Recent research shows how expensive airport taxis can be. Many people don’t include these costs in travel budgets and can often be in for a shock. Geneva is known to be an expensive destination, however the cost of a Geneva taxi compared to other cities is surprisingly high.
Simon Phillips from No1 Currency, which conducted the study, said: “Our research reveals that there is a huge variation of the cost of a taxi depending on which European city you’re visiting – so do your research before you travel.”
The 6km journey from Geneva airport to the city centre with two bags at night costs CHF 5.35 per kilometre with the total trip costing you CHF 32.10, more than the price of an Easyjet flight from London, which start at CHF 32. If you need to travel further than the city centre the cost is even higher.
The next most expensive airport taxis can be found in Copenhagen, Denmark. Prices there are CHF 4.20 per kilometre, 21% less expensive than Geneva. Traditionally expensive London, at number four, is 36% cheaper per kilometre than Geneva.
Other cities in the top ten most expensive per kilometre are Brussels (No. 3 – CHF 3.47 per km), Bratislava (No. 5 – CHF 2.40 per km), Amsterdam (No. 6 CHF 2.26 per km), Athens (No. 7 – CHF 2.08 per km), Barcelona (No. 8 – CHF 1.80 per km), Dublin (No. 9 – CHF 1.77 per km) and Rome (No. 10 – CHF 1.72 per km).
Fortunately the centre of Geneva is close to the airport. This pulls it down to twelfth position in the total-journey-cost rankings while London ends up at the top of this list at nearly CHF 100 because of the distance of its main airport Heathrow from the city centre.
Fortunately Geneva offers a way out: a free trip on public transport (trains, trams, buses) to all arriving passengers. There is a free-ticket machine in the baggage collection area – almost visible in the photograph above. So if you grab a free ticket and hop on a train, Geneva becomes the cheapest-transfer destination on the list by all measures. The free ticket is for the “Tout Genève” zone and is valid for 80 minutes.
