German Cities Impose Minimum Ride‑Hailing Prices to Protect Taxi Industry

Cities in North Rhine‑Westphalia—Essen, Cologne and Dortmund—are introducing minimum‑price rules for ride‑hailing services such as Uber and Bolt. In Essen, ride‑hailing fares may be at most 7 % below taxi rates; Cologne permits Uber to be 20 % cheaper; and from 1 September Dortmund will require ride‑hailing companies to charge the same price as taxis. The measures aim to ensure “fair competition” and address a sharp decline in taxi numbers (down about 23 % since 2014) while ride‑hailing firms have risen roughly 72 % in the same period.

Industry representatives, including Thomas Mohnke of the Safedriver Group, argue that fixed minimum prices are the wrong approach. They propose flexible pricing that can lower fares during low demand and raise them during peaks, mirroring Uber’s model, and call for broader digital modernization of the taxi sector. The debate reflects broader shifts in mobility habits since the pandemic, with more people using apps, fewer business trips, and higher operating costs for drivers.