Happened to me too when I first got here, I didn’t have a signal, so no internet, no one would tell me how to use the public transport without the app, so I decided to take a taxi, turns out that my place was 6 minutes away, 750 kr, welcome to Oslo 🙃
Hi, so we were walking to Oslo bus terminal but maps was taking us in circles. We realised we would not get to the Bus Station in time and asked a taxi to take us. It was a 4min drive (see photo of receipt) and the total price was kr424. Is this normal? I’m struggling to understand the receipt as there are seemingly 2 trips – one which was kr123 for the 1.4km we travelled in 4minutes, and another which says kr96 for 0km and 0min, then an additional “start” price of kr180 and a “bom/miljøavgift” for kr25 which is strange because we did not drive through or past any tolls. The driver knew we were lost and in a hurry. Were we taken advantage of or is this normal? Thank you in advance for your replies.
Yeah, that looks too much IMO.
Looks like private taxi to me and he might have justified that price due to time and day, but that price still looks high to me. Did he have any company sticker like oslo taxi etc?
Next time if you need one try bolt i find it much cheaper with all the discounts they have all the time.
Only way to take a taxi in Oslo without surprises, is to have a set maximum price in advance from an app such as Taxifix.
Any taxi driver can basically legally charge whatever they want legally. Free market capitalism.
I never take a taxi. They charge you to come to you. So if you order a taxi and he is 15min away, yupp, you guessed it, you pay for that too.
Taxi driver Farhad Daryai scammed you, obviously. There is not even a taxi company logo on there. 180 kroner for getting in his cab, then 96 kroner for 0.00 km….
In Oslo, I mostly use Uber or Bolt, but if I need a regular taxi, I only use Oslo Taxi. Or Norgestaxi at a pinch. The rest are possible scams.
I would call Farhad Daryai on the phone number he provided and ask why a 4 minute taxi ride was 400 kroner and why 0 km is 96 kroner…
Obviously not an official taxi
I’m a little surprised that you could not find the bus terminal on the map. It’s right next to the central station. Google Maps, Apple Maps or other services should be able to find this location and not direct you in circles.
The receipt from the taxi, does not have any company name. The business registration number, appears to be for a small one-person company (“Enkeltmannsforetak”), so there’s likely only one person you can complain to: the driver in question, or possibly the owner of the car, if the owner has someone working for him.
Regarding taxis in Oslo: Aftenposten had an article yesterday about traffic chaos at Frogner, Oslo West. It seems taxis are waiting, up to four taxis parallel-parked in the street, plus more in front and back, outside a popular restaurant/club. This delays local car traffic and the tram, and local residents are kept awake by honking cars and taxis until 03, Wednesdays through Saturdays.
It’s more profitable for the taxis to charge more for fewer rides (and wait for the profitable rides), than to charge less and drive more.
The general advice seems to be:
1) Don’t take taxis in Oslo. Just don’t. Use public transportation, electric scooters, bikes, walk …. Use services like Google Maps or Apple Maps to find directions. Google Maps also shows schedules and routes for the local buses, trams, trains, the metro etc. So does the Ruter app and the Entur app, where you can buy tickets.
2) If you still want to/need to use a taxi: Use Oslo Taxi or possibly Norgestaxi. Call them or use their app. The other smaller taxi services are almost always more expensive and will increase the risk of very large bills.
3) A taxi parked at a taxi stand will typically cost more, compared to if you call the taxi service or use their app. Sometimes one of the more expensive taxis will be park in front of the taxi you want. Edit: but you can usually pick the taxi you want, even if other taxis are waiting in front. Just ask the driver.
More expensive taxis will not offer better service or nicer cars. They just cost more.
4) Don’t haul taxis on the street, with an outstretched arm and finger pointed upwards. This is the most expensive way of getting a taxi in Oslo.
edit: as others have said, use an app with fixed price in advance.
Been using Uber the last couple of days in Oslo and a. 20 minute ride was abot 165NOK usually.
Wow hella expensive, in Göteborg starting price is 59kr and goes up 44kr every km or so, VAT is also only 6% instead of 12% in NOway.
I paid 550kr at 2 am Saturday for a 5km/15min ride home after getting a bit too tipsy and missing the last metro a few weeks back. This was in some independent taxi company/single driver in a brand new tesla. I still think it was overpriced as I paid around 380kr for something similar in December but then in oslotaxi.
13 comments
Happened to me too when I first got here, I didn’t have a signal, so no internet, no one would tell me how to use the public transport without the app, so I decided to take a taxi, turns out that my place was 6 minutes away, 750 kr, welcome to Oslo 🙃
Hi, so we were walking to Oslo bus terminal but maps was taking us in circles. We realised we would not get to the Bus Station in time and asked a taxi to take us. It was a 4min drive (see photo of receipt) and the total price was kr424. Is this normal? I’m struggling to understand the receipt as there are seemingly 2 trips – one which was kr123 for the 1.4km we travelled in 4minutes, and another which says kr96 for 0km and 0min, then an additional “start” price of kr180 and a “bom/miljøavgift” for kr25 which is strange because we did not drive through or past any tolls. The driver knew we were lost and in a hurry. Were we taken advantage of or is this normal? Thank you in advance for your replies.
Yeah, that looks too much IMO.
Looks like private taxi to me and he might have justified that price due to time and day, but that price still looks high to me. Did he have any company sticker like oslo taxi etc?
Next time if you need one try bolt i find it much cheaper with all the discounts they have all the time.
Only way to take a taxi in Oslo without surprises, is to have a set maximum price in advance from an app such as Taxifix.
Any taxi driver can basically legally charge whatever they want legally. Free market capitalism.
I never take a taxi. They charge you to come to you. So if you order a taxi and he is 15min away, yupp, you guessed it, you pay for that too.
Taxi driver Farhad Daryai scammed you, obviously. There is not even a taxi company logo on there. 180 kroner for getting in his cab, then 96 kroner for 0.00 km….
In Oslo, I mostly use Uber or Bolt, but if I need a regular taxi, I only use Oslo Taxi. Or Norgestaxi at a pinch. The rest are possible scams.
I would call Farhad Daryai on the phone number he provided and ask why a 4 minute taxi ride was 400 kroner and why 0 km is 96 kroner…
Obviously not an official taxi
I’m a little surprised that you could not find the bus terminal on the map. It’s right next to the central station. Google Maps, Apple Maps or other services should be able to find this location and not direct you in circles.
The receipt from the taxi, does not have any company name. The business registration number, appears to be for a small one-person company (“Enkeltmannsforetak”), so there’s likely only one person you can complain to: the driver in question, or possibly the owner of the car, if the owner has someone working for him.
Regarding taxis in Oslo: Aftenposten had an article yesterday about traffic chaos at Frogner, Oslo West. It seems taxis are waiting, up to four taxis parallel-parked in the street, plus more in front and back, outside a popular restaurant/club. This delays local car traffic and the tram, and local residents are kept awake by honking cars and taxis until 03, Wednesdays through Saturdays.
https://www.aftenposten.no/oslo/i/RGlror/beboere-faar-ikke-sove-trikken-staar-og-stamper-hva-er-det-som-skjer-om-natten-paa-frogner
It’s more profitable for the taxis to charge more for fewer rides (and wait for the profitable rides), than to charge less and drive more.
The general advice seems to be:
1) Don’t take taxis in Oslo. Just don’t. Use public transportation, electric scooters, bikes, walk …. Use services like Google Maps or Apple Maps to find directions. Google Maps also shows schedules and routes for the local buses, trams, trains, the metro etc. So does the Ruter app and the Entur app, where you can buy tickets.
2) If you still want to/need to use a taxi: Use Oslo Taxi or possibly Norgestaxi. Call them or use their app. The other smaller taxi services are almost always more expensive and will increase the risk of very large bills.
3) A taxi parked at a taxi stand will typically cost more, compared to if you call the taxi service or use their app. Sometimes one of the more expensive taxis will be park in front of the taxi you want. Edit: but you can usually pick the taxi you want, even if other taxis are waiting in front. Just ask the driver.
More expensive taxis will not offer better service or nicer cars. They just cost more.
4) Don’t haul taxis on the street, with an outstretched arm and finger pointed upwards. This is the most expensive way of getting a taxi in Oslo.
5) Yango is owned by a large Russian company. https://yle.fi/a/74-20011929
yep, way above legal limit :/
edit: as others have said, use an app with fixed price in advance.
Been using Uber the last couple of days in Oslo and a. 20 minute ride was abot 165NOK usually.
Wow hella expensive, in Göteborg starting price is 59kr and goes up 44kr every km or so, VAT is also only 6% instead of 12% in NOway.
I paid 550kr at 2 am Saturday for a 5km/15min ride home after getting a bit too tipsy and missing the last metro a few weeks back. This was in some independent taxi company/single driver in a brand new tesla. I still think it was overpriced as I paid around 380kr for something similar in December but then in oslotaxi.
You definitely got ripped hard.