Due to the increase in fuel prices caused by the war in the Middle East, Sarajevo taxi drivers have raised the prices of their services enormously. Thus, just the start costs three and a half marks, while each kilometer traveled costs an additional 2.20 KM.
Readers who contacted us say that they used to pay 8 KM for a ride, now they pay up to 15 KM. Many said it was obscenely expensive and simply not worth it, while others said they were deliberately boycotting taxi rides.
Therefore, it is not surprising that some taxi operators say that their traffic has dropped significantly.
– Iskeno, of course traffic has dropped. It fell by as much as 40 percent. The prices are really enormous, but so are our costs. The prices of taxi services have not increased only because of the increase in fuel prices. Take into account how much public revenue costs have increased, how the minimum has increased to 1,000 marks – says the director of Yellow Taxi, Jasmin Zajko.
Will taxi prices go down if fuel prices go down?
We were interested in what would happen if fuel prices fell.
– Of course we will lower the prices of taxi services. As a company, we monitor the situation every day and wait for the right moment and we will lower the prices. Taxi prices were last adjusted in 2022. Imagine how much everything has changed since then, the cost of living has increased, certain taxes have become more expensive for us. However, if fuel prices fall, we will certainly correct the prices of taxi services. It will be significantly smaller – Jasmin Zajko, director of Yellow Taxi, tells Faktor.
We will not reduce prices
The Sarajevo taxi company says that they do not yet have definitive data on the drop in traffic.
– We are now doing some business analysis and after a few days we will go public with the information. When we raised the price, we were not only concerned with fuel prices. We did it based on economic indicators. Prices have not changed for four years. How is the price of a taxi service formed? Two liters of gasoline fuel is one start. A liter of fuel is one kilometer traveled. We found some compromise between the prices and our economic market and that’s how we formed the prices. It means that these prices that we have now are below the level that should be. We will certainly not lower the prices – says Enver Suljagić from the Sarajevo Taxi Association.
We were interested in what will happen if some other taxi companies lower the price because that will immediately mean competition.
– Let there be competition. Let them lower the prices. The price can only increase. I repeat again, it is not only about the price of fuel, but about all the costs that have increased, which we have to pay. Our customers, users of our services are very satisfied – says Enver Suljagić from Sarajevo taxi.
What is the situation in other cities?
And while some admit the drop in traffic and even announce a price reduction if there is a drop in fuel prices, and others say that the prices will not drop for sure, taxi drivers from Tuzla taxi have not changed their prices for 20 years.
Thus, the price of up to three kilometers costs five convertible marks, and each kilometer traveled costs one convertible mark.
Driving at night is a bit more expensive, so you pay six KM for driving up to three kilometers, and for each subsequent kilometer, you also pay an additional mark.
We were interested in why they didn’t raise the prices.
– That’s because we don’t work on a taximeter. We have fixed prices. We will try to introduce that taximeter, but we cannot do it alone. Because if only we introduce and others don’t, our business will decline. Because if we raise prices, others lower and increase the mileage. Our passengers transfer to those other services, we sit at the booth, and others work. It’s not just our problem. That is the state’s problem. We should work in accordance with the law and harmonize prices. There is, for the most part, work – says the president of the Tuzla Taxi Association, Almir Kovačević.
They did not raise prices in Banja Luka, but they are not cheap either
Behind the Banja Luka taxi, Euro Radio Taxi Banja Luka, say that they have not changed their prices for several years, and that they are satisfied with the number of customers and the volume of work.
– For us, the start is three convertible marks, and each kilometer traveled is two marks. We are operating at a positive zero. We also hope for the stabilization of the situation on the world market. God forbid it stays like this, we would also have to adjust the prices. I say, there are passengers, but of course it is felt overall. Everything has become more expensive, so of course people have less money because it affects everything. You know how it goes with us. Make fuel more expensive, haircuts more expensive – says Darko Vučić from Euro Radio Taxi Banja Luka for Faktor, he writes Factor.
