Pooling publicly funded taxi rides could save over 45 million euros

Combining publicly funded taxi journeys could cut costs by more than 45 million euros, Finland’s Transport and Communications Agency Traficom says. Yle reported the findings, citing the STT news agency.

Traficom collected data on taxi journeys arranged by Kela, Finland’s social insurance institution, and wellbeing services counties in Lapland, Kainuu, Central Ostrobothnia and North Ostrobothnia. More than 70 percent of the journeys could have been combined if they had been booked through the same dispatch centre and passengers had been willing to adjust their departure times by 15 to 30 minutes.

The agency estimates that about half of that potential, or roughly 35 percent of journeys, could be combined in practice. It says the opportunities would be at least as great in more densely populated areas. A combined trip would carry at least two passengers.

Publicly supported taxi transport costs just under 550 million euros a year in Finland, including school transport arranged by municipalities. Traficom says annual savings of 10 percent on journeys covered by Kela and wellbeing services counties alone would reduce costs by more than 45 million euros.

Kela reimburses taxi journeys to healthcare when a person’s health does not allow them to use public transport, or when public transport is unavailable. Traficom says combining rides could also help ensure reliable, high-quality transport services in the future, particularly in sparsely populated areas.