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Poland

Kraków

A medieval old town preserved whole, with trams circling just outside it. There are no ticket gates anywhere.

Taxi and ride-hailing (taksówka)

The city caps taxi fares - street taxis and app rides alike - but only inside the city limits; the airport sits outside. You settle only on the meter or the app's figure, never a price the driver names.

Updated 18 days ago

How to ride

  1. 1
    In the city, check the lamp and the door crest
    Before boarding in the city, check the white or yellow TAXI lamp on the roof and the crest with a side number on the front doors.
  2. 2
    Read the sticker in the rear right window
    A double-sided sticker with the maximum rates sits in the rear right door window; if it is missing, take a different car.
  3. 3
    With an app, see whether the price is fixed
    Depending on the category an app either quotes a total up front or runs on the meter; check car, plate and driver in the app.
  4. 4
    If it is metered, watch the meter start
    In a street taxi or a metered app category, the meter should start once you sit down and be readable from your seat.
  5. 5
    Take the receipt or the ride summary
    A street taxi gives you a printed receipt and an app sends an electronic summary; you need one of them to complain to the city.

Typical costs

Fixed-price routes2

From the airport, official taxi, 0-2.9 km (fixed)
The first of eight fixed bands for rides from the airport; it does not move with the hour or the day
29 PLN ≈ $8
From the airport, official taxi, 12-14.9 km (fixed)
A middle band of the same table; beyond 27 km the price is agreed in advance, capped at 8 zloty per km
109 PLN ≈ $29

How the meter adds up6

Flag fall (legal ceiling)
The same under every tariff, covering the first stretch of at least 200 m
9 PLN ≈ $2
Per kilometre in zone I, daytime (ceiling)
Tariff 1, weekdays 06:00-22:00, across the built-up part of the city
4 PLN ≈ $1
Per kilometre in zone I, nights and holidays (ceiling)
Tariff 2, weekdays 22:00-06:00 plus Sundays and public holidays - half as much again as daytime
6 PLN ≈ $2
Per kilometre in zone II, daytime (ceiling)
The thinly populated outer zone; a driver may apply this tariff but does not have to
8 PLN ≈ $2
Per kilometre in zone II, nights and holidays (ceiling)
The outer zone at night - three times the daytime ceiling in zone I
12 PLN ≈ $3
Per hour of waiting (ceiling)
The ceiling for time the car spends stopped and waiting, the same under every tariff
55 PLN ≈ $15

Estimates use exchange rates as of September 5, 2026

You can take one at a rank or flag one down; depending on the category an app shows a total before you order. The airport taxi's phone desk runs 06:00-22:00, with online booking alongside it.

Payment

Card payment on board
In a street taxi, ask before setting off whether you can pay by card
The airport's official taxi accepts every kind of payment card
App tickets
In the wallet: You settle on the amount the app shows, not a price the driver proposes
Cash
On board: Some app categories let you pay the driver directly in cash

Tap for where to get the app

Quick facts

Hours
Apps dispatch around the clock
Fares from
29 PLN+

Heads-up

  • Overcharging can be reported - keep the receipt

    If you think the fare went above the ceiling, you can report it to the city's vehicle and driver department; exceeding the maximum rates can cost a driver their licence, and the city actively asks passengers to report it. What you need is evidence - from a street taxi, the receipt showing the amount and the distance driven; from an app ride, the electronic ride summary together with the PDF invoice. Collect it before you get out, and do not throw it away.

  • A trip within one zone gets a single tariff

    The per-kilometre rate doubles once you are in the outer zone II, but if your trip starts and ends in the same zone the driver may apply only one tariff, even when the route passes through the other zone. On a trip that is meant to cross both zones, the driver also has to point out the boundary before switching the meter on and tell you at the moment it moves to the higher tariff. If the rate goes up with nothing said, query it there and then.

  • Say you are paying by card before you set off

    Polish business law requires a trader to make payment by a payment instrument possible everywhere the business is actually carried on, and the provision names vehicles used to provide passenger transport. The duty is written around payment instruments in general rather than a card terminal in particular, and a terminal said to be out of order still turns into a request for cash, so say before you set off that you intend to pay by card and take another car if that does not work.

Timetable

Operating hours Apps dispatch around the clock
Typical duration A late-night or heavy-luggage option - pedestrian zones and one-way streets around the Old Town mean short hops take longer than the map suggests
Check the official site for the latest times and service status