Cabbies protest city claims

Despite City Hall's claim that taxi infractions decreased in 2008, a recent protest led by a company notorious for price-gouging is leaving customers and travel authorities thinking otherwise.

In the wake of City Hall's claims that a company calling itself Euro Taxi Praha s.r.o. is the leading violator of city taxi regulations, drivers from the firm instituted a citywide protest Dec. 3-5. Officials say that, among other things, Euro Taxi Praha overcharges customers at 90 Kč ($4.80) per kilometer, well above the city-set rate of 28 Kč per kilometer.

"We don't like prices being dictated," said Pavel Jelínek, director of Euro Taxi, before confirming that his firm was responsible for the highest number of taxi-related infractions in Prague. "The city's suggested rate is unrealistic."

Shots of the protest were broadcast on local television stations as protesting drivers blockaded City Hall with more than 100 cabs.

Officials downplayed the incident, saying the company was subjected to the same regulations that exist for all Prague-based taxi firms and had not been singled out in any way.

"It may seem that our relations with Euro Taxi are somehow exceptional," said Rudolf Dobiáš, spokesman for City Hall, before noting that several of the company's drivers have "openly admitted" to breaking the law. "Based on service checks, this company has had the highest number of infractions, and they have been fined several times."

Euro Taxi's circumstances remain unclear. Although various Web sites, including Expats.cz, have listings for the company and discussion threads regarding its services, a Google search for the Web site of Euro Taxi Praha leads to a rudimentary page with price listings that have not been updated in more than a year.

Some have accused the firm of mimicking the services of the more reputable AAA Taxi in an effort to deceive customers. AAA officials claim Euro Taxi has gone as far as to reproduce the former company's logo - instead of the standard linear AAA design, the letters are printed diagonally - on some of its cars, in an attempt to confuse passengers.

"Two months ago, I noticed a [Euro Taxi] car with a logo that looked like ours, and stationed at a place where AAA normally parks its cabs," said AAA Taxi owner Jiří Kvasnička. "They are [acting like] parasites of our company." He went on to note that his firm has received complaints from customers whom he believes used a Euro Taxi cab with one of the counterfeit AAA logos, saying they were charged well over the standard rate for services.

"Because they are using our logo, it is hurting our business," he said.

The company is currently in the process of filing a criminal complaint against Euro Taxi.

Jelínek refutes the allegations, saying the logo on his firm's cars stands for "Asociace Autopřepravců A-OSTAXI Praha," which does not reference the rival firm.

In the wake of the protest, City Hall officials said no further negotiations with Euro Taxi are planned. "City Hall has not been involved in any negotiations with the company, as with other taxi companies. We only require, as with other providers, complying with the law."

Favored treatment

Other insiders say the city's "favorable" treatment of the AAA firm may be the cause of the problems. In 2007, the company was the focus of the citywide "Fair Places" campaign, in which new signs with thumbs-up logos were placed at 49 of Prague's taxi stands, said to guarantee passengers an appropriate fare.

Each sign included information in Czech, German and English, along with approximate prices to popular locations in the city, and cabs waiting at each of these stands were subject to routine checks by city officials. However, only AAA cabs were required to stop at these stands, and numerous other taxi companies were not subject to the city's regulations. Because AAA was at the center of the campaign, some authorities feel competitors may have felt brushed aside by the city.

"The situation in the taxi business isn't standard," said Tomio Okamura, spokesman for the Association of Tour Operators and Travel Agencies in the Czech Republic. "City Hall essentially chose one of many taxi companies and created exclusive spaces just for them. Now we have cases such as Euro Taxi."

Jelínek agreed. "City Hall doesn't want to deal with us. The system of taxi stands is set up in such a way that only a big radio-dispatching company can meet the requirement."

Okamura suggested City Hall look at legislation involving taxis in cities such as Vienna and Munich.

Kvasnička agreed, saying he felt City Hall had little incentive to introduce new legislation that would further crack down on the infamous taxi situation. "It seems strange that state authorities are unable to ensure order and do something about [approximately] 70 people who affect the reputation of over 3,000 taxi drivers in Prague. I don't know if this is intentional or not."

Curtis Wong can be reached at
cwong@praguepost.com