SURVIVING TAXIS IN ATHENS, GREECE last updated: Tuesday, 17-Jul-2012 14:28

My frustration with Athens taxi drivers reached its peak on my 2003 trip to Greece and I decided to do something about it. Greece is being modernized, and frequent visitors can see the vast improvements in areas such as the road and telecommunications infrastructure, e-government and substantial reduction in government bureaucracy. Athens is hosting the 2004 Olympic Games.

However, certain aspects of modern Greece are rather slow in modernizing. Taxi service is an example. Although there are decent and honest taxi drivers in Athens (and I have met such over the years), the proportion of crooks among them is a bit too high. This web page starts with the premise that an informed consumer is more difficult to cheat. Tourists who just arrived in Greece and do not have a sense of taxi fares are prime targets for unscrupulous taxi drivers. Add a late night arrival after a long transatlantic flight, and a kid in tow, and you have the perfect victim. Theoretically, illegal practices by taxi drivers are to be reported and action against them taken. In practice, it is not clear what are illegal practices, where and how to report them, and you may be reluctant to put up a fight when all you need is some rest.

Here is an anthology of how Athens taxi drivers have tried to fraudulently take my money over the years. Their inventiveness never ceases to amaze me!

- (2003) He will board you on his taxi and start on his way without turning the meter on and without telling you how much it costs.
- (2003) You ask for the meter to be turned on, and he will fumble with it, but not turn it on properly. In the meanwhile, you are away from the taxi stand, and, if it is late night and you carry heavy luggage, it would be difficult to find another taxi, if you ask to get off.
- (2003) He will give you a price that is significantly higher than the actual value of the trip. This price may seem reasonable to you, as taxi fares in North America and northern Europe are higher and distances travelled are typically longer.
- (2003) He may exploit your confusion about the look and feel of euro currency, and he will produce a 5-euro bill in place of the 20-euro bill you thought you gave him, and claim that you gave him a 5-euro bill.
- (1990-2007) The driver will pick up other passengers on the way to your destination, and will make detours to deliver them, while the meter is running. This is generally accepted in Athens, due to the very low taxi fare compared with European and North American cities. However, the driver will collect the proper fare for the other passengers, and he will not give you a discount, making the detours to serve them at your expense.
- (1990-2004) The route the driver will follow will not necessarily be the shortest route to your destination, but the route that will maximize his chances of picking up other passengers on the way, so that he collects double fare.
- (1996-2004) People with children and luggage are highly undesirable passengers, as they fill up the taxi and make it difficult or impossible to pick up other passengers on the way. As a result, taxi drivers on the street will discriminate against such passengers and refuse to take them on, especially off the street. Where police is present to regulate the hiring of taxis, for example at the Athens airport, and sometimes at the intercity bus stations, taxi drivers usually cannot select their passengers.
- (2005) On a trip from the airport, the taxi driver lawfully charges the surcharge for airport pickup, and the toll on Attiki Odos (the highway from the airport to the outskirts of the city). The taxi driver will, however, generously round up to the next ten the requested fair, claiming that it is for the "luggage", charging two or three times the legal amount for the "luggage". To avoid tracking, upon request for a receipt, he will issue an illegal handwritten receipt, instead of the legal printout of the fare meter.
- (2005) You have called a radio taxi and waiting on the sidewalk. A taxi stops and you ask if this is the radio taxi you called. Driver says yes, and you get in, without noticing that the radio taxi company sign is missing. He drives you to your destination. When you ask for a receipt, he carefully tears off the top part with the license number of the taxi. When you call the radio taxi company a few days later, you are told that you owe a fine of 10 euros for a no-show. Yes, taxi drivers will do it to each other, as well!
- (2005) You pick up a taxi from the airport with a friend who is going to a different destination. If the first person to get off pays the fare up to that point, the taxi driver may attempt to illegally charge the second person the full fare from the airport again!
- (2006, 2007) When making a radio taxi appointment, the taxi driver may arrive 10 minutes early and start the meter right away. The extra charge for this will be 1.52 euros. So try to be on time at your radio taxi appointment, otherwise you will be overcharged the waiting time!
- (2007) Taxi drivers, even radio taxi drivers, have the bad habit of rounding up to the next euro not just the total amount, but also the charges for luggage and radio calls. This results in a demanded total that could be significantly higher than the legal total.

Here is what to do to minimize the probability of being cheated by a taxi driver:

- If near a taxi stand, walk there yourself with your luggage and take the first taxi in line. Do not talk to taxi drivers trying to pick you up as a passenger.
- Once in the taxi, do not allow the taxi driver to open a conversation with you. Do not tell him where you come from. He may be trying to assess your potential as a victim.
- When you pay, unfold the cash and speak up the amount you are giving him. Watch his hands carefully as he counts the change.
- If the taxi driver starts the trip without turning the meter on, stop him immediately and request the meter to be turned on, or else get off.
- If the taxi driver offers you a flat rate instead of using the meter, stop him immediately and request to get off. The flat rate will be a lot more than what the meter would record.
- Tell the taxi driver upfront that you want the most direct route to your destination, and no other passengers picked up on the way.
- Be prepared to threaten the taxi driver by recording his number, and/or his license plate, and that you will report him to the police. A crook will likely react in a rude manner and drop you off the taxi immediately. He will not risk being reported.
- Call for and use radio taxis as much as possible. However, radio taxi drivers are not as professional as you would expect for the premium that you pay. And complaints to the radio taxi company have resulted in a recommendation to confront the taxi driver on the spot for overcharging..
- When calling a radio taxi, make a note of the radio taxi company you called, and make sure that the taxi that you enter carries the label of the company on its door. Taxi drivers may spot you and take you on, "stealing" you from the legitimate radio taxi that you called. When this happens, the radio taxi company, for its protection, will blacklist your address/phone number, unless you pay a 10 euro fee to clear your record. Do wait for your radio taxi and don't board on purpose a taxi that passes by to save the radio taxi surcharge, i.e. be fair to the radio taxi driver.
- Do your own mental calculations of the various charges. Taxi drivers will always be "sloppy" and round these charges up (never down).
- If you are getting off the boat at the port of Piraeus with luggage and children, especially early in the morning, be prepared for a long and aggravating struggle to get a taxi, as taxi drivers are choosy and refuse to take you on as an "undesirable" passenger. At the intercity bus stations (ΚΤΕΛ) and the Athens airport, there are (usually) orderly lines for both taxis and passengers, and police presence, which (usually) minimizes aggravation.
- Use the metro, bus/trolley/tram and suburban train system in Athens. They are cheap, they take you pretty much everywhere you want to go when you carry no or light luggage, and they spare you the aggravation of having to deal with taxi drivers. The metro is not affected by traffic jams, so it may even be faster than a taxi for trips in the city.
Bus lines, routes and schedules are available on the OASA Web site. For Metro routes, stations, hours of operation and fares, visit the Metro web site. For suburban rail, visit the suburban rail web site (greek only).
Note the integrated ticket, which allows you to use all transit means (metro, bus/trolley, tram) from your origin to your destination, within 90min.
The airport has excellent express bus service to downtown Athens, and Piraeus. Metro and suburban train also serves the airport.
- If you pick up a taxi from the airport with a friend who is going to a different destination, both of you should get off the taxi together at the first stop, and then one takes another taxi to his/her destination.

What can the government and taxi unions (e.g. Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Public Order, Greek National Tourist Organization, Taxi owners' confederation of Greece) do to protect taxi passengers?

Cities in developed countries around the world have devised many different ways to protect the taxi passenger, especially the newly arrived traveller. For example:
- Publicize widely the taxi fares, and what are typical illegal practices, including phone numbers for passenger complaints,
both on the Internet through the GNTO site and in places like airports, bus stations, sea ports.
- Establish and have posted on the back seat of each taxi fixed fare zones when travelling from the airport to the city (e.g. Toronto). Post the price list on the back seat so that passenger can easily inspect it while travelling.
Fixed fare was established between Athens Centre (Daktilios) and the Athens airport in Feb. 2011.
- Legislate the placement of the license plate number and ID number of the taxi in plain sight in the back seat.
- Remove the anonymity of taxi drivers picking up passengers from airports, bus stations, or sea ports, by
controlling access to taxis and providing the customer with a code number that clearly identifies the taxi, and
a phone number to report complaints (e.g. Montreal).
- The Taxi Owners' Confederation of Greece and its member organizations should realize that the crooks among the taxi drivers give a bad name to the whole profession, therefore it is in their interest to take active measures to isolate them.

Unfortunately, it seems it will take many more years for any of the above steps to be implemented to protect taxi passengers.

Taxi Rates in euro (for Athens metropolitan area) / Τιμολόγιο ταξί σε ευρώ (Αθήνα και περίχωρα)

All taxis MUST use the meter, if the driver doesn't switch it on when you get in, ask him to. There are two basic tariffs, number 1 and number 2. Depending on the time of day and the journey the driver must select the correct rate. Tariff number 1 is the "day rate" used from 5.00 am to 12.00 midnight and tariff number 2 is the night rate valid from 12.00 midnight to 5.00 am. Also, tariff number 1 is used within the limits of the town or city where the taxi is registered and tariff number 2 is used outside that zone. The number 1 or 2 should be clearly visible on the meter.

Trip between Athens Centre (Daktilios - Ring) and the airport is FIXED TARIFF of 35 euros (day rate) and 50 euros (midnight to 5am) as of Feb. 2011. The rate type is based on arrival time. Rate includes all taxes and surcharges. For details, see the airport web site.

Telephone numbers for information and complaints

Ministry of Transportation, Υπουργείο Μεταφορών: 210 650 88 61, -62, -63
Ministry of Public Order, Υπουργείο Δημόσιας Τάξης: 210 69 23 450

ΡΑΔΙΟΤΑΞI στην περιοχή της πρωτεύουσας (Radio Taxi companies in the capital region)

ΑΘΗΝΑ "1" 1203 (Athens)
ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝ 3636508
ΑΣΤΕΡΑΣ 6144.000
ΓΛΥΦΑΔΑ 9605.600 (Glyfada)
ΕΝΟΤΗΤΑ 6459.000
ΕΛΛΑΣ 6457.000
ΕΡΜΗΣ 4115.200
ΕΥΡΩΠΗ 5023.583
ΕΞΠΡΕΣ 9943.000
ΙΚΑΡΟΣ 5152.800, fax: 210 5150 457, info@athens-taxi.gr
ΚΟΣΜΟΣ 1300
ΚΗΦΙΣΙΑ 6233.100 (Kifissia)
ΠΑΡΘΕΝΩΝ 5223.300
ΠΕΙΡΑΙΑΣ "1" 4182.333 (Piraeus), 801 11 43000 (Piraeus), 801-11-36000 (Athens), fax: 210 4185 915
ΠΡΩΤΟΠΟΡΙΑ 2221.623

Πανελλήνια Ομοσπονδία Επαγγελματιών Ταξί - Taxi Owners' Confederation of Greece
Κεντρικά Γραφεία: Πειραιώς 4
info@hellastaxi.gr
Τηλ: 210 5236904
Fax : 210 5235198

Ραδιοταξί Χαλκίδας - Radio Taxi of Chalkis : 22210 89300
Ραδιοταξί Ίκαρος