Munich (dpa / lby) - Taxi companies in the Free State are struggling with the effects of the corona pandemic. In the past two years, they have lost around a third of their drivers, according to Thomas Kroker, chairman of the Bavarian Taxi and Rental Car Association in Munich. Many drivers were poached by parcel services during the pandemic.
In the state capital alone, 700 to 800 taxi drivers are currently missing. "In Munich, 3,300 taxis are registered. We'll be happy if we get 2,000 on the road." Around 6,800 taxis are permitted across Bavaria.
Due to the pandemic, the business has shifted significantly. Now 70 percent of the clientele are tourists or visitors to restaurants, discotheques and theaters. These trips have been omitted for a long time, says Kroker. Instead, there were, among other things, more trips to the doctor. Business has been back to normal since spring.
However, the chairman of the taxi association has noticed further shifts since the introduction of the 9-euro ticket at Deutsche Bahn. There are customers who want to avoid the crowded trains and prefer to take a taxi. Or who get stranded somewhere at a train station, can't get any further and order a shared taxi with other train passengers, for example to catch their flight on time. The taxi companies benefited from this.
On the other hand, at Munich Airport, for example, it is noticeable that fewer passengers get into a taxi after their arrival. Kroker suspects that these are travelers who already have a 9-euro ticket and therefore take the S-Bahn to the city instead of - as they might otherwise do - a taxi.
