Barcelona: Question about Taxis

[duirwaigh]

in this port, are the taxis regulated and trustworthy? say, for example, we simply want to go from the port into the center, or to one specific location in the city, can we trust that the meter will be regulated fairly? are there signs to watch out for? or do we have to negotiate each ride?

 

e.g. when we went to prague it was always important that the taxi was an AAA certified taxi AND was running on the meter to avoid rip off charges.

 

whatever applies to barcelona, would this apply to other places in spain as well, or are there differences?

[Langley Cruisers]

Just curious - have you googled this/researched online? The Internet is a wealth of information and that's how I found out about Barcelona taxis. Not that no one here can help you, but there is reliable information using a web-based search engine.

[mikaula]

Hard to say. We took a taxi from the ship to hotel Regina (loved this place) & it took about 20 mins. Don't reme ber how much it cost - sorry. When we left the hotel to go back to the airport the taxi driver passed the port in about 10 minutes. Not sure if there are lots of one way streets but our 1st taxi sure took the LONG way. Loved Barcelona!!!

[English_in_Spain]

As long as you take an official taxi which looks like this

 

 

you should be ok. They are registered and licensed and are usually very reliable.

 

You will pay extra if your hotel calls for a radio taxi. It is cheaper to get one yourself on the street. There is rarely any difficulty finding a taxi in Barcelona, there are thousands of them.

 

mikaula, yes there are a lot of one-way streets in Barcelona and the amount of traffic can also make a lot of difference to travel times.

[aloisia]

As long as you take an official taxi which looks like this

 

 

you should be ok. They are registered and licensed and are usually very reliable.

 

You will pay extra if your hotel calls for a radio taxi. It is cheaper to get one yourself on the street. There is rarely any difficulty finding a taxi in Barcelona, there are thousands of them.

 

mikaula, yes there are a lot of one-way streets in Barcelona and the amount of traffic can also make a lot of difference to travel times.

 

Thank you for posting the photo! :)

I guess I'm reading that we would check out from the hotel & look for a taxi on the street? We are a block or 2 from the Placa de Catalunya / Passieg de Gracia. Or since people have luggage, do you pay the extra $ and take a taxi straight from the hotel? (I never thought of these details when taking a taxi in Fort Lauderdale ;):D)

[English_in_Spain]

There are taxi ranks in Placa Catalunya, you can get taxis there or you can stand on just about any main road and you will likely see a taxi for hire (their light will be on) and you can waive them down.

 

We always pay the extra (€3-4 extra) and get our hotel to order us a taxi as I have mobility problems and prefer the convenience.

 

[4774Papa]

in this port, are the taxis regulated and trustworthy? say, for example, we simply want to go from the port into the center, or to one specific location in the city, can we trust that the meter will be regulated fairly? are there signs to watch out for? or do we have to negotiate each ride?

 

e.g. when we went to prague it was always important that the taxi was an AAA certified taxi AND was running on the meter to avoid rip off charges.

 

whatever applies to barcelona, would this apply to other places in spain as well, or are there differences?

We took taxis about 5-6 times in Barcelona and never felt ripped off.

[readytogo2]

Just curious - have you googled this/researched online? The Internet is a wealth of information and that's how I found out about Barcelona taxis. Not that no one here can help you, but there is reliable information using a web-based search engine.

 

You are so right..google has tons of info, but if the OP is like I am, I feel more comfortable asking someone from CC. If everyone googled everything, there would be no need for this great site...just sayin

[AttilaTheFun]

We just got off the Epic in Barcelona yesterday and our taxi ride from the port to the airport cost 54.70€! I think we definitely got ripped off. The metered fare was 34.50€ and then he added surcharges (which are legit for 1€ per luggage in the trunk and we had 5 plus going from the port which I believe is around 3€), but there's no way it should have been around 20€ extra in surcharges. There is a Barcelona taxi PDF somewhere that shows exactly what the rates and surcharges should be and I wish I had printed it out so I could argue the fare. We took about 5 taxis and only 1 actually had that fare sheet posted. In NYC for example, EVERY taxi has to have the fare guide posted, but Bsrcelona was sketchier. I don't doubt that they know they can rip off tourists, so be wary!

[English_in_Spain]

We just got off the Epic in Barcelona yesterday and our taxi ride from the port to the airport cost 54.70€! I think we definitely got ripped off. The metered fare was 34.50€ and then he added surcharges (which are legit for 1€ per luggage in the trunk and we had 5 plus going from the port which I believe is around 3€), but there's no way it should have been around 20€ extra in surcharges. There is a Barcelona taxi PDF somewhere that shows exactly what the rates and surcharges should be and I wish I had printed it out so I could argue the fare. We took about 5 taxis and only 1 actually had that fare sheet posted. In NYC for example, EVERY taxi has to have the fare guide posted, but Bsrcelona was sketchier. I don't doubt that they know they can rip off tourists, so be wary!

 

 

Here is the link to the taxi fares

 

http://www.taxibarcelona.cat/Portals/0/pdfs/Adhesiu%20TARIFES%202012%20ok.pdf

 

 

You said yesterday - that was a Sunday - you pay extra for that

 

There is a €2.10 supplement for the port and €3.10 supplement for the airport. You had 5 pieces of luggage, that is €5.00

 

That should be a supplement of about €10.20

 

Were any of you bags large? - this supplement only relates to bags up to 55cm x 35cm x 35cm

 

What time of day was it? Did you call the taxi or pick it up at the port? How many passengers were there?

 

All of these things would affect the price

 

You don't need to have a printout of the fares as every taxi in Barcelona has a copy of these fares in the vehicle.

 

If you are ever in a doubt about how much you are being charged it is a good idea to ask for a receipt.

 

 

 

[AttilaTheFun]

Here is the link to the taxi fares

 

http://www.taxibarcelona.cat/Portals/0/pdfs/Adhesiu%20TARIFES%202012%20ok.pdf

 

 

You said yesterday - that was a Sunday - you pay extra for that

 

There is a €2.10 supplement for the port and €3.10 supplement for the airport. You had 5 pieces of luggage, that is €5.00

 

That should be a supplement of about €10.20

 

Were any of you bags large? - this supplement only relates to bags up to 55cm x 35cm x 35cm

 

What time of day was it? Did you call the taxi or pick it up at the port? How many passengers were there?

 

All of these things would affect the price

 

You don't need to have a printout of the fares as every taxi in Barcelona has a copy of these fares in the vehicle.

 

If you are ever in a doubt about how much you are being charged it is a good idea to ask for a receipt.

 

 

 

 

That's the list I was talking about and trust me, 4 out of 5 taxis did NOT have it posted - I definitely looked, so I would still recommend others carry a copy.

 

here are the surcharges that should have applied:

- To/from airport: 3.10 euros

- To/from port: 2.10 euros

- 5 bags in trunk (note that this applies only to bags OVER 55x35x35cm, not under as you said - the ">" sign means "greater than" and bags under that dimension are listed as free): 5 euros

 

Therefore, it would be 10.20 euros surcharge to the metered fare and we did NOT call the taxi, we just took one from the line at the port and there were 4 passengers, but there is NO surcharge for additional passengers. I can't figure out the other surcharges and agree we should have asked for a receipt. I was too tired and wasn't thinking straight.

[PaulnBetts]

in this port, are the taxis regulated and trustworthy? say, for example, we simply want to go from the port into the center, or to one specific location in the city, can we trust that the meter will be regulated fairly? are there signs to watch out for? or do we have to negotiate each ride?

 

e.g. when we went to prague it was always important that the taxi was an AAA certified taxi AND was running on the meter to avoid rip off charges.

 

whatever applies to barcelona, would this apply to other places in spain as well, or are there differences?

 

I would not trust the Barcelona taxi system for what you plan!!:mad::mad:

 

SITUATION: Our T/A made a port call at Barcelona last week (May 9). A group of 6 of us had planned to take the train to Montserrat for the day as recommended on the Barcelona tourism site and also Rick Steeves. We were looking to share a taxi to Placa d'Espana train station from the port. The number of taxis waiting at our terminal (2) was large and the number of people looking for a taxi small.

 

ISSUE: We were flatly refused to be taken only to Placa d'Espana by a number of drivers. We were advised that the fare was too low -- but they would take us on a number of half day or full day tours they offered. They were not interested in discussing a local fare only. We were "surrounded" by a group of 5 or 6 taxi drivers all supporting the tour idea only and we were the only customers looking for a taxi. We missed the train we wanted because they did not want the fare.

 

We always thought that the taxi's were a service industry -- just didn't realize that in Barcelona it's the customer that is to provide the service.:rolleyes::(

[hkto]

I always found the taxis in Barcelona reliable & honest. I usually know the approximate fare and most of times it was very close to my estimate. Never had a driver refuse a fare regardless how close it was. Taxis in Barcelona are licensed by a commission and a simple dispute process is in place as long as all the info (taxi plate, taxi license#, driver name, date, to, from) & receipt are available. Receipt is important; if you don't ask driver will not provide it. Details on how to submit a complaint are here (in Spanish): http://www.taxibarcelona.cat/tabid/905/Default.aspx#arriba http://www.taxibarcelona.cat/tabid/938/Default.aspx

[xcomet]

You are so right..google has tons of info, but if the OP is like I am, I feel more comfortable asking someone from CC. If everyone googled everything, there would be no need for this great site...just sayin

 

I agree, the fellow members here are always so helpful, and I trust it much more than a google response

[PaulnBetts]

I always found the taxis in Barcelona reliable & honest. I usually know the approximate fare and most of times it was very close to my estimate. Never had a driver refuse a fare regardless how close it was. Taxis in Barcelona are licensed by a commission and a simple dispute process is in place as long as all the info (taxi plate, taxi license#, driver name, date, to, from) & receipt are available. Receipt is important; if you don't ask driver will not provide it. Details on how to submit a complaint are here (in Spanish): http://www.taxibarcelona.cat/tabid/905/Default.aspx#arriba http://www.taxibarcelona.cat/tabid/938/Default.aspx

 

 

Agree -- we never had a problem before, but this time - 32 taxis and no other customers still refused approx. 12 euro fare. Complaint web site and forms are also available in English (top of page options) but are not posted at the pier or in the taxi (checked on that one). Besides, no ride - no receipt - complaint rejected.

[caber]

We took a taxi from the square when we came off the ship two years ago. Where the shuttle buses are, the taxis sit over to the right. Four of us took it up to the market on the Ramblas and the cost was cheaper than four fares on the shuttle.

[caber]

Sorry!