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The Cheapest – and Most Expensive – Taxi Fares Worldwide!

by Lifney Admin August 27, 2023, 7:46 pm 1k Views

The country with the most expensive taxi fare is Switzerland – at £20.25 for 5km.

The country with the cheapest taxi fare is Egypt – a cost of just 0.75 pence, for a 5km taxi ride.

In Britain, you can expect to pay £9 for the privilege of a 3-mile ride: the 8^th most expensive fare.

As we melt into summer, we start to think of faraway adventures, mini-breaks and well-deserved holidays. Some may have a few trips booked in, others may be in the dizzying planning stage and deciding where to go. But no doubt everyone wants to know more about travelling the globe – especially if it saves money.

In consideration of this, taxi2aiport.com crunched the numbers to find out the cheapest – and most expensive – taxi fares worldwide.

After all, when you arrive abroad, you’ll often be sans car and totally dependent on public transport. Taxis are a great choice if you prefer to avoid busier, awkward modes of transport (here’s looking at you buses!)

To achieve the figures, Taxi2Airport analysed data* collated by Taxi-Calculator.com. The average taxi fare presented is relative to a 5km (3.1 miles) journey. Taxi2Airport chose to focus on 5km because, faced with a journey of this length, hailing a cab is often a necessity – especially if you have luggage or kids to hand.

The country with the cheapest taxi fare is Egypt – a cost of just 0.75 pence, for a 5km taxi fare. In fact, the base fee for a taxi fare in Egypt is as low as 21 pence. Egypt is followed closely by India (£1.15), Thailand (£1.26) and Indonesia (£1.50) in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, in Malaysia (£1.52) and Mexico (£1.61) you can grab a 5km cab ride for under £2!

Rounding off the top 10 cheapest countries for taxi fares is Turkey (£2), followed by China (£2.15), South America’s Argentina (£2.18) and Vietnam – a cost of just £2.21, for a 5km taxi fare.

At the other end of the spectrum, taxi fares for a 5km journey are far more expensive in European countries, such as Sweden (£8.85) and France (£8.93.)

While in Britain, you can expect to pay £9 for the privilege of a 3-mile ride! In fact, the base fee for a taxi fare in Britain is £2.64 – one of the highest fees recorded.

On the other side of the world, New Zealand is next with a fare that is marginally higher than that in Britain, at £9.40. Followed swiftly by more European counties like Austria (£10.36), Belgium (£11.52), the Netherlands (£11.97) and Germany (£12.32.)

However, the two most expensive countries to take a taxi are Japan – at a cost of £13.97 for just 5km – and Switzerland – at an almighty £20.25! Maybe it’s best to pound the pavement if you are dreaming of faraway trips to either of these destinations…

5 great tips to save money and organise your trip more efficiently

Taxi2Airport spoke exclusively with David Else, writer of several Lonely Planet guidebooks, to gain further insight into travelling the globe. Below, David shares 5 great tips to help you save money and organise your trip more efficiently.

In many developing countries (such as some countries in Africa) the taxis have no meters, so it’s important to ask the driver in advance what the fare will be. It’s even more important to do this before getting in the car and setting off. Otherwise, it’s too late!
If you think the driver may be tempted to overcharge, ask a friendly local what the fare should be. As a tourist, you may not get exactly the same fare as a local, but if it’s pretty close you should be happy.
If you’re taking public transport around a city in a developing country (such as India), it can be a frenetic experience. If possible, find out in advance what the fare should be – by asking a local – and have the exact money ready to pay the fare.
In developed countries with good public transport networks (such as Holland), it pays to do a bit of research in advance on how to buy tickets. For example, if you buy from a ticket machine in advance it’s cheaper than buying the ticket on the service, or at a booking desk. Understanding the cities where you must buy the ticket in advance saves embarrassment too.
In some locations, it’s cheaper to buy public transport tickets in batches of 10 or 20, so check this possibility if you’re in a city for a few days and planning to take lots of public transport trips while you’re there.