This clean and cozy Baltic country, even long before joining the European Union, has always been considered European. Bringing public, social, legislative norms and standards to a common denominator facilitated rapid integration into the EU. Today taxis in Latvia are practically no different from their counterparts in other European countries in terms of quality and cost of service. The Latvian state takes an active part in regulating the activities of operators, although the remnants of the past still make themselves felt from time to time.
General information about Latvian taxi
In 2021, the country's government took measures to tighten control over the activities of illegal taxi drivers, who should no longer remain. Everyone who wants to work on a commercial basis is entered in a special register, and the work of operators is subject to compulsory licensing.
Now it is much easier to call a taxi, and the trip will be 100% safe. The driver receives a serial number, which must correspond to the one printed on the board of his car. The car can be recognized by the special yellow registration numbers with the letter combinations TX and TQ.
The color of the cars can be different, but it must necessarily be bright, recognizable, coincide with the corporate one - a single one adopted by the operator for its fleet. The cars must be marked with emblems, "checkers", phone numbers, physical addresses of companies indicating the city, on the roofs there must be characteristic yellow or white lanterns.
Drivers receive orders from dispatchers on a first-come, first-served basis. Before the advent of mobile applications, this was done using a walkie-talkie. Note for autotourists: the "sober driver" service is provided.
How and where to find a taxi in Latvia
You can order a taxi in Latvia by phone. There are about fifty taxi companies providing services throughout the country. The number can be marked for yourself on cars, you can find out in reference books, by calling the information service (+ 371-11-88), at the hotel reception or at the airport. There is a single taxi call service in Riga: + 371-88-08.
The car can be easily found in the nearest parking lot, there are many of them at airports, train stations, near large supermarkets, parks, recreation areas or a large crowd of people. Most of all in tourist centers, near major attractions, museums, theaters and exhibition centers.
However, ordering a taxi online is much more modern, more comfortable and cheaper. There are enough world-famous aggregators in the country. Every self-respecting operator has a website that offers remote services, transfers to tourist destinations in different parts of the country and neighboring countries, regardless of distance.
Mobile applications
Mobile internet is not a problem in Latvia. Locals and tourists alike have all the facilities to make it easy to use the dedicated taxi app. The most popular here are the following:
- ClickTaxi LV is a convenient remote ordering service that allows you to choose the nearest car without having to indicate your own location.
- Free Taxi is the application of the first taxi in Riga with a low and pre-known price.
- Taxify is a program of a company represented in 25 countries of the world.
- Yandex.Taxi, a service well known to Russians, entered the Latvian market in 2021. To make an order is available in Latvian. The service will automatically determine the location of the client and direct the nearest driver to him.
- Uber.
Tariff policy
Taxi prices in Latvia are regulated by the state. Operators set tariffs within the limits allowed by them. Payment is charged exclusively by the counter.
As elsewhere, the cost consists of the following components:
- boarding (or calling): 0.7–2 euros;
- fare: 0.35–0.8 euros per 1 km;
- waiting time: 0.12–0.14 EUR / min.
The landing site and direction of travel also matter. The approximate cost of a trip from the capital's airport to the center is 10 euros, and the price of a taxi from Riga to Jurmala in the tourist season reaches 40 euros, although usually the trip costs one and a half times less.
The night rate (after 23.00) used by some companies is 1.5 times higher than the day rate. The class of the car (economy, premium), the range of services (Wi-Fi, bar, assistance with boarding, loading luggage), other features (free booklets, newspapers, city maps, child seats, seats for the disabled) greatly affect the fare.
Therefore, in order to say exactly how much a taxi costs in Latvia, you need to contact the operators' representatives or make a specific order.
Paid parking is paid by the passenger if the taxi is not ordered, but is taken from the paid parking. Tipping is usually given within one euro. The driver is obliged to provide the check in any case.
In addition, from March 1, 2021, taxi drivers in Latvia will be required to post information on fares for rides on the body of the car and in the cabin: the size of letters and numbers cannot be less than 40 mm, and the inscription must be made in a color that contrasts with the main one. the color of the car or background.
Taxis in major Latvian cities
Major carriers concentrate their activities on transport between major hubs. Taxi services in large cities of Latvia deserve special attention. These are certified organizations that provide drivers with cars for fleets with which they conclude contracts.
Drivers are checked before leaving by doctors, they undergo regular checks on their knowledge of traffic rules. In general, the service is civilized, safe, and taxi drivers are always in uniform, polite and tidy. The tariffs are about the same everywhere, so there is little point in paying a detailed study of them.
Riga taxi
The capital of the country has the largest selection of operators.
- Baltic Taxi in Riga is considered the most representative, one of the most predictable in terms of the level of service, comfort of cars, corporate style of behavior. Drivers here do not smoke while driving, the operator calls back when the car arrives, several calculation options are offered. Tariffs also correspond to the high level of service. The fleet includes light green minivans Toyota Ford S-MAX, Corolla Verso, Toyota Verso. There are minibuses and even a “charged” Ford Mustang. Each car has Wi-Fi, child seats. The company's website is baltictaxi.com, the phone number for ordering is +371 200-00-850.
- Alviksa offers the most affordable prices, a motley fleet of vehicles (Dacia, Lada, German cars of venerable age) in different colors. Tariffs are 1.5 times lower than those of the leaders. Company website ─ www.alviksa.lv. Alviksa taxi can be ordered by phone: +371 672-53-535, +371 676-07-474.
- Red Cab is the second largest park in the country. All cars are red, standard equipment, mainly Ford S-Max. The service is identical to Baltic Taxi, but offers free Wi-Fi. The operator focuses on safety. The tariffs and the list of services can be found at rtp.lv. Phone for ordering cars: +371 800-01-313.
- Smile Taxi is a large operator with yellow Toyota cars and high fares, which you can inquire about on smile.taxi or by calling +371 225-77-677, 672-62-525.
- LadyTaxi are ladies' taxis, but only in the sense that the drivers are exclusively female. There is a new fleet of dark red Toyota models equipped with child seats. Company website: ladytaxi.lv, phone: +371 278-00-900.
Last year, Yandex.Taxi started operating in Riga, which charges no more than 0.71 euros for a call, then ─ 0.36 euros per km and 0.13 euros per minute of travel. Payment is possible by credit card in the application. The average waiting time after a call is approximately five minutes.
Operators in Jurmala
Jurmala is the most famous Latvian resort since Soviet times. This is the main place of concentration of hotels, places of entertainment, beaches on the Riga seaside. There are many shopping centers here.
Taxi ranks in Jurmala can be easily found everywhere, because far from poor tourists come here. Comfortable movement around the city and the surrounding area is provided by local operators:
- Jurmalas Taxi: tel .: +371 291-16-579;
- Glorika: tel. +371 256-60-056;
- Taksometrs Jurmala: tel. +371 292-50-199;
- Taktika IZAZ: tel. +371 292-50-199.
Of course, there are always enough Baltic Taxi, Red Cab cars near the capital (Rigas Taksometru parks, tel.to order in Jurmala +371 677-55-577), Smile Taxi and Panda Taxi, very popular for its democratic prices. The latter's fleet consists mainly of Dacia and Hyindai models in gray-orange tones.
The phone number of Panda taxi in Jurmala: +371 672-53-535 or 676-07-474. It is worth considering that ordering by phone or online will always be more profitable than looking for a car in the parking lot or "voting" on the road.
Operators in Daugavpils and other cities
Daugavpils is the second largest city in Latvia with a lot of attractions. Taxi makes it possible to quickly get to know them better, so the service in the city is very well presented.
The largest local service is Taxi Daugavpils. The company provides almost half of the traffic in the city, is characterized by high quality services, optimal prices and good customer reviews.
You can order a car by numbers: +371 654-40-040, 654-22-222.
Other local taxi operators in Daugavpils are listed below:
- Eko Taxi: tel. +371 654-54-054;
- Greenline Taxi: tel. +371 200-37-300;
- Taxi: tel. +371 204-34-344;
- "Your taxi": tel. +371 654-55-530, 204-06-406.
Liepaja is the country's main sea gate. There is a beautiful beach here, so many tourists and businessmen who need a taxi come here.
You can order a transfer at almost any taxi company. Taxis Red Cab in Liepaja are very popular, as well as Baltic Taxi, which offers free Wi-Fi from the mobile operator Tele2 in the cabins.
In addition to the main national companies, you can use the services:
- Taxi Liepaja: tel. 200-800;
- Kurzemes Taxi (Liepaja Taxi): website www.firmas.lv, tel. +371 634-22-222;
- Livonija Taxi: tel. +371 634-22-255;
- Vartaja: tel. +371 634-88-888;
- Livu Vikings: tel. +371 634-66-666;
- Taxi Kikas Auto: tel. +371 634-00-400.
If you need a taxi phone in Ventspils, you can dial any: +371 636-27-500, 220-62-880, 263-01-919, 800-09-800. The most popular taxi service here is Taxi Ms-Vr. The company carries out transfers not only in Latvia, but also abroad.
Also works here:
- Fortuna 2: tel. +371 636-24-333;
- Ledi & Klaidonis: tel. +371 202-20-095;
- Taksometrs Ripulis: tel. +371 283-00-300;
- Taxi: tel. +371 636-28-888.
If you need a taxi in Rezekne, you should contact the following operators:
- Privato taksometru pakalpojumi, individualais darbs: tel. +371 294-15-653;
- Transsit: tel. +371 265-43-475.
It also features Kiwi Taxi, an Uber-like service.
In Valmiera, local customers prioritize:
- Valmiera Taxi: tel. +371 800-07-088;
- Esse: tel. +371 642-33-669;
- Tornis: tel. +371 642-22-212;
- Verdinš Taxi: tel. +371 642-22-000.
The following local services are available in Jelgava:
- Jelgava taxi service: tel. +371 630-83-200;
- Arma: tel. +371 295-03-232;
- Fūrmanis: tel. +371 200-50-701.
Conclusions
Of course, tourists are primarily interested in two questions:
- Security.
- Taxi cost from Riga airport to the center.
Everything is fine with the first one here. The driver may not have change, the exchange rate will be higher, the counter may not work - this is the maximum trouble for the passenger. "Bombils" are no longer here, but it is still possible to agree with the driver about the cost of the trip right in the car.
There are no special problems with the second one either. Recently, a Latvian court banned the airport from concluding contracts with individual carriers, which led to some anarchy and higher prices.
The best options are offered by Taxify and Yandex. The cost of the trip will be somewhere in the region of 8 euros, moreover, it will be known in advance and will not change. By agreement, the driver will meet the client in the arrivals area of the terminal or at the bus stop at the station square.
If you need more service, the choice is for the more expensive (about one and a half times), but proven Baltic Taxi and Red cab.
