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St. Petersburg does not have as many taxis as New York or London, but there are still plenty of taxis in the street, catering both for budget travelers and the "nouveau riche". Perhaps to confuse you, taxis are marked in a very diverse fashion.
Here is how you can identify a taxi:
- some taxis are painted bright yellow
- some taxis have an orange checkered light on the roof
- some taxis have green lights in the upper-left corner of windshield and the light is on when the cab is available
- the more expensive taxis might have yellow "Taksi" signs on the roof.
Nowadays taxi services are offered by an array of licensed companies. Normally all cabs have meters and you pay for your ride by kilometer. Click here to see the list of taxi companies with their contact information and fares.
The first taxis appeared on St. Petersburg streets in 1906, and for about 30 years they coexisted with regular horse-drawn cabs - izvozchiki. The number of taxis grew quickly and by 1913 there were 328 cars serving as taxis. All such cars were equipped with meters and had yellow stripes and taxi signs on the sides.
During the 1917 Revolution all taxis were confiscated for the needs of the Red Army and the government. The taxi service in the city was reintroduced only in 1929. A year later the city had 83 taxis which people could use after 5 pm only (this regulation, however, was short-lived).
In 1990 the city had 4 500 taxis which served about 150 thousand people a day. The last several years have seen an emergence of private taxis and even private taxi companies, though the number of people who can afford to use taxis has sharply declined.
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