Unhealthy competition tarnishes image of Rovaniemi taxi services

The influx of a huge number of tourists in Rovaniemi in the winter season prompted an unhealthy competition among taxi drivers, which has raised concern about quality taxi services.

Local taxi drivers say that many taxis arrived in Rovaniemi from the country’s south and they are very aggressive to hunt passengers at the Rovaniemi airport, Arctic Circle, train station and the taxi stands in the city centre, which is not only causing sufferings to the passengers but also tarnishing the positive image of the Rovaniemi taxi services.

According to local taxi drivers, some of the taxi drivers arriving from other parts of the country are very often found reluctant to follow the rules and regulations as transport service providers.

“Most of them (taxi drivers from other parts of the country) do not maintain rules properly. Their target is to get passengers, which harms the congenial atmosphere in Rovaniemi, particularly at the airport,” a local driver of a taxi company told the Daily Finland.

The driver also said that at the airport, for instance, some of the seasonal taxi drivers park at the designated 'pre-booked' area without having prior reservations, even in some cases they are found to wait for passengers at the arrivals waiting lounge.

He also said that although the passengers have the right to choose and rent any taxi, seasonal drivers mostly from the south very often try to force passengers to rent their taxis, if they are at the front of the queue at the taxi stands in the city.

“Even they do not hesitate to pull the bags of the travellers to get passengers,” the local taxi driver added.

Terming the situation unfortunate, another local taxi driver said that the situation sometime turned into worsen when several brawls were seen between drivers of Rovaniemi and Helsinki.

Local taxi drivers also alleged that some of the seasonal drivers, who arrived from the south charge higher fare from passengers, particularly from the foreign tourists.

The behavior and attitude of seasonal drivers create resentment among local drivers as they think that it would negatively impact their profession in the long run.

A driver, who arrived from Helsinki for the November–January period, however, brushed aside the allegations of rule breach and extra fare.

Airports operator Finavia expressed its optimism to maintain proper communication with taxi companies to ensure smooth services for passengers to and from the airport.

“We maintain an active dialogue with taxi companies about operating principles in the airport area. If necessary, we ask taxi companies to remind their employees of the operating model,” Johan Juujärvi, Manager of the Rovaniemi Airport, told the Daily Finland.

He said that winter season is always very busy at the Rovaniemi Airport, and according to current estimates, the number of passengers this year will be higher than ever before.

“To ensure a smooth travelling, Finavia signed a contract with taxi company Menevä Oy in January 2022. Finavia carried out competitive tendering for taxi services at the Rovaniemi Airport to ensure that passengers can use functional taxi connections all the time. In addition, the goal of the contract is to ensure well-communicated price and quality services,” the airport manager said.

Juujärvi said that Finavia now has an agreement with Menevä Oy, which operates on the first taxi lane in front of the terminal. Rovaniemi Airport also has spaces for cars from other taxi companies to drop off and pick up passengers.

“The service area for other taxi companies is located a bit farther from the terminal but is still easily accessible. Passengers are always free to choose the taxi company they wish,” he said.

“We have received good feedbacks from passengers concerning the contract model. In Finland, airports are public areas and Finavia is not responsible for taxi companies and cannot prevent any taxi company from operating at the airport,” Juujärvi added.