The previous contract with Martono Taxi for rights to wait at the airport entrance was criticized by the transport ministry as wasteful. Martono's prices were so high that often arriving visitors would call a taxi by phone rather than use the waiting taxis.
VILNIUS — As part of its campaign to annul wasteful contracts, the Vilnius International Airport is offering tender for taxi rights in 2010 upon the expiry of Martono Taxi’s contract.
All taxi companies operating in Vilnius are free to apply by contacting the airport. The requirements are cars manufactured no earlier than 2005 of uniform painting and model, personnel who can speak a foreign language and polite conduct. The winner receives exclusive rights to leave one car at the entrance to the arrivals terminal without time limit and four cars at the approaches of the entrance.
“We have changed the conditions of the taxi services next to the airport substantially. So the quality of the services that is extremely relevant to the travelers, shall increase definitely,” Tadas Matjošaitis, an the airport’s director of commerce of VIA, said. “Any taxi company in the city will be able to work in the airport if it meets our requirements.”
In recent years Martono Taxi has had exclusive rights to the airport. The taxi company has been criticized as charging exorbitant prices, especially for foreign tourists.
“There is nowhere in Europe where taxis come to the airport and wait for you only to charge you 50 litai (€14) for a five-minute journey to take you somewhere or take you home … nowhere else are there such fees,” Minister of Transport and Communications Eligijus Masiulis said at a press conference last month.
— Baltic Reports assistant editor Adam Mullett contributed to this article.
“personel who can speak a foriegn language and polite”
Looks like 2010 will produce a taxi free airport… just as the authorities produced a plane free airport in 2009 :)
foreign language and Martono? LoL
However tourists should better be in general informed that calling a taxi is 4 times cheaper than taking a waiting one! In Chisinau for example prices to destinations are written outside the airport for orientation so that everyone knows that from the airport too Pilies its not 70 Litas but usually 15-20.
Haha .. this is going to be another farce .. cars no older than 2005 (martono), any taxi company can make a tender (martono are already in the pocket of the airport), taxi’s charging 50 litas (I was once told it would be 70 litas, good job I called ekipazas and it cos me 12 litas to old town), the airport or government will never regulate this as they are both in the pocket of Martono.
A simple sign at the airport and in the cars for a flat rate fee to certain areas of Vilnius would get rid of this rip off(lets say 20 litas to old town, this is still 8 litas more than most taxi companies if you called them).
Martono will still be there because they will win the tender, they will still be ripping of tourists and visitors to Vilnius, and they will still be giving Vilnius and Lithuania a bad name.
When the government actually wakes up and realises they should be working for the good of Lithuania and the lithuanian people, instead of trying to find ways to line their own pockets then maybe Lithuania will be able to move forward, I am afraid this will not happen any time soon, and any recovery is going to be hampered by even the simple things .. like Martono taxi rip offs.
The fact that Martonas is controlled by Zuokas will clearly have nothing to do with this tender……….