Taxi in Bucharest

First time in Bucharest? Landing on Henri Coanda airport? You need transfer by taxi?

This is what you need to know.

Bucharest is a Very safe city. I am not afraid to walk at 3 AM in the city. And is better than Bruxelles or Paris 100%.

When you arrive at the airport, you have to get a taxi ticket no. from the two machines in the hall.

comenzi taxi

Sometimes is a long queue.

There are two tariffs: for standard car or for luxury car. For a western citizen both are cheap, but the standard is like e bus ticket (and you can share it). If you want to get the cheaper one, it should cost around 10 euro for most of Bucharest destination. The luxury taxi is double+. If you choose the luxury, you probably get the car in less than 15 min from the moment the ticket is issued by the machine. For standard, if the arrival hall is crowded, could be more. No scam taxi can pick you up these days from the airport (unless you are looking for one  😉 ). Most of Romanians, to skip the queue from Arrivals, go at Departures and pick one taxi that just left the client for departure. The tariff is the same as at arrivals but you can spare some/lot of time. The only option to have bad luck is to get one “private” taxi from the Departures area that just scammed the departing client.

There is a list of taxi companies everybody uses:

Speed Taxi  http://www.speedtaxi.ro

Taxi Meridian  http://meridiantaxi.ro

Taxi Cobalcescu  http://www.autocobalcescu.ro/taxi/comanda_taxi/

Cris Taxi http://cristaxi.ro/

Taxi Pelicanul http://taxipelicanul.ro/

Taxi 2000 http://www.taxi2000.ro/

Taxi As  http://www.taximetre.ro/companie/taxi-as/

Taxi D’artex http://taxidartex.ro/

Star Taxi http://www.startaxiapp.com/

So, if is a long queue to the taxi ticket machine, go to Departures, look at one of this taxi operators and have prepared a listed correct address of destination. Most of the Romanian taxi drivers on standard cars have no clue of English but they have gps and tablets with applications to drive you (if the address is not well known).

The taxi should have yellow color, taxi sign on the roof, price sticker on both sides – now is 1,39 lei/km standard or 3,49 lei/km luxury, phone no. short and long, a counter inside they turn on in few meters after start, the picture with name, license of the driver and info about the tariff again. If is like this, you don’t have to worry.

The standard taxi is usually not so clean but supportable. If the car looks new is probably ok inside as well. If looks old….

official taxi in Bucharest

The SCAM TAXI are easy to differentiate. First of all, you need to know that there are not so many, they are exceptions. 95% of taxi are using the same flat rate 1,39 lei. The legal ones have the same identification signs but the price. Some of them have London prices but you can see the price easy.

taxi scam

Others, with no license, they have partially yellow stickers on sides (so the car is not completely yellow), they do not have a company name (they have sometimes but not one from the list above) and most probably they don’t have the prices listed. The cars are usually verry clen and bright, which is different from the standard. These scammers stay close to the Old City, main city luxury hotels or malls.

Now, is another trick: 99% of the standard taxi are on LPG and a part of the trunk is occupied by the cylinder. As well 99% of the taxi is Dacia Logan, who’s trunk is ok for 2 checked luggage and one 2 backpack. So, if you are 3 or 4 person and have lot of luggage you must check it first. That mean waste of time if you have to change the taxi.

If you need taxi in Bucharest, you can find them easy in the center and almost at any main intersection. Follow the same car checking. Is better to install one of the main apps: speed taxi or any other on the list. Clever Taxi is an app developed for few of the companies listed. You can get one taxi even if you are on the street, far from a taxi station but you are not moving (of course). Check on app store or google play by “taxi bucuresti”-the Romanian name of the city.

Most of the hotels have direct connection with at least one taxi company.

Uber works in Bucharest but is yet at the beginning. You can use it but not often in the airport area. Not many Uber taxi drivers live in the airport area. The price should be 1,45 lei but most of the cars are clean and safe (depends on the driver experience). I had 2 bad experiences with Uber drivers. Once he was close to have an accident, second, I had to show him the way, but I am sure this are exceptions.