Unethical/criminal taxi drivers...why are they permitted?
 

Just read the post in regards to what a disgrace Athens is in which the taxi drivers were mentioned. We hear this in regards to so many cities...is it legal for drivers to charge whatever they want, and if not, why are they allowed to do so?
Anyone have any input on this?

No it is not legal. Prague taxicabs also have a reputation for ripping off tourists so we avoided riding in cabs. The one time we did ride a cab, we had the restaurant call one for us. The waiter told us that if the taxicab ripped us off, call him and he would "Kick the cab drivers a**". He clarified by saying that he would report the cab driver to the cab company and get him in trouble.

When the cab driver came the waiter had a stern talking to with the taxi cab driver and we were driven home with the meter running correctly. After receiving fair treatment we didn't mind tipping the cab driver generously.

We were also told that if a cab driver tried to rip us off and we were being dropped off at the hotel, run into the hotel and have the concierge talk to the cab driver. (maybe this was a guidebook tip?)

I think fraudulent cab drivers are not appreciated by anyone, locals or tourists alike.

"free enterprise" might be one explanation... many cities have both licensed and unlicensed taxi operators, meaning the licensed ones are held to certain conditions, rate schedules, etc whereas unlicensed operators are 'maverick' and do whatever they can get away with. Try to identify the licensed taxi companies before you visit a city (if there are any!)

The supposed corrupt Prague taxis are apparently well-known but e also encountered probelms in Budapest with rigged taxi cab meters.

IMO one of the things you can do about it is talk to the driver first and get an idea of how much the trip will cost. Of course, that doesn't stop them from quoting what ends up being an overly-inflated price.

They know when they've got you in a tough spot. They know that if you are going to the airport, you don't likely have alot of time to argue and pursue any course of action. They know the bus schedule and that you have clearly missed the last bus. They know and they use this information to get as much cash from you as they can. I know I have to take an early taxi tomorrow - I have no choice (no bus to airport) and I will probably get ripped off. If I argue for him to run the meter and he refuses - what do I do? Miss my train walking to the police station at 5:30 in the morning? I don't know how to solve this taxi issue, I really don't.

Sadly,

Murphy

In cities with only licensed cabs, there doesn't seem to be a problem? If the license is expensive and not easy to get who would risk it? In Munich there's no problem every cab has to display it's number visibly to the customer and that is it.

In Paris the problem sometimes is a new driver who doesn't really know where thing are. We once noticed that our taxi was heading up to Montmartre when we wanted to go to a restaurant in the 13th--on the other side of the river. Now that some cabs have GPS units it's less of a problem.

Of course, you can run into the same situation in any large U.S. city.