How to get a taxi in Minsk?

Today it is impossible to imagine a modern life in the city without the service of taxi. This topic is particularly important for foreigners, who don’t know the city well and have to use taxis rather often. Unfortunately, in Minsk, as well as in other big cities in the world, the drivers, providing the service for foreigners, can sometimes cheat and take much more money than needed.  But, surely, not only tourists suffer from insincere drivers.

Taxis standing near the near night clubs, popular bars and restaurants as a rule, will cost you more than it should be. The drivers of these cars are waiting for people who are lazy to call a taxi themselves.

Nowadays a lot of foreigners think that taking such car is much quicker. But, as it turns out, it is not true. Today services providing taxis for people claim that it takes 7-10 minutes at the most for the car to arrive. This kind of drive will be considerably cheaper as there are some certain tariffs which drivers can’t omit. So do you want to save money using taxi?

How to call a cab?

There are a lot of phone numbers that you can use to call a taxi. There are luxurious, medium and cheap taxis. The procedure is pretty easy. You call a number of any taxi service which is more appealing to you, and then you tell the address and your name to the operator in Russian. The operator in his/her turn, tells you when and which car will arrive to give you a ride.

Prices

The minimal fee for a ride is around $3-4 (it includes taxi delivery to your address and 3 km of the trip). Every extra km would cost about $0,5. That means that 15 km by taxi should not cost you over $10! Remember that the taxi driver would charge you 6-8 USD per hour for waiting even if you do not go anywhere.

So, the most popular and reliable taxi services in Minsk:

VIP taxi 107

Calling this number to order a taxi you automatically get a high class service. The cars are new and comfortable. The drivers are always polite and punctual. Moreover, here you can also order mini-buses (if you have a big company with you) and cars which will drive you to the airport. Of course, these taxis cost more than ordinary ones. But we have to admit, that paying just 15% more, you get the best, really high class service.

107 (short number)
+375 29 1111-007
+375 29 3333-007
+375 29 7777-007
+375 25 9999-007

Taxi 135

Calling this number you also get a pretty good service. The cars of this company are considered to be prestigious as well, though they cannot be compared to those of the previous company 107. Sometimes the drivers are impolite and can be unpunctual, although that happens not that often. You can see a lot of 135 taxis driving throughout the city. Sometimes precisely drivers of 135 cars can take more money than needed if you don’t use the call-service. They are often standing near clubs, casinos, hotels.

135 (short number)
+375 29 2222-001
+375 29 3333-001
+375 29 6666-001

Taxi 157

This service is also one of the best in Minsk. The cars used by this company are not very luxurious and comfortable, though you can be sure that you will get to the needed place safely and in time. The drivers are usually polite and talkative. This service is less popular than 135, but costs almost the same. So, sometimes when it is impossible to get through to 135, you can successfully call 157 and get your car in no time.

157 (short number)
+375 29 6666-157
+375 29 7777-157
+375 25 9999-157

Taxi 152

The service of this company is considered to be of medium class. But, as a rule, taxis arrive on time, drivers are polite. Unfortunately, some misunderstandings can take place more often than in other companies.

152 (short number)
+375 29 6666-152
+375 29 3333-152
+375 44 7777-152

Taxi 7788

This company provides the cheapest service, besides, it possesses a lot of cars. The only disadvantage is that the call service is rather slow. You may wait some minutes before you get connected with operator.

7788 (short number)
+375 17 3060-778

If you are going to stay in the city for a rather long period, using taxis is not that comfortable. The solution of the problem is renting a car. Moreover, you can rent not only usual cars, but also high quality luxurious cars. Of course, the rent of such cars will be much more expensive. Nearly $30 per hour.