Taxis in St. Petersburg

Using Taxis

Although St. Petersburg does not have as many taxis as London, there are still plenty on the streets catering for all, from the budget traveller to the rich. The confusing thing is that taxis are marked in a variety of way.

Taxi identification:

Orange checkered lights on the roof.
Bright yellow.
Green light in the upper-left of the windscreen and lit when available.
Yellow "Taksi" on the roof.

These days the services are provided by numerous licensed companies. Most cabs have meters in that you pay for the journey by the kilometer.

History of the Taxi

In 1906 the first taxis appeared on the streets of St. Petersburg and for around 30 years they coexisted with the regular horse-drawn cabs, izvozchiki. With the number of taxis growing rapidly, by 1913 there were 328 cars equipped with meters, yellow stripes and taxi signs on the side.

However during the Revolution, the Red Army and the government confiscated the taxis for their own use. Finally in 1929 a taxi service was re-introduced and by the following year there were 83 cabs. Their service was limited by regulation so that people could only use them after 5pm, however this regulation was only short lived.

By 1990 there were some 4,500 taxis carrying 150,000 people a day. Over the last several years, the number of private taxis and private taxi companies has grown, even though the number of people who can afford to use them has declined.