World taxi prices: What a 3-kilometer ride costs in 88 big cities
Here at Price of Travel we are now tracking travel prices in over 200 different cities around the world, hoping to help travelers make an accurate budget as well as pick places where their money goes furthest. Not surprisingly, transportation prices can vary dramatically, so we are tracking the cost of getting to and from the airport and getting around town, using taxis as well as public transportation.
In general, taxi prices can be very confusing in any given city, so trying to compare all the cities together was complicated. To do this we decided to track a typical price range of a 3-kilometer (about 2 mile) trip in each destination. We use price ranges instead of “average” prices because many cities have different prices with each company, or different price structures at night or on weekends.
So the prices below run from cheapest to most expensive, and some of the results are surprising. With the exception of the junker taxis used in India and the Mercedes taxis used in parts of Europe, the cars themselves tend to be very similar. For example, taxis in Bangkok are almost all late-model Toyota Camrys with air-conditioning, and yet the ride costs almost nothing compared to the most expensive cities.
Updated for 2017
This article was originally researched and written in late 2010. We’ve updated all of the fares for 2017 and added many new cities.
Also, check out our public transportation prices in 80 worldwide cities comparison as well.
NOTE: All exchange rates were updated as of June, 2017, shifting things around a bit.
Cost of a 3-kilometer taxi ride in 88 major cities
*All prices converted into US dollars on June 8, 2017
The left price reflects little to no waiting in traffic, the right price reflects high-traffic situations plus night or weekend surcharges. In many of the cheaper taxi cities it can be nearly impossible to get the official metered rate.
$0.82 – $1.24 Delhi, India
$0.87 – $2.90 La Paz, Bolivia
$0.88 – $1.37 Mexico City, Mexico
$0.93 – $1.40 Mumbai, India
$1.03 – $2.05 Marrakech, Morocco
$1.09 – $1.63 Antigua, Guatemala
$1.21 – $1.62 Manila, Philippines
$1.41 – $2.34 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
$1.43 – $2.87 Zanzibar Town, Tanzania
$1.51 – $2.26 Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
$1.54 – $2.05 Fez, Morocco
$1.59 – $2.65 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
$1.76 – $2.94 Bangkok, Thailand
$1.79 – $2.68 Yangon, Myanmar
$1.79 – $2.24 Arusha, Tanzania
$1.86 – $2.32 Cape Town, South Africa
$1.91 – $2.94 Beijing, China
$1.94 – $2.77 Cairo, Egypt
$1.98 – $3.09 Hanoi, Vietnam
$2.00 – $4.00 Quito, Ecuador
$2.25 – $3.27 Dubai, UAE
$2.27 – $4.25 Istanbul, Turkey
$2.28 – $2.43 Kathmandu, Nepal
$2.30 – $3.16 Sofia, Bulgaria
$2.50 – $3.38 Shanghai, China
$2.50 – $3.13 Buenos Aires, Argentina
$2.74 – $4.88 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
$2.76 – $5.35 Seoul, South Korea
$2.81 – $3.51 Montevideo, Uruguay
$2.82 – $5.63 Amman, Jordan
$2.94 – $5.35 Krakow, Poland
$3.00 – $4.00 Santa Ana, El Salvador
$3.00 – $5.00 Panama City, Panama
$3.26 – $5.80 Singapore, Singapore
$3.45 – $4.51 Santiago, Chile
$3.52 – $7.03 Moscow, Russia
$3.52 – $5.28 St. Petersburg, Russia
$3.53 – $5.77 Hong Kong, China
$3.58 – $5.97 Prague, Czech Republic
$4.00 – $10.00 New York City, USA
$4.32 – $5.98 Taipei, Taiwan
$4.49 – $6.74 Lisbon, Portugal
$4.53 – $6.20 San Jose, Costa Rica
$4.54 – $4.99 Zagreb, Croatia
$4.70 – $5.83 Budapest, Hungary
$5.31 – $7.97 Beirut, Lebanon
$5.38 – $6.73 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
$5.62 – $7.87 Athens, Greece
$5.62 – $7.87 Madrid, Spain
$5.62 – $8.99 Tallinn, Estonia
$5.67 – $8.50 Tel Aviv, Israel
$5.93 – $9.63 Vancouver, Canada
$5.93 – $8.89 Montreal, Canada
$6.02 – $9.02 Melbourne, Australia
$6.67 – $9.63 Toronto, Canada
$6.74 – $11.24 Dublin, Ireland
$6.78 – $9.69 Nairobi, Kenya
$7.08 – $11.24 Rome, Italy
$7.50 – $11.00 Washington DC, United States
$7.66 – $10.79 Auckland, New Zealand
$7.87 – $11.24 Barcelona, Spain
$8.00 – $15.00 Orlando, United States
$8.00 – $11.00 Chicago, United States
$8.20 – $13.00 Boston, United States
$8.27 – $13.68 Sydney, Australia
$8.27 – $11.48 Stockholm, Sweden
$8.33 – $11.36 Cairns, Australia
$8.87 – $10.70 Lima, Peru
$8.99 – $11.24 Brussels, Belgium
$8.99 – $13.48 Munich, Germany
$8.99 – $13.48 Vienna, Austria
$9.08 – $11.80 Tokyo, Japan
$10.11 – $13.48 Berlin, Germany
$10.39 – $15.58 London, England
$10.39 – $10.39 Amsterdam, Netherlands
$11.00 – $15.00 Honolulu, United States
$11.00 – $15.00 San Francisco, United States
$11.22 – $11.28 Copenhagen, Denmark
$11.24 – $16.85 Paris, France
$11.24 – $16.85 Helsinki, Finland
$11.24 – $15.73 Monaco, Monaco
$11.69 – $18.18 Edinburgh, Scotland
$11.78 – $15.31 Oslo, Norway
$12.00 – $16.00 Los Angeles, USA
$12.16 – $19.26 Reykjavik, Iceland
$13.48 – $16.85 Nice, France
$15.00 – $20.00 Miami Beach, United States
$18.56 – $24.74 Zurich, Switzerland
Notes about world taxi prices
- The prices above reflect metered prices, although in some cities each company charges its own rates.
- Generally, if you are obviously a tourist, the cheaper the normal price the greater chance that the meter will be “broken” or unavailable.
- These figures are for in-the-city rides, many airports add an additional surcharge in one or both directions.
- Typical airport-to-city price ranges can be found on each of the main city pages, along with public transportation prices.
- Some cities charge more at night or on weekends, so the overall range tends to be greater in those cases.
- Prices for waiting/standing still and typical traffic conditions vary from city to city, and this also increases the price range.
Being honest, even when all companies in a city use a fixed price scheme it can still be difficult to research them because many taxi drivers make a better living by the public not knowing what they should really expect to pay. On the other hand, we are confident that all of these are at least very close, although if you have new information we’d love to hear from you so we can update our records.
The worst confusion almost always involves airport taxi scams, so it’s worth being aware of those before you arrive anywhere.
Further confusing the matter in Baja Norte, MX is the ‘collective taxi, (as NYC is trying now).
They follow the bus route, and compete with the buses.
Typically a mini-van, route marked by color code of mini-van.
12 Mi (20KM) avg. is $1.00 USD.
Not “free” (libre) to go *anywhere* in the classic taxi sense.
Does some minor route changes for customers (pull up a street for someone with luggage).
Runs 24 hrs, however @ night on a slow route, you will sit until:
A) It fills or
B) the mini-group agrees to ‘buy-out’ the empty seats.
Tipping is rounding off the peso. (about $0.08 to the peso.
It *is* considered a taxi service, and runs when the buses do not ($0.65) on the same route.
Baja Norte, MX 3KM (about 2 miles) About $2.50 USD Night small increase on per KM rate. “Libre” is the largest. “Eco” has a smaller fleet, cheaper. Libre is white with orange stripe, Eco is all bright yellow and even smaller sub-compact than Libre.
Off-meter flat rate easy to agree to.
I dont believe the Aman, Jordan price. We several times went almost completely across town (at least 10kms) several times in 2007 and always rounded UP to one dinar (same as a Euro)
Also I think New York City is way cheaper per mile than San Francisco (where I live). JFK to Manhattan is 45 minutes and about $50. SFO to downtown SF is about 20 mins and about $40. If you want to do the same page for many cities in the US that would be interesting.
Its not correct About the Amsterdam taxis. We don’t have a waiting price. Only counts the driven kilometers. The starting price is €7,50 with 2 free kilometers. After that it becomes €2,20 the kilometer. So the price for 3 kilometers will always be €9,70 =$13,70. Please change it on your site. Also the state of our taxi’s here is different. We almost all drive mercedeses,Audi and BMW from not older then an average of 4 years old.
Thanks, Dave. I’ve updated the main Amsterdam city page. I used to live in Amsterdam, but I almost never took taxis because of the cost (and that everything is close). They definitely are nice vehicles, and no waiting time is very unusual, so thanks for that.
feel like Damascus would have been even cheaper?
Belgrade, Serbia 4.15-5.45 $, althought I would mention (at the beginning of the ride) that I need a receipt at the end of the ride.
The price for Seoul is right on – had to stop and reconvert back into US dollars…
Luanda, Angola -> 100 Angolan Kwanza = $1.10, fixed by legislation
Thanks, really great research ~ fantastic article for travelers!
(although we’ve probably all experienced a jimmied taxi meter while traveling)