August 30: Holland to Switzerland - taxi!

This is your typical European taxi stand, a row of beige Mercedes at the ready to whisk their happy customers hither and yon around the city. This pic was taken in Germany, but substitute any European city in any other country and you'll see the same thing. Cars that are considered only for the well off over here are common as dirt taxis across the pond. Different strokes, eh? But that is changing dramatically, based on what I saw on our recent trip abroad. There are barbarians at the gate, folks and dare we even think it, they come from the good ol' US of A. Sacrilege!

Now check out this picture of the arrivals area of the Amsterdam airport........

Surprise! A line of Tesla S and also X models (not visible) ready to quietly whisk their passengers into the city. Some things to consider.......the Benz taxi is a less costly commercial model, but the Tesla only comes one way - expensive. Also the Mercedes can operate 24 hours a day, non stop except for a fill up of diesel. The Tesla? Only twenty hours before needing a recharge. A good alternative? Good question, but someone has done the math, since there are fleets of these EV's everywhere.

Don't want to use a Tesla or the ubiquitous Benz in your taxi business? Then how about a more upscale Bimmer, like this new seven series........

No idea how this fits into a taxi company's budget. I guess this is to match the S Class Mercedes, that also have those taxi signs on the roof. This was taken in Zurich, a city which is dripping in money, based on the endless high end shops and of course, the cars. Does it surprise you then that along with the Tesla's and the Bimmers, there was also a fleet of these beauties........

Yes, this is a Maserati and in my book it tops any of these other high end rides as a quality taxi. And in case you think that this might be a one off, think again, as I said there were a fleet of them.

Yes sir, the taxi business is changing in Europe. Think we'll see any of these changes over here? Yellow New York Tesla taxis with maybe even a few Maserati's thrown into the mix? Doubtful, but time will tell. In the interim, don't get too excited when you see a Tesla and try to hail it for a ride.

Until next time.......