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Signs point visitors to fairer fares

But some say changes are not enough to fix reputation of taxi drivers who cheat

By Curtis M. Wong
For The Prague Post
August 15th, 2007 issue

VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST
City Hall's "Fair Place" campaign designates stops where taxi rates are guaranteed, including signs with lists of common fares.
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Prague officials have taken the next step in the fight against price-gouging taxi drivers by introducing 49 “Fair Taxi Places” that guarantee passengers an appropriate fare.
Marked with yellow thumbs-up logos, a series of new Fair Place signs appeared at 49 of the city’s 121 taxi stands at the start of the month.
The campaign is the latest part of City Hall’s ongoing effort to address the taxi overcharging problem in Prague.
“The aim of the Fair Place campaign is to provide passengers with information on where to find a fair cab driver, and also to protect them from being ripped off,” says Eva Kubátová, spokeswoman for City Hall.
Each sign includes information in Czech, English and German along with approximate prices to popular locations throughout the city. Cabs that stop at these stands will be checked frequently by city officials to ensure that drivers are charging proper fares.
As part of the new campaign, City Hall issued 100,000 leaflets that detail potential problems and a passenger’s rights as a taxi customer. The leaflets are printed in six languages and will be available in hotels, train stations and in cabs.
New posters will appear on public transportation that will further draw attention to the Fair Place operation.
“City Hall clerks will regularly visit these new Fair Place spots and will make sure the system is working properly,” Kubátová says. “If some complaints or problems occur, City Hall will take immediate action.”
City authorities insist that the situation has improved since 2005, when Mayor Pavel Bém was charged six times the standard fare while traveling between Prague Castle and Old Town Square.
For the first six months of 2007, only 7.5 percent of taxi drivers checked were found to be cheating passengers, down from 14 percent in 2006.
“Five years ago, every third taxi ride was overcharged,” Kubátová says. “This year, it’s still a pretty high percentage, but as you can see, the situation is really improving.”
City Hall hopes to have officials administering most of the 72 remaining taxi stands by the end of the year, Kubátová says.    
But tourist authorities remain skeptical over whether the new campaign will effectively clamp down on the overcharging problem.
“It’s really one of the biggest and best-known tourist problems here in Prague,” said Tomio Okamura, spokesman for the Association of Tour Operators and Travel Agencies in the Czech Republic.
“Despite these new signs, we don’t think the problem will be solved. From a general view, I predict the situation will be the same.”
Currently, there is no law that requires visible meters in all taxis, No meters means drivers can increase rates, Okamura says.
Another problem is the number of taxi agencies that operate throughout Prague. Only yellow cabs will be required to stop at the Fair Place stands and numerous other taxi companies will not be subject to city’s new regulations, he says.
“I don’t believe all Prague tourists will look for a Fair Place sign before hailing a taxi. Most of them will probably just do it directly on the street,” Okamura says. “The industry really needs to make more systematic changes to address this problem. If the changes are systematic, they will apply to all taxi companies.”

Curtis M. Wong can be reached at news@praguepost.com


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