Uber is charging below the official price

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 06. 23. 09:29

Uber returned to Budapest a year ago – and not just any way: they relaunched the service with free test rides and 80 and then 50 percent discounts. Since then, the platform has been continuously luring passengers with discounts, while according to the taxi regulation, all service providers should transport at the official price. The strange situation is further compounded by the fact that the drivers themselves are often unaware of the discounts: the passenger only sees the discount discreetly deducted from the fare in the Uber app, while the taxi meter still shows the full, official price.

So the question is: is all this legal? According to the company, yes. According to the GVH – under certain conditions – so too. The BKK, however, is more cautious and draws attention: the permanent discount may even raise competition law issues.

Uber has already withdrawn from Hungary after protests from the taxi community and government regulations made its operation impossible. But now – officially with a domestic dispatch service and yellow cars – it’s back, and it’s just as cheap as other taxis.

The questions remain: who gets a discount, when, and why? Why don’t drivers see the real fare? And how fair is the system, which uses one party’s commission to cover the other’s discount?

According to the official answers, everything is fine. But if the practice does distort the market – whose interests are it hurting?
V