Rising labor costs, a higher minimum wage, expensive fuel and increasingly expensive vehicle maintenance are already driving up the cost of taxi transportation. After Ohrid, the taxi will become “burnt” in Kumanovo as well. Although requests are coming from some individual carriers, there will be no additional price increase in Skopje, because taxi drivers in the capital already drive according to the highest tariff, adopted as early as 2022.
The war in the Middle East has driven up oil prices and led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key point through which about 20 percent of global oil and liquid natural gas shipments pass. This made everything more expensive, including fuel, spare parts and taxi service.
Carriers with whom “Sloboden Pechat” spoke believe that the taxi service in Skopje should be more expensive so that the taxi drivers can pay the fees. They refer to the events in Ohrid, where the Council made a decision on new prices from May 6, whereby the starting price remains 50 denars, but each passing kilometer will be charged 50 denars. In the night period, the starting price is even 100 denars, which is a jump of over 50 percent. Price correction was also carried out in Kumanovo. There, 100 denars will be charged for the first two kilometers, and 40 denars for each subsequent one.
In Ohrid, parking is 30 percent more expensive, taxi transportation is getting expensive
On the other hand, Sasho Rajchanovski, president of the Group of auto-taxi transportation of the City of Skopje, says that Skopje taxi drivers already drive at a higher rate. It is a question of an increase of five denars per kilometer, foreseen since 2022, which has now been applied in recent months due to price shocks.
– In 2022, when we changed the price of taxi transportation, we introduced three tariffs. One is if the price of fuel drops significantly – practically the prices of 15 years ago. We have used the second tariff since 2022, when there was inflation, and the third is if fuel prices rise further, which is the case in the past period. The tariffs have already been passed by the City Council of Skopje for several years, they are not new, they are still valid today – points out Rajchanovski for “Sloboden Pechat”.
As he explains, the first tariff provided for a starting price of 40 denars and 25 denars per kilometer, the second is 50 with 30, while the third, current tariff that taxi drivers use is a starting price of 60 with 35 denars per kilometer.
Hence, according to him, there is no room for an additional increase in Skopje following the example of Ohrid and Kumanovo, because the economic situation and the growth of oil and product prices are already “calculated” in the tariff.
– Maybe this price is small for someone, but it is already foreseen due to protection from such situations. It is a minimal increase, but given the standard of the citizens, we cannot go any higher. If we go, then who will ride in the taxi? Yes, taxi costs may dictate an even more expensive tariff, but we have to stick to what is adopted, because we know where and how the citizens live. We believe that the fuel will not go higher, it will stabilize or start to fall. Therefore, there is no need for an increase, and there is no such request from the taxi companies in the official mutual talks – emphasizes Rajchanovski.
Licensed taxi drivers are waiting for better conditions
Skopje taxi drivers have already prepared a solution for the main challenges in the taxi business (problems with yellow plates, taxi vehicles without licenses, without fiscal taxi meters, unregistered taxi drivers, unpainted taxi vehicles). They have already presented the solution to the Mayor of the City of Skopje, Orce Gjorgjievski. The requests were sent in mid-February 2026 to the Department of Traffic, the Inspectorate of the City of Skopje and to the Council.
– We sent requests, in order for everyone to know what our problems are, but also how to solve them. We also emphasized how much money is lost by not solving it – six million euros a year. That’s the minimum! Hence, we are waiting for the situation to be resolved. We don’t want to play politics, we just pointed out the current situation. We want to have fast, safe and European taxi transport, in the interest of everyone, both taxi drivers and citizens – stated Rajchanovski.
