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.
Greetings from Zürich. *sigh*
Entonces mexico no es de los mas caros…que cosa!!
What can I say, this is a very nice website!
Taxi cost in Minsk, Belarus makes from $0,95 to $1,25 for 3 kilometers
I live in Halifax, eastern canada, and the other day I took a cab that cost me a little over nine dollars, (including traffic) that took me less than three kilometres. The only reason I took a cab (usually I would walk that distance) is because I thought, oh, it will only be five or six dollars. I would even say that it could be closer to two kilometres. I think that this fare is ridiculous, and the overall time of the ride was about 10 minutes. is that ridiculous or am I just inexperienced?
Although Halifax is a small city it is a port city and has many newcomers.
Don’t see Boston on the list. The taxis are more expensive than in NYC and I believe more than LA. Also the worst taxi fleet in the USA.
I’m sorry, it’s good link bait but a silly list because in much of the ‘developing world’ the price is wide open if you care about saving your money. I assume you’re American, because most American’s think in terms of fixed prices as that is what we are used to. I did too, before I left.
Trust me, if it’s not too hot and I’m feeling feisty I can go more than 3 km here in Bali for less than the prices you posted, in the daytime anyway. I never feel that feisty admittedly!
You should tell everyone to take a Bluebird Taxi in Bali on your Bali page btw. Most others are taxi mafia, tedious bastards who want to fight over everything. Still way better than Jakarta or Medan drivers, or your average Indian rickshaw wallah… Also can we count Kolkata non-motorised rickshaws as taxi drivers?
Bottom line, if you extract yourself from the bargaining process, you can pay lots MORE than these prices in every ‘developing world’ city on your list. Actual travelers, I mean ppl who go for years not a few months, know what I mean. Hey that would be an interesting list: how much you can be taken for if you are unaware or don’t really care…
Also: “Food and drinks are also very cheap by most standards, though not as cheap as in Southeast Asia.” Um, I think Indonesia and Bali are still considered SE Asia.
Tom, thanks for your thoughts. There are many things that complicate making comparisons like this, so we tried our best to compare apples to apples, meaning “what a tourist is likely to pay in a tourist area.” My experience is that it’s far more common to have to pay more, rather than less, than these prices in some areas, especially if you are a tourist. Here in Chiang Mai, I can’t get the drivers to use the meter no matter what I do, so I pay about double, which is still a decent bargain. This was also only comparing metered taxis rather than rickshaws or tuk-tuks or motorbike taxis or any other variant. As you probably know, tuk-tuks in Bangkok usually insist on trying to charge more than the far-nicer air-con taxis.
Taxi ride in the Philippines may cost lower than what is listed here as you travel longer distance. There is a flag down rate of $0.71 for the first 500 meters and $0.06 for every 300m thereof.