To Prague’s center from the airport for as little as 1700 crowns. Prague Airport is continuously defrauding its customers. It also raises concerns about security.

Our undercover agent was posing as a foreigner when he was approached at the terminal by a so-called “taxi chaser” (dispatcher) of taxi drivers. He usually picks up the foreigner right at the terminal and directs him to an affiliated taxi service in front of the hall.

Within the organized group, there is one boss, two of his closest aides, and about five foremen. There are approximately 12 dispatchers and roughly 80 drivers divided between sectors T1 and T2.

Some drivers don’t even have vehicles registered as taxis or as a business. When picking up a customer, they remove the magnetic “taxi” sign and leave from the express parking lot in a regular car.

The dispatchers then receive 100 CZK for every “captured customer” from the driver who transports the customer. The head of the organized group, either personally or through his two closest associates and foremen, collects 5,000 CZK each month from every driver. This arrangement can be seen as a form of modern-day enslavement or extortion.

Drivers partly park at a gas station, from where they proceed to the express parking lot upon the dispatcher’s call once he has "captured a customer" and hands the customer over, or a driver picks up the customer in front of the hall, where the dispatcher provides the information about the agreed fare.

The ties of this organized group go directly to the top management of Prague Airport and the relevant parking garage employees.

The organized group has also struck a deal with Uber dispatchers, who hand over captured customers to them for 100 CZK.

Employees who issue parking cards recharge them according to the organized group’s requirements, or a driver who is part of the group rings the barrier and, without presenting a parking card—only by stating a password—opens the parking lot gate, allowing the group’s driver to leave without paying. Prices observed for trips to the center of Prague:

1. Ride from Terminal 1 – Hilton to Pobřežní: 1,538 CZK - fake receipt, the company ID does not exist. Payment was made in cash.

2. Ride from Terminal 1 – Hilton to V Celnici Old Town: 1,790 CZK, fake receipt, payment was made in cash.

3. Ride from Terminal 1 – Hilton to V Celnici Old Town: 798 CZK - receipt is in order, and the price matches

Our investigation revealed a number of shortcomings in the provided taxi services compared to the tender requirements set by the airport. Breaches of the contract:

• According to Section 14.1.2 of the contract, Uber is required to provide taxi service to every passenger without needing registration, an email, or a telephone number. However, based on our findings, passengers must provide an email address or telephone number to receive the service – without registration, they are not served.
• According to Sections 14.4.6 and 11, Uber is obliged to have its sales channels operational from the start of the rental period and to maintain them throughout, ensuring regular maintenance and servicing of the kiosks, and to keep them running 24 hours a day (with the exception of counters and the dispatcher) for the entire rental period.
• According to Section 14.8.5 of the contract, drivers are supposed to wear representative clothing. More than half of the rides are provided by drivers who do not comply with the dress code stipulated in the contract.
• According to Section 14.6.1, Uber is required to ensure transportation service at the Airport on a 24/7 basis, being obligated to deliver a car for a specific customer within 10 minutes (for a private car) and within 15 minutes (for a minibus) from the time of ordering.
• According to Section 14.8.4 of the contract, drivers must be sufficiently language-proficient, meaning they should speak fluent Czech and have at least a basic command of English to enable basic communication with the customer.

These shortcomings highlight serious issues in the provision of taxi services at Prague Airport and require thorough investigation and remedial measures by the Police and the oversight authorities of Václav Havel Airport.

We continue to monitor the case and are preparing further information.