What a taxi actually costs in Geneva
Geneva is an expensive city to move around, and the metered taxi is the part visitors misjudge most often. The meter starts before you move and keeps running in traffic, so the same journey can cost very different amounts depending on the hour.
The official metered tariff in the canton of Geneva works on three components: a pick-up charge, a rate per kilometre, and a charge for waiting time. Night and Sunday rates are higher. That is why an airport run quoted to one passenger at CHF 35 can reach CHF 80 for another on a Friday evening.
Fixed price versus the meter
We work the other way round: you are told the price before the journey, and that price does not move if the motorway is blocked or the flight lands at midnight. You are not paying for our bad luck in traffic.
That makes a fixed price better value precisely when the meter is worst — rush hour, snow, late arrivals, and any journey where you cannot predict the traffic. On a clear Sunday morning across town, a metered taxi may well come out cheaper. We would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
Five ways to pay less for a taxi in Geneva
- Book ahead. A planned journey is priced calmly. A car found at the rank at 2 a.m. is not.
- Take the fixed price for the airport. It is the route where the meter varies most.
- Travel together. The fare is per vehicle. Three or four passengers share one price, which usually beats three or four train tickets plus the transfer at each end.
- Avoid 07:30–09:00 and 17:00–19:00 if you are paying a meter. Our fixed prices do not change; a meter does.
- Ask for an account if you travel for work. Monthly invoicing removes the receipts and usually the arguments about them.
Cheap should not mean uncertain
The cheapest quote is worth little if the car does not come, or if the price changes when you arrive. What we offer is a price you can plan around: agreed in advance, per vehicle, with the vehicle category stated. If a shuttle bus or the public network genuinely suits your journey better, it will — and you should take it.