TAXI Services
Complaints procedure
Residents of and visitors to Prague can lodge complaints about taxis to the City of Prague Council, specifically:
- overcharging – taxes, fees and prices division of the City of Prague Council
- driver conduct, unwillingness or refusal to accept a passenger– trading division of the City of Prague Council
- bad condition of taxi vehicle, non-issuance of a receipt, incomplete receipt, taximeter not working, etc. – transport division of the City of Prague Council
Most residents of and visitors to Prague cannot distinguish between a taxi vehicle and a „contractual conveyance“. For this reason we explain here the difference between a taxi service and occasional road passenger transport (what is called contractual conveyance).
Taxis are public road transport, used to convey passengers and their luggage and with a maximum load of nine people including the driver. They offer their services and their drivers accept custom in taxi ranks, on publicly accessible roads and other spaces or via a taxi despatching office.
Taxi vehicles must be fitted with the following, among other things:
- yellow roof light with TAXI inscribed in black on both sides
- broken black-and-white strips on the sides of the vehicle
- taxi serial number, a fare list and business name on both front doors
- inside the vehicle there must be a taximeter and on the dashboard the taxi driver‘s qualification certificate must be displayed (yellow, with the driver‘s photograph), giving his name and the operator‘s name
- inside the vehicle there must always be a detailed fare list setting out all fares used
Taxi drivers must always issue the customer with a receipt printed out by the taximeter – it must never be made out by hand. The receipt should include the following information: vehicle registration number, its taxi serial number, business name, registered address or permanent residence address of the taxi service operator. The driver then fills in by hand on the receipt the journey start point and destination and adds his signature. If the driver does issue merely a hand-written receipt, it is a good idea to note down the tax vehicle‘s registration number, or the taxi serial number from the doors of the vehicle, because hand-written receipts often contain false information, making it impossible subsequently to identify the taxi driver.
When making a complaint about a taxi service it is necessary to give as much information as possible – time and date of journey, registration number, taxi serial number, whether the driver displayed a taxi driver qualification certificate, what name it was in etc., and to add the receipt confirming payment of the fare.
Occasional road passenger transport is non-public public transport. Orders can only be taken for this kind of transport in advance (in writing, by telephone, by fax, electronically) at the registered address or place of business of a legal entity, in the place of permanent residence of the operator or at the place of business of a natural person. These orders for transport must be entered in the orders book in advance by the operator. The operator must also ensure that a copy of the record is placed in the vehicle carrying out the transport service. The licence certificate must also be displayed inside the vehicle. The passenger does not pay the driver for carriage but the operator, based on a bill.
Occasional road passenger transport vehicles must not be marked in a way that might cause it to be mistaken for a taxi and the services rendered must not be offered in a way that might cause it to be mistaken for a taxi. The vehicle must not have a taximeter. In practice, however, it is often the case that vehicles are marked with a banner on the roof or by various inscriptions such as „HOTEL TAXI, PRAHA TAXI“ etc. Sometimes they part in taxi ranks and offer their services there. This is strictly forbidden by law, however.
When making a complaint about a service offered by this kind of transport as much information as possible should be given (where the vehicle was hired, how the driver offered his services, describe in detail how the vehicle was marked, whether there was a taximeter in the vehicle, and in particular the time and date of the journey, and note down the registration number of the vehicle), because most receipts provided by this kind of transport contain false information.
The price charged for „contractual conveyance“ services are not regulated and are agreed between the operator and the customer. Once the client pays the required price, the price is regarded as agreed, so complaints about overcharging are immaterial.
Forms, required particulars, documents
When complaining about the driver‘s conduct, bad condition of the vehicle, non-issuance of a receipt, business name not displayed etc. - freely made out complaint (no form necessary) giving the following information:
- complainant‘s name and surname
- complainant‘s address (or telephone number)
- journey date
- information serving to identify the vehicle, driver (driver‘s name, description of the driver, vehicle registration number, type and colour of vehicle, serial number, business name etc.)
- place where complaint arose (or journey route)
- subject of the complaint
- names of any witnesses
When complaining about overcharging - form (available at the City of Prague‘s information centre)
Processing times:
30 days, in exceptional cases up to 60 days
Issue in dispose of
| Transport Department, Taxi Service Unit |
|
| Address: |
Jungmannova 29, Praha 1 |
|
Room No: |
162, 1st floor |
|
Tel.: |
(+420) 236 004 486 |
|
Office hours: |
Monday 12 a.m.– 5 p.m.
Wednesday 8 a.m. – 6 p.m
Alternative visits possible only after prior arrangement. |
Procedure for submitting complaints
The complaint with the aforementioned documents attached and marked with the division name should be sent by post or handed in at the City of Prague‘s main submissions office.
| Address: |
City of Prague Council, Mariánské nám. 2, 110 01 Prague 1 |
| Submissions office hours: |
Monday to Thursday 7:45 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Friday 7:45 a.m. – 4 p.m. |
Citizens can also lodge complaints directly at the individual departments of the divisions qualified to handle the particular complaint. This should be done on visiting days, Monday from 12 to 5 p.m. and Wednesday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Legislation
- Act no. 111/1994 Coll., on road transport, as amended;
- Decree no. 187/1994 Digest, which implements the road transport act, as amended;
- City of Prague decree no. 24/2000 Coll., on maximum passenger taxi fares;
- Section 24 par. 1 and Section 45 letter 1) of Czech National Council act. 367/1990 Coll., on municipalities (municipal authorities), as amended by act no. 302/1992 Coll. , and in line with the provision of Section 4a par. 1 letter a) of Czech National Council act no. 265/1991 Coll., on the powers of the organs of the Czech Republic in the area of prices, as amended by act no. 135/1994 Coll.