Getting a Taxi in Kyiv

A taxi can be ordered by phone, or they can be hailed from pretty much anywhere.

To order a taxi by phone you need to give your  address, & the address of your destination, your contact number and  your name. Taxis arrive pretty quickly and are reliable but can vary from new models to battered old ladas!

Part of the charm of Ukraine is you never know what you will get, so go with the flow. I would say though if travelling with children, you will have to supply a childseat yourself as they will not have one and do not have the same stringent rules as western europe but are tightening up. In the same way they are with drink driving. Once a huge problem. They now fine drivers about $100 I believe for being over the limit. To may this is a months wages or more!

The phone taxis are very reliable and presentable but sometimes you have to be careful when hailing anyone. It has been known for drivers to have had a tipple of vodka to many or slept in the car for days!

The cost of travel in Kyiv is like any capital city, more expensive than any outlying areas. You can get short journeys say in a smaller City like Chernihiv for about 6 hryvna, about $1.

It will be 3 times as expensive in Kyiv, but still very cheap. You can have a fantastic time in Kyiv for considerably cheaper than most other european capitals. Also remember that property, living etc is triple the price for the workers. Kyiv has some of the most expensive property in Europe.

If you are a foreigner with no command of Ukrainian or Russian, then it can be very useful to have your destination written in cyrillic as almost no taxi drivers will speak any English.

Again, you will only have been able to hail one anyway and not been able to telephone unless you have an interpreter helping you or a friend.

It is something I used to do myself to avoid problems. It is rare drivers will take advantage of foreigners, they may add a little more but rarely more than this. In my experience Ukrainians are far more honourable than most people in many other countries I have visited and spent time. I am biased of course as I love the country and it’s people.

Here are taxi services with English-speaking operators: Kiev Taxi Service (331-3091), VIP Taxi (332-6418), Airport Transfer Services (203-0309), Life Car Services (499-6565).