Paris airport taxis now subject to flat rate fee

The fixed rate system was announced last May but is only coming into force now.

Instead of taxi drivers using their traditional meter-system to set the cost of a ride between the city centre and Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports – which could be as high as €80 – they will have to apply a new flat rate.

That means if you're travelling from the Charles de Gaulle airport, you'll pay €55 for a trip heading anywhere on the Left Bank and €50 for anywhere on the Right Bank. 

If you're coming in from Orly, it will be €30 for the Left Bank and €35 for the Right Bank.

Other changes mean Paris taxi drivers will no longer be able to charge an extra supplement for taking baggage in the boot or animals.

However they will be able to charge for supplementary passengers once the number goes above four, which would mean a cost of €4 per extra passenger.

And there will also be a flat rate for the cost of reserving a taxi from airports in future – €4 for an immediate reservation and €7 if it is booked in advance.

Previously taxis had charged a cost depending on how far they had travelled to pick their client up.

The fixed tariffs are in place whether they're travelling on public holidays or weekends, or even if the journey is at rush hour and would be the same during the day as at night, which means there's no real incentive to work after hours.

The change which appears positive for the public is however unsurprisingly unpopular with taxi drivers themselves.

They say the fact the fixed rate remains the same at night could prompt taxi drivers choosing to spend their nights in bed like the rest of us, so good luck getting a cab if you land at the airport late at night.

Cabbies also argue setting a fixed price for the Left Bank and Right Bank does seem pretty arbitrary, when distances can obviously vary widely.

The National Taxi Federation say the best idea would have been to introduce a “maximum fare” for those taking long journeys.