a much higher rate. Result: an angry passenger and a frustrated taxi driver.
This dispute is an excellent example of the difference between a taxi that you hail in the streets and a taxi that you book in advance.
In this article, we’ll explain what a hailed taxi is, how it differs from a pre-booked taxi and why it’s useful to know this difference.
Hailed taxi: a randomly boarded taxi
A hailed taxi is a taxi that you flag down on the street or that you board at a taxi rank such as Amsterdam Central Station or Schiphol Airport. Hailing taxi drivers have to comply with tons of rules and regulations.
For example, he (or she) must always take the shortest possible route, is obliged to start the taximeter for each trip, and so on.
You’ll always pay a metered fare if you take a hailed taxi.
A couple is waiting to board a Staxi at a taxi rank.
The Amsterdam taxi-hailing market
When you embark a random taxi in the streets or taxi ranks, you’re making use of the taxi-hailing market. In Amsterdam, there are strict rules for drivers that operate on the hailing market.
Of course, the national Passenger Transport Act (WP2000) applies to every taxi driver throughout the Netherlands. This Act allows local authorities to impose additional requirements on drivers that want to operate on the hailing market in a local taxi regulation.
Amsterdam was the first city to make use of this opportunity. The most important provision for Amsterdam taxi drivers is that, if they want to work on the hailing market, they must be a member of an Authorized Taxi Organisation (TTO). There are seven TTOs in Amsterdam, the first of which was Staxi.
Other examples of Amsterdam taxi rules are:
- Taxi drivers are not allowed to hinder traffic at or in the vicinity of a taxi stand.
- Instructions given by enforcers and traffic controllers must be obeyed immediately, without question.
The local regulation is intended to remove the greatest taxi annoyances.
Pre-booked taxi
When you call a taxi company to book a cab, you are no longer using the taxi-hailing market. Now, you are in the taxi booking market. Your reservation comes in at a dispatch center and is therefore registered. A planning system assigns the taxi ride to an available driver when the time comes, which is also logged.
Pre-booking a taxi is, therefore, less anonymous than getting in a random taxi. Because the system keeps track of everything, pre-booking has its advantages. For example, if you forget your phone in the vehicle. The dispatchers can easily find out who transported you.
Book a taxi from wherever you are in Amsterdam. As long as it is a safe spot!
Hail or pre-book a Staxi
Connected drivers can work in different areas of the Amsterdam taxi market. We’re a TTO for those who want to drive on the hailing market. But we’re also a taxi company where people can pre-book taxis. Staxi is therefore active in both the hailing market and the pre-booking market. But our scope is even broader; we do subsidised taxi transport as well.
The most significant difference between a pre-booked taxi and a pre-booked Staxi is that you’ll always get a fixed price at Staxi. Not just for a taxi to and from Schiphol Airport, but for every taxi you book with us.
For this, it’s essential you board the Staxi that we’ve assigned to you. Since our drivers are active on both the hailing-market as the pre-booked market, confusion may arise.
Download the free Staxi App
You can easily find your assigned Staxi when you book with our app. It allows you to see your Staxi approaching in real-time. You can also use the app to contact your driver directly.
Besides our taxi booking app, we offer other ways to book a Staxi:
- The taxi fare calculators on this site
- Of course, you can give us a call as well
Our dispatch center is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And with more than 500 Staxi drivers, there’s always someone available to pick you up and take you safely to your destination.
