Taksiuutiset tells taxi drivers what has changed in the industry. Every article names its sources, so you can check them yourself.
The news articles and four permanent guides are also available in English. The original articles are in Finnish. Suomeksi: Taksiuutisten etusivu
Note: The training is given in Finnish, and the taxi driver exam is held only in Finnish or Swedish, with no interpreter or dictionary allowed.
By law, the taxi driver training lasts at least 21 hours, and you can take the exam only after the training. The transitional provision that allowed a licence without training, while training was not yet offered, was valid until 31 October 2026 at most.
According to the Traficom regulation, the taxi driver exam is a digital theory exam of 60 questions, with at most 45 minutes. To pass, you need 45 correct answers and the minimum number from each of the five topics.
The first taxi driver licence costs 195 euros in official fees: the exam 138 euros and the licence application 57 euros. You also need the 21-hour training, which is priced by the provider, and a medical certificate.
To renew a taxi driver licence, you must complete a supplementary training of at least seven hours, and only once. You do not need it if you have completed the new 21-hour training. The transition during which a licence could be renewed without training was valid until 31 October 2026 at most.
According to Kela, the Finnish Social Insurance Institution, all Kela taxi telephone order numbers and some of the text message order numbers change on 1 January 2027. The new numbers will be published on Kela's page in December, and rides for January 2027 can be ordered from them from 21 December 2026.
On 28 October 2026 Taksiliitto, the Finnish taxi federation, criticised the calculated savings of Traficom's data pilot: the Disability Services Act sets limits on combining. According to Traficom, the taxi rides of Kela and the wellbeing services counties cost a little over 450 million euros a year.
According to Yle, Traficom grants a taxi driver licence for five years, but information on a judgment does not pass from the court to the police automatically. Police departments typically ask for judgments a few times a year.
The new taxi act 2026 is two acts that amend the Act on Transport Services: Act 612/2026 and the temporary Act 613/2026. Both entered into force on 1 September 2026, and for the driver the biggest change is the 21-hour training before the exam from 1 November 2026. In addition, renewing the driver licence includes a 7-hour supplementary training, the list of offences that bar a licence has become wider, price information must be given before the ride and the taximeter becomes mandatory on 1 February 2027. Below are all the changes in a table: what changed, when and for whom.
The taxi driver training, in everyday language the taxi course or taxi training, lasts at least 21 hours and covers five topics: assisting passengers and safety, the special needs of different passenger groups, customer service situations in taxi services, the rights and duties of the driver, and factors affecting the safety of transport and traffic. The theory part can be taken remotely if you can ask the trainer questions in real time, but independent online training may be at most 7 hours and practical teaching is always in person. Only a training organisation operating with a Traficom licence may provide the training.
To become a taxi entrepreneur you need a taxi transport licence. The applicant or the person responsible for transport must complete the taxi transport entrepreneur training, which lasts at least 21 hours, and pass the entrepreneur exam, which Traficom organises from 1 September 2026. A taxi transport licence application made electronically costs 290 euros, and a new licence is granted for 10 years. You do not need to complete the training or the exam if you were on 1 August 2007 the holder of a valid taxi licence or the person responsible for its transport.
You become a taxi driver in five steps: you check the conditions, get a medical certificate, take the 21-hour training, pass the exam and apply for the driver licence at a service point of Traficom's service provider. The licence is valid for five years.
Bolt and Uber drivers gathered in the parking lot of the Olympic Stadium on Thursday 22 October 2026 to demand better ride fees and more open pricing. The Auto and Transport Workers' Union AKT says it will take self-employed workers as members.
Kela, the Finnish Social Insurance Institution, has selected the providers of taxi rides for 2027: nine companies serve 17 tender regions, and every region has two providers. The current providers continue until the end of 2026.
The taxi transport entrepreneur exam has 50 questions and at most 120 minutes. To pass, you need 38 correct answers and the minimum number from each of the six topics. You can take the exam only after the entrepreneur training.
According to Traficom, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, over 70 percent of the Kela and wellbeing services county taxi rides in the pilot regions could have been combined under certain assumptions. The agency estimates that in practice about 35 percent could be carried out.
On 15 October 2026 the government announced a package that includes a 30 million euro fuel subsidy for entrepreneurs in the transport and agriculture and forestry sectors. The more precise targeting of the subsidy will be decided in further preparation, so the position of taxis is still open.
According to Yle, Menevä will be left entirely without Kela taxi rides from the start of 2027. Kela rides have made up almost half of the company's turnover, and the company is adjusting its operations.
According to Taksiliitto (the Finnish taxi federation), an increase in Kela compensation for large accessible taxis, prepared by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, is not included in the budget proposal being handled by Parliament. The federation has appealed to the Finance Committee.
Finavia held a tender for the four taxi lanes at Helsinki Airport. From the turn of the year, the lanes will be used by Lähitaksi, Bolt, FixuTaxi and Taksi Helsinki.
On 10 September 2026 the Government issued a decree under which the base colour of the licence plate of taxis is green and the characters black. According to Traficom, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, distinctive taxi licence plates will be issued from 1 January 2027 and they become mandatory on 1 July 2027.
According to Taksiliitto (the Finnish taxi federation), a duty or driving shift arrangement is not as such against the Competition Act. According to the guidance of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (KKV), however, agreeing on driving shifts can be allowed only if companies can show that it benefits consumers and is necessary.
Kela, the Finnish Social Insurance Institution, tendered the taxi rides reimbursed under health insurance, and dispatch companies offered discounts from the maximum price set by the government, the so-called social tariff (yhteiskuntataksa). According to Yle, the discount is about 23 percent this year and 32 percent next year.