I want to become a taxi entrepreneur | Traficom
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Transport and Communications Agency

I want to become a taxi entrepreneur

Taxi operations require that the entrepreneur or company has a taxi transport licence, the driver has a taxi driving licence and the vehicle used in taxi traffic has been entered in the register for operation subject to licence. It is also possible to run a taxi operation based on a valid goods or passenger transport licence after making a notification.

There have been changes to the taxi legislation. The changes pertaining to licensing and the granting of licences became valid 1 May 2021. A comprehensive info package about the changes has been compiled on the #Taksi2021 website (in Finnish).

Follow these steps

  • Step 1

    Set up a business

    If you do not have a business yet, Suomi.fi service’s business start-up wizard is an excellent tool for setting up a business. By using the service, anyone can find out what those intending to become entrepreneurs need to do and know when starting a business. Based on the answers, the service will produce a checklist of the matters to be taken care of.

  • Step 2

    Check the need for a transport licence

    Commercial transport of passengers requires a taxi transport licence. It is not allowed to be a taxi entrepreneur with only a taxi driving licence. A taxi transport licence is needed when a vehicle has a maximum of 1+8 seats.

    A taxi transport licence is company-specific, which means that the number of vehicles a company uses is not restricted.

    A valid goods or passenger transport licence also gives the right to taxi transport operations. However, Traficom must be notified of the taxi transport operation. The notification is company-specific, not vehicle-specific.

    Taxi transport operation notification

  • Step 3

    Ensure that the conditions for granting the licence are fulfilled

    The conditions for granting the licence include, for example:

    • Legal capacity. The licence applicant must be of age and legally competent. This also concerns the transport manager of the enterprise.
    • Good repute; The requirement of good repute applies to both the applicant and the applicant’s transport manager. If the applicant is a company, the company’s managing director, chair of the board, the only ordinary member of the board and general partner must also meet the requirement of good repute. The good repute of a person is assessed taking into account legally valid sentences of imprisonment over the past five years and legally valid sentences of fine over the past two years, as defined in greater detail in the Act on Transport Services. The requirement of good repute is not met if the person's good repute is endangered and their infringements are considered to indicate manifest unfitness. If the applicant is a company, the company must not have sentences of corporate fine that indicate manifest unfitness.
    • Ability to meet financial obligations. The licence applicant is not allowed to be bankrupt and he or she/it is not allowed to have a link to bankruptcy indicating manifest unfitness over the last two years. Furthermore, the applicant, its managing director and its general partner are not allowed to be under a ban on business activities. The obligations must also be discharged properly. The applicant is not allowed to have neglected obligations related to taxes or other similar fees nor have debts subject to enforcement proceedings that are not minor in view of the applicant’s ability to pay. Furthermore, the applicant is not allowed to have debts that have been returned from the enforcement authorities with a certificate of lack of means.
    • Establishment in Finland. The permanent place of residence of a natural person applying for the licence or the registered office of a company applying for the licence entered into the Trade Register must be in Finland. In addition, the applicant must have an effective and stable establishment in Finland.
    • Business Identity Code. The applicant must have a business identity code (Business ID).
    • Professional competence: The applicant or their transport manager must have successfully completed the taxi transport entrepreneurial training and related exam in accordance with the Act on Transport Services or otherwise show that they fulfil the demand for professional competence as laid down in the repealed law concerning taxi transport.
    • Transport manager (when applicant is a legal person): The transport manager must effectively and continuously manage the company’s business activities and represent the company. Under a taxi transport licence, a person cannot act as a transport manager solely on the basis of an agreement.

    Traficom does not make assessments on the fulfilment of conditions in advance and does not make preliminary decisions either. The fulfilment of conditions for granting the licence is not assessed before the processing of the application.

  • Step 4

    Apply for a taxi transport licence

    As a rule, an application without annexes is sufficient, because Traficom obtains the data needed for granting the licence from information systems of other relevant authorities via interface enquiries. It is advisable to fill in the application form as carefully as possible, because requests for additional information etc. will delay granting the licence.

    The licence is issued on application. The licence is issued either to a natural person who operates as a private trader (private entrepreneur) or to a legal person, such as, for example, a limited company or a limited partnership company.

    The applications will be processed in the order of arrival within approximately two weeks of the commencement of proceedings.

    Apply for a taxi transport licence

  • Step 5

    Information on taxi transport licences that are or have been granted

    Taxi transport licences include taxi transport licences granted by Trafi or Traficom and taxi licences granted by a Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment before 1 July 2018.

    A taxi transport licence entitles its holder to taxi operations everywhere in mainland Finland.

    New and renewed taxi transport licences are issued for 10 years. A taxi transport licence is company-specific, which means that the number of vehicles a company uses in taxi traffic is not restricted. The taxi transport licence or its copy must be kept in the vehicle when engaging in taxi transports. Traficom does not provide copies of the licence for each vehicle and the licence owner is responsible for making the necessary copies of the licence for the individual vehicles.

    According to the Act on Transport Services, the name and contact details of the licence holder must be on display in the vehicle for the customer.

    Please check that your contact details in My e-Services are up to date. You can update your telephone number and email address via My e-Services (My e-Services/Front page/My details). You can log in with your online banking credentials, mobile certificate or certificate card.

    You do not need to report a change of name or address to Traficom. Name or address changes for natural persons are reported to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency and name or address changes for legal persons are reported to the Finnish Trade Register.

    Taxi licences granted by the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment that had been granted until further notice changed into fixed-term licences on 1 July 2018. According to the transitional provisions of the Act on Transport Services, the validity of the first licences that have been granted until further notice expires in 2029. Traficom will remind the licence holders of the need to renew the licences in good time before the expiration of validity of the licences. A licence that has been granted until further notice changes into a fixed-term licence already earlier if changes need to be made in the licence (e.g. a change of name of the licence holder).

There are no more provisions on maximum prices since 1 July 2018 when the Act on Transport Services entered into force. This means that all entrepreneurs must specify the prices for their services by themselves. The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom has issued a Regulation on information to be communicated to passengers and display of information on prices, which entered into force on 1 September 2021. The Regulation concerns only individual service situations, i.e. taxi journeys starting from a taxi station and journeys starting in another way without a pre-order or pre-booking.

The Regulation contains an obligation to inform the passenger of the price of the taxi journey or the basis for calculating the price in writing outside of the taxi before the journey starts. The price list must be presented on the rear side window of the right side of the vehicle, elsewhere on the right side of the vehicle or in another place that can be seen on the right side of the vehicle so that a passenger can notice it as easily as possible.

More information on giving information about the price:

FAQ on the Regulation on displaying prices in taxi traffic (in Finnish)

A customer has the right to pay for a journey in cash and using the most commonly accepted payment cards. If the company restricts these methods of payment, this must be told to the customer and accepted by the customer when the journey is ordered or booked.

#Taksi2021 (in Finnish).

The luggage and shopping bags of a taxi passenger may be transported in taxi traffic based on a taxi transport licence or a notification on taxi operations.

If the total mass of the vehicle or combination used in taxi traffic does not exceed 2.5 tonnes, a separate licence or notification is not needed for the transport of goods (without a passenger).

If the total mass of the vehicle or combination used in taxi traffic exceeds 2.5 tonnes but not 3.5 tonnes, the taxi transport licence holder must, in addition, submit a notification to Traficom if the vehicle or combination is also used for the sole transport of goods (without passengers). In this case, the transport of goods can be operated immediately after the notification has reached Traficom.

If the total mass of the vehicle or combination used in taxi traffic exceeds 3.5 tonnes and the vehicle or combination is also used for the sole transport of goods (without passengers), the taxi transport licence holder or the entrepreneur or company who has made a notification on taxi operations must, in addition, have a goods transport licence.

Documents that must be carried in the taxi

The taxi transport licence or its copy must be kept in the vehicle when operating. If operation is based on a notification on taxi operations on the basis of a goods or passenger transport licence, a statement by Traficom detailing the fact that the notification has been noted in the Transport Register must be carried in the vehicle.

Data on display in a taxi

According to the Act on Transport Services, the name and contact details of the licence holder and driver's name must be on display in the vehicle for the customer.

Other obligations related to taxi operations

The licence holder is liable for ensuring that

  • the driver has a valid taxi driving licence.
  • the driver ensures the safe entering and exit of the passenger to and from the vehicle and offers assistance, if needed
  • the driver has sufficient interaction and language skills and local knowledge of the main operation area
  • the driver has the ability to take into consideration any special needs arising from a passenger's restricted functional capacity
  • the licence holder’s name and contact details as well as the name of the driver are on display for the passenger
  • if the price is based on the length of the journey or the travel time, the driver selects the cheapest or most appropriate route for the passenger if the passenger leaves the route choice to the driver, or drives along a route previously accepted by the passenger when making the order or along a route the passenger has suggested
  • the passenger has the right to pay for their journey with cash or using the most commonly accepted payment cards, unless the passenger has accepted a predefined method of payment when the journey was ordered or booked

Company’s taxi services in electronic services

If the company uses some kind of electronic services, such as a homepage, Facebook page or other similar channel, at minimum the following data related to its services must be disclosed in the electronic services:

  • information on whether the transport services are provided subject to a licence or if the services have been exempted from having a licence
  • the primary operating area, the services provided including times of service, as well as any changes or cancellations
  • prices or the basis for calculating the prices
  • the payment methods in use
  • services and assistance available for disabled passengers, accessibility of the fleet, and equipment that facilitates passengers in boarding the vehicle and interaction with the driver
  • instructions for providing customer feedback and procedures in case of errors.

If the company does not use an electronic service, the same information must be otherwise publicly available in writing, e.g. printed out on paper or told to customers by a dispatch centre on behalf of the company.

Submitting mobility service data

For further information, see “Liikkumispalveluita koskevien tietojen ilmoittaminen” (in Finnish)

Submitting information on offer and demand

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency has, according to the Act on Transport Services, monitoring and coordination duties of mobility services. Taxi transport licence holders must submit information on offer and demand to the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom for the purposes of carrying out the above-mentioned duties and also for statistical and research purposes.

Vehicles permitted in taxi traffic

Taxi traffic can be operated with a passenger car (M1), van (N1), lorry (N2 and N3), tricycle (L5e), light quadricycle (L6e) or heavy quadricycle (L7e). The provision of commercial passenger transport services with a historic vehicle is also subject to a taxi transport licence or notification on taxi operations.

Taxi traffic cannot be operated with a bus or coach.

Read more detailed descriptions of vehicle categories.

Registration of a vehicle for operation subject to a licence

The use information of a vehicle used in taxi traffic must be entered in the register as “operation subject to a licence”. A vehicle used for operation subject to a licence must undergo road-worthiness testing more frequently than a vehicle for private use.

If a vehicle used in taxi operations must be temporarily replaced by a replacement vehicle due to a breakage or maintenance of the vehicle, the replacement vehicle does not need to be entered in the register for operation subject to a licence.

For further information, see “Change in vehicle use information”

The legislation related to transport licences or registration does not require that the taxi transport licence holder (company/private entrepreneur) should be the owner or holder of a vehicle that is used for passenger transport subject to a licence on the basis of the taxi transport licence. However, it must be taken into account that viewpoints related to corporate tax or bookkeeping may require it. For more information, please visit 

The principal user of the vehicle must be entered in the register as the owner or holder of the vehicle. Holder means a natural or legal person other than the owner to whom the principal use of the vehicle has been transferred and to whom the vehicle has been transferred for over 30 days based on an agreement. The first holder of the vehicle must be of the age to be entitled to drive the vehicle in question in traffic.

Tax concessions related to a taxi vehicle

For further information, see

Vehicle taxation

The reduced car tax for taxicabs and full exemption from tax

Car Tax Act (in Finnish)

Taxi top light

A vehicle used in taxi traffic must have a taxi top light visible from 1 May 2021 onwards. Taxi traffic without a light is permitted for company or representation journeys, if the deviation from the taxi light duty has been agreed on in advance with a contract. In the aforementioned situation, the contract must be kept in the vehicle and it must be presented to a supervising authority if requested. A taxi top light is not allowed to be used in vehicles with which taxi traffic cannot be operated, such as buses or coaches.

A taxi top light must be at least 200 mm wide and 100 mm high.

A taxi top light must display a yellow light both forwards and backwards. The light must have the text “TAKSI” or “TAXI” in black letters both in the front and in the back. In addition, it can also contain other black markings. Alternatively, the taxi top light may be black, in which case it must have the text “TAKSI” or “TAXI” displayed in yellow light both forwards and backwards. In addition, it can also contain other markings in yellow light. A device making the light blink may be attached to the light.

Taxi price list

The price list, which fulfils the requirements stated in the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency’s decree on the information displayed to the passenger and the display of pricing information, may be shown in a lit display. The price list of the lit display must show a yellow light, and it may not blink or move.

Taximeter

If the price of a journey is based on measuring the journey or time, a vehicle used for passenger transport subject to a licence must be equipped with a taximeter or another equipment or system with which an equivalent reliability of the readings and level of data protection can be accomplished must be used in the fixation of the price. If a customer is given a fixed price before the start of a journey, the vehicle does not need to be equipped with a taximeter or other equipment or system for measuring the journey or time.

From 1 September 2021 onwards, a vehicle used in taxi traffic must use a taximeter or other device or system to reliably collect electronic information on each taxi journey as decreed in the law. For further information, see #Taksi2021 (in Finnish)

TRANSPORT LICENCE ADVISORY SERVICE

Telephone service
+358 29 534 5181
Mon–Fri 8.00-16.15
liikenneluvat(at)traficom.fi

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