Catching a cab in Athens getting harder in summer
Hailing down an Athens taxi on the street or ordering one via an app is getting increasingly difficult, with customers speaking of frequent delays.
Professionals in the sector attribute the situation to the higher demand for taxis in the summer, when tourist traffic rises steeply.
“June and July are the best months for taxis. There are too many visitors and the need for passenger transportation is increasing. The opposite is true during the first quarter of each year,” say sources from the Attica Taxi Drivers’ Union (SATA). According to data from taxi rental app Freenow demand last week was up 30% compared to the corresponding period last year.
Attica has some 13,589 taxis, of which approximately 3,000-4,000 are tied to tourist infrastructure – i.e. the port, hotels or the airport. A large chunk reportedly prefer to sit 3-4 hours at the airport, which means less cars in the city center.
