How Taxis Work in Sweden

Recognising a taxi in Sweden

A legal taxi journey in Sweden involves three regulated parts: the taxi company, the driver and the vehicle. The company must hold a taxi traffic licence, the driver must hold a taxi driver identity card, and the vehicle must be registered for taxi use.

The easiest visual check for a visitor is the vehicle's yellow number plate. The driver's taxi driver identity card must also be displayed so that passengers can see it.

How taxi fares work

Sweden has free pricing for taxi journeys. Taxi companies generally decide their own fares, and there is no general national maximum fare. Prices can therefore differ between taxis and operators.

For taxis using the ordinary tariff and price-information system, price information must be clearly displayed inside and outside the vehicle. A key figure is the Swedish jämförpris, or comparison price: a standardised price for a 10 km journey lasting 15 minutes, including VAT and any basic charge. It is designed to help you compare tariff levels; it is not a quote for your actual journey.

A journey may instead have a price agreed in advance. If a taxi with a taximeter is being used and a fixed price has been agreed, that price must be registered in the taximeter when the journey begins.

See Taxi Prices in Sweden for the full explanation, including the comparison-price system and the additional price-information requirement that applies when the comparison price exceeds the statutory threshold.

Two equipment systems exist

Swedish taxi vehicles must use one of two approved equipment systems. One option is an approved taximeter. If the vehicle uses a taximeter, it must be used for every assignment. If the fare was not agreed in advance, the taximeter calculates the price; if a fixed price was agreed, that price is registered in the taximeter when the journey begins.

Since 2021, Sweden has also allowed a second category. Instead of a taximeter, a taxi can use approved special equipment for taxi vehicles. A vehicle in this category must be connected to a licensed booking centre and may only perform journeys that are pre-booked at a fixed price. The booking centre must provide evidence of the agreed price and journey before travel, and payment is made to the booking centre rather than through the driver or taxi operator.

Before you get in

For an ordinary taxi taken from a rank or hailed for a journey, make a few checks before accepting the ride:

1. Look for the yellow number plate.
2. Check the displayed price information and the comparison price where applicable.
3. Understand how the fare will be determined — for example by taximeter or by a price agreed in advance.
4. Ask before departure if anything is unclear.

At a taxi rank you do not have to take the first taxi simply because it is first in the queue. You can compare the available taxis and choose another one.

If you are standing beside a taxi and need the shortest possible version, open Choosing a Taxi in Sweden.

During the journey

In a taxi using a taximeter, the driver must register each assignment in the taximeter. During the journey the taximeter must be set to UPPTAGEN (called TARIFF on older taximeters). When the assignment ends, it must be set to STOPPAD (called KASSA on older taximeters). If a fixed price was agreed, that price must already have been registered when the journey began.

You normally do not need to understand the technical operation of the taximeter. The practical point is that the fare basis should be clear before departure and should not be improvised during the journey.

Paying and getting a receipt

After a taximeter journey, a receipt must be produced and offered to the customer. The receipt may be electronic if you can receive it. It includes information useful for identifying the journey, including details connected to the vehicle, taxi company and driver.

Keep the receipt. The Swedish Transport Agency specifically recommends doing so because it can be important if you leave something in the taxi or later need to complain about the journey.

Payment arrangements can differ depending on how the taxi was booked. For example, app-booked journeys may be paid through the app, while taxis operating under the special-equipment system described above must be paid through the licensed booking centre.

See Paying for a Taxi in Sweden and Getting a Receipt for the dedicated payment guide.

Booking through an app

Booking through an app does not automatically place a journey outside Swedish taxi regulation. The Swedish Transport Agency states that the taximeter rules also apply to drivers using app services when the vehicle uses a taximeter. If the app journey has a price agreed in advance, that price must be registered in the taximeter before the journey starts; otherwise the taximeter calculates the fare.

The separate special-equipment category is different: those journeys must be pre-booked at a fixed price through a licensed booking centre.

For practical information about app-based taxi services, see Taxi Apps in Sweden.

Airports and local arrangements

National Swedish taxi rules also apply at airports. Stockholm Arlanda Airport additionally has airport-specific arrangements for taxis using the airport.

Swedavia tells passengers to use airport-approved taxis. Taxi companies contracted with Swedavia have a maximum fare for journeys within a designated zone. This is an Arlanda-specific arrangement and should not be confused with a national maximum fare for Swedish taxis.

If you are arriving at Sweden's largest airport, use our separately verified guide to Taxi at Stockholm Arlanda Airport.

If something goes wrong

If you believe you were charged incorrectly, have a payment or receipt problem, left something in the vehicle or want to complain, keep whatever documentation you have — especially the receipt, booking confirmation, price information and any evidence of a price agreed before the journey.

Sweden has free taxi pricing, so a high fare by itself does not show that the taxi acted unlawfully. However, the Swedish Consumer Agency states that a taxi company may not charge more than the price indicated by its displayed price information or a fixed price that was agreed for the journey.

Practical step: if you believe the charge conflicts with the displayed or agreed price, complain to the taxi company in writing. Keep the receipt and, where possible, evidence of the price information or agreed fixed price.

Our Taxi Help in Sweden guide explains the appropriate next steps for the most common problems and when organisations such as the taxi company, the Swedish Consumer Agency, ARN or the police may be relevant.