Taxi drivers ripping off foreign tourists in Budapest during World Athletics Championships
Some taxi drivers charge more than EUR 260 just for a short ride in Budapest, taking advantage of the 2023 Budapest World Athletics Championships and the increased number of foreign tourists.
Rogue taxi drivers appeared around Hungary’s brand-new national athletics centre, trying to deceive as many tourists as they can. Sometimes the fee exceeds even EUR 260 between the athletics centre and their hotel. You should know that a taxi ride between the national athletics centre and Budapest Airport (which is outside of the city) should be less than EUR 26. Therefore, there is no route in Budapest which require you to pay ten times that fee.
Therefore, the organisers asked for immediate measures from the authorities, atv.hu wrote. Budapest taxis are easy to distinguish from other cars: they are yellow, the travel fees are displayed on their doors, and you can check out which taxi company they work to. Furthermore, they also have a license number. Mercenary taxis are not like that. They regularly appear in the evening when people leave the stadium and are in quick need for a ride back to their hotel or a restaurant.
Here is an example (though it contains the old prices):
Authorities increase numbers to catch mercenary taxi drivers
Balázs Németh, the CEO of the organiser company NZRT, said some drivers asked for HUF 20 thousand (EUR 52) just to take foreign passengers to the other side of the Danube (a couple of hundred metres). Meanwhile, others charged more than EUR 260 to take tourists to their downtown hotels. Therefore, the organisers of the world athletic championships ask all visitors to have a thorough look at the taxi they’re about to take and keep an eye on rogue drivers.
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- Taxi fares increase again in Budapest from Monday – Read our article HERE
Zoltán Metál, the head of the Hungarian taxi association, said the official Budapest fare for licensed taxis is HUF 1,100 (EUR 2.88), while the km price is HUF 440 (EUR 1.15). Mr Metál added that was a guaranteed fee. If passengers take licensed taxis and a problem occurred, professional dispatch centres will help them. ATV wrote that police increased the number of officers around the athletics centre from Tuesday evening to track down and fine rogue taxis. The government office of Budapest said they had doubled the number of inspectors checking on taxi drivers during the world championships at the organisers’ request, the Hungarian news agency wrote. The inspectors, in cooperation with public transport BKK staff and police, focus on the area of the championship venue as well as nearby filling stations, the office said in a statement.
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Meanwhile, MTI added that private taxis circling the petrol station next to the National Athletics Centre are picking up visitors and taking them to their hotels for astronomical sums. They stressed that tourists should only use official taxis and that the venue is easily accessible by public transport as well.
Featured image: illustration
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