Taxis in Austria

I don't think this is unique to any particular country or city. Taxi drivers are in business and want to make money, if they take your fare they are likely passing up another one that would make them more money. It's pretty simple.

There's a magazine writer who lives pretty close to LAX and he would always complain that when he finally got into a cab after his flight, and told the driver where he was going, the driver was mightily peeved. Since he had been sitting in the holding pen waiting for a fare, and this is what he gets.

Perhaps it's not fair (fare?), but it doesn't seem that unusual. I was just staying at the airport hotel in Munich and saw taxi after taxi come pouring into the arrivals area just before a flight arrived, because they knew it was a long ride into town and (despite what they might have had to pay to get into the airport), it would be well worth their while.

I agree with Phred. Refusing a fare that is a short distance is not confined to Austria, or even Europe. There is no law that prevents a driver from refusing a fare for that reason. Being polite and explaining that you have a medical disability may have gotten you further than just being insistent and not taking no for an answer. I need to use a cane, and have occasionally run into the situation where the driver has said he normally wouldn't accept a fare that short, but would take us because of the cane. But we also try to plan our outings with our physical limitations in mind, so that we don't run into those situations whenever possible.

I had a closely related incident happen in Rouen, France back in 2019. I asked the front desk of my hotel to reserve a taxi for me to go to the train station the next morning. They called and signaled it was completed. The next morning I confirmed with the front desk that there was a taxi reservation for me leaving in an hour. I had breakfast, checked out and was waiting for the taxi out front ahead of time. I waited….and waited while other people’s taxis arrived to take them. I went in after it was definitely late and asked at the front desk. They called the taxi company, and the response was that they weren’t coming because they could get more money with rides out to the airport, plus I was a solo rider. Very annoying & stressful as I RAN through the downtown area and over & up the hill to try to make my train!

Unfortunately that experience is in the back of my mind, making waiting for any morning taxi ride on subsequent trips a bit stressful.

When you hail a cab at a train station or at the airport or even at a cab stop inside a city, that cab driver might have been waiting for his turn to take on a passenger 1/2 hour or longer.

He wants customers that take a ride that's worth his time for waiting in line.

But there's no reason for a cab driver to ever be snotty about a pickup in the middle of the city.

There is no law that prevents a driver from refusing a fare for that reason.

Aren't taxis regulated by the municipality in which they operate? A quick search suggests that cabbies are prohibited from refusing a fare based on distance of the trip - at least in certain circumstances. The extent to which this is, or can be enforced, is a different matter.

Here's an example from the regulations in Los Angeles; f) suggests these apply to cabs waiting in a zone or stand:

A driver shall not refuse to transport any person except for the following reasons.
Discriminatory based trip refusals shall result in permit revocation. The citing
Investigator/officer shall provide a supplemental written report of the incident including
the names, addresses and/or telephone numbers of all witnesses.

a. driver has already been dispatched on another call;
b. passenger is acting in a disorderly or threatening manner, or otherwise causes the
driver to reasonably believe that his/her health or safety, or that of others, may be
endangered.
c. there is a reasonable expectation that passenger may cause the taxicab to become
stained or evil smelling;
d. passenger requires the use of a litter or stretcher;
e. passenger can, upon request, show no ability to pay fare; and
f. driver is occupying a taxicab zone or taxicab stand pursuant to Board conditions
under Rules 741 and 742

There are rules, and then there is reality.

Another thing to note is that in Vienna if we had the hotel call a cab, it already had 4 or 5 euros on the clock. I'm more used to one or two.

I've taken taxis in Austria , France, England, Poland, and Germany. All were satisfactory, some enjoyable, except for two.

One unpleasant ride was in Berlin in 1995 when after a 10 hour train ride (incl. transfer waiting time in Mannheim) from Paris to Berlin Bahnhof Zoo, we, (this time the Mrs. was with me) were not really in the mood to do another 15 min. walk to the hotel with luggage in tow. Talking to driver in German, I found him to be sarcastic , which caught me off guard (never had that before) and his flippant comments uncalled. Certainly, this taxi experience was not satisfactory relative to my previous experience with taxis in Germany. I ended up snapping at the guy.

I've had taxis in Colmar refuse to take me to my hotel. Too close.

I was told that taxis at Keflavik airport in Iceland won't take people to a local hotel because they want fares into Reykjavik.

On the other hand, I once had a taxi take me from my hotel in Edinburgh to an address that I didn't realize was just a short walk away. He was nice about it and I gave him a decent, and I mean decent, tip. I could have easily walked it.

OP how close was too close? Cause on occasion I will grab a taxi from a store when I don't want to carry the bags. Even if it's 1km.

One way to avoid this, and explicitly what you should do in Hungary and I suspect most European markets, is not hail a cab, but call one.

A lot of companies have phone Apps now, which is a great way of avoiding language issues (like in London for instance). The app knows where you are and sends a cab to your location. Generally you can tell the app where to take you as well. With that done you receive nothing but happy drivers.

I guess I am spoiled. I live in a city that went from taxi chaos 15 years ago to a very well regulated, clean, safe and honest system. It's not uncommon for the drivers to wear ties and, or, sports coats. And it's still affordable.

It is worth pointing out that it is not correct or tolerated to hail a taxi from the street in Vienna. Taxis should only be taken from designated spots.

Also worth noting that it is really unusual to take a taxi a sort distance in Vienna because everyone especially older folks use public transportation.

People in Austria also won’t work for a few Euro. Not saying it is correct, it is just the lifestyle of a wealthy country.

Your request was highly unusual.

I didn't comment on how short the trip was, because the OP didn't provide that. Short to me might not be short to the OP.

Not terribly uncommon here despite good public transportation to use a cab on the way home from the store. NOTE TO SELF: pay stiore delivery fee in Vienna.

Refusal to take a fare is rude. Period. And the short fares are not unprofitable as the cab gets about 4 euro when you sit down, but only about .60 euro per km. Those guys were treating their cabs like lottery tickets hoping the next ride would be the big one.

Re: the route for the taxi is too short, ie, not worth the driver's time and effort.

I have come across that, at least twice, once in Paris where the driver was rather obnoxious. The Mrs. dealt with him in her fluent French, I could tell that he was just in a sarcastic , foul mood, so he and the Mrs went back and forth...interesting to watch. . It was good , besides effective, of her to handle this obnoxious guy in his own language.

The other time was in Poland going from the hotel to main train station in Torun in 2005. We knew the distance was too short but solved the problem easily with the driver.

Hailing a taxi , admittedly I did that once, did not know any better. That was in Paris in 1977, ie, hailed the taxi driving by so that I could get back to the hotel. I'm just lucky the guy even bothered to pick me up. He did not know English at all, my French then was zero.

In Germany and Austria I never hailed one, at least I knew better there, never called for one either but went to the marked "Taxistelle"

Still didn't know the proper procedure, but the drivers there were forbearing and tolerant of my ignorance....can't complain. That was in Osnabrück near the train station.