Bolt Taxi | Ignorance can lead to expensive taxi rides

– Absolutely shocking, people should stay away from this company, warns Adrian Richvoldsen, one of Nettavisen's test journalists.

He couldn't believe his eyes when he looked at the taxi meter when the taxi driver stopped.

Five journalists at Nettavisen tested five different taxi companies plus Uber and Bolt, to see how big the price differences are, and whether they choose the faster route.

The price difference ranges from NOK 36 per minute to just NOK 8 per minute.

The taxis that took the longest were Bolt and Uber. Plus the rides take 16 minutes, it took a surprisingly long time to get a car.

– After waiting 10 minutes for UberX, which is the cheapest, I was told that there are no vacancies in Oslo at all. I had to order Uber Comfort after that, which was NOK 100 more expensive. But I was quickly able to get a driver the second time around, says Henriette Rodal, a journalist at Nettavisen, who tested Uber.

About the trip

Nettavisen drove with Oslo Taxi, Taxi 2, Mytaxi, Eurotaxi, Bolt, Uber and an unnamed taxi, but the driver said the company was called Biltekno.

Biltekno was distinguished by not having the company name on the car or on the roof sign.

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The journey started from the Oslo S taxi stand to Alex Sushi, which is located on Soli Plas, a distance of about three kilometres.

The journalists did not give the taxi driver the address, only the name Alex Suchi, to see if that would cause any problems.

Three different routes were used to get there, and one of the routes was the most widely used of all.

It's hard to find

When Rodale had to take Taxi 2, it took some time before the taxi could drive.

-The driver didn't know where Alex Sushi was, which is fine, but he wanted me to find him on my GPS. As a passenger, I'm not supposed to sit down and tell him where to drive either, so I asked him if he could do it himself, says Rodale.

Both Taxi 2 and Eurotaxi had problems finding out where they were going in the first place, while Oslo Taxi knew exactly where the place was when the journalist mentioned the name.

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– The Oslo taxi driver knew the name of the street when I told him I was going to Alex Sushi. Here the journey was completely painless, says Netavisen journalist Martin Haabestad.

The driver didn't know anything about Alex Suchy, but he recorded it on Google Maps before his completely dented car took off, says Richvoldsen of the Eurotaxi ride.

– The driver initially asked a number of questions about Alex Suchy's whereabouts, but quickly registered them in the GPS and found the right place, says Nettavisen journalist Kirsty Lane about the trip with Mytaxi.

Euro Taxi AS writes to Nettavisen that they agree that the dented car cannot hear traffic, and that they carry out annual checks to maintain standards in taxi regulations.

Big differences in prices

Oslo Taxi had the lowest taxi rate, at 15 NOK per minute.

But Boltt and Uber's prices differed significantly. A ride with Bolt costs just NOK 8 per minute.

An UberX minute would have cost NOK 9, but it was not available in Oslo at the time. Uber Comfort comes at a price of NOK 15 per minute.

“When I mentioned to the driver that it was a bit difficult to get to the Bolt, he said that most people were a little busy in the morning because of the rainy weather,” says Haabestad, who took the Bolt.

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Here is the list from cheapest to most expensive:

• Bolt: NOK 140 total, NOK 8 per minute. The flight took 16 minutes.
• Oslo Taxi: Total price is 235 NOK, and the price per minute is 15 NOK. Took 12 minutes.
• Uber Comfort: NOK 244 total, NOK 15 per minute. The flight took 16 minutes.
• Taxi 2: NOK 362 total, NOK 22 per minute. The flight took 16 minutes.
• Eurotaxi: NOK 444 total, NOK 28 per minute. The flight took 16 minutes.
• Biltekno: NOK 418 total, NOK 34 per minute. The flight took 12 minutes.
• Mytaxi: Total price 438 NOK, minute price 36 NOK. The flight took 12 minutes.

Mytaxi was the most expensive taxi ride at 36 NOK per minute. In total, the trip cost NOK 438 and took 12 minutes.

-The trip was very smooth and the driver was nice. I think NOK 418 for a fairly short trip is too high a price, says Erik Moland, who took on Biltekno.

Nettavisen attempted to get comment from Bolt and Mytaxi, but received no response.