Fixed price: how the price of a transfer with a driver is worked out and why there is no meter
A fixed price is one you know and accept before getting into the car: it is calculated on the planned route between pickup and destination, with the distance and time estimated for that hour, the vehicle type and any extras the customer asks for, and it does not change with traffic, traffic lights or the way the driver takes. It is the pricing method of pre-booked transport with a driver in Spain, as opposed to the taxi meter, which charges by what the clock and odometer record during the trip, and to the surge pricing of some apps, which rises when there is more demand than cars. It only changes if the service ordered changes: address, stops, waiting or passengers.
Written by Ridelta - Taxi y VTC · reviewed on 27 October 2026
What goes into a fixed price?
The calculation starts from the most reasonable route between the pickup point and the destination as a routing engine traces it: a distance in kilometres and an estimated time for the pickup hour, because the same trip does not take the same at six in the morning as at six in the evening. On that basis a tariff is applied that combines a per-kilometre component and a per-time component, so that a short, slow city trip is not given away and a long, fast motorway trip is not expensive per kilometre. The result is a single amount per car, not per person.
To that amount are added, where applicable, the items the customer chooses or the service requires: a vehicle with more seats or a higher category, a child seat, an intermediate stop, a trip in the small hours or on a public holiday, a toll the route crosses. Each is a visible line in the breakdown before confirming, not a surprise at the end. What never goes in is what the driver does not control: traffic, a detour for roadworks or the specific route taken to avoid a jam.
How does it differ from the meter?
The meter is the type-approved device taxis carry, charging by a public tariff set by each city council or metropolitan area: a flag-fall, a price per kilometre travelled and a price per time when the car moves slowly or stands still, with supplements for airport, station, night or public holiday. It is a fair, transparent system for a service hired in the street, without knowing in advance where the customer is going, but it has one consequence: the final price is only known on arrival, and a traffic jam makes it dearer.
Pre-booked transport with a driver works the other way round: because the service is contracted beforehand, with origin, destination and time known, the price can be set beforehand, and Spanish regulation on chauffeured hire vehicles requires precisely that the service be contracted in advance with the price known. Many taxis also offer fixed prices for frequent trips — to the airport, between cities — when booked in advance; in that case the difference between taxi and VTC disappears as far as price is concerned. What this platform publishes is always a fixed price per car, whichever authorisation the service is run under.
And compared with app surge pricing?
Some mobility apps calculate the price at the moment the car is requested and adjust it to demand: when more people are asking than there are cars available — at the end of a concert, on a rainy night, at closing time — the price rises, sometimes a lot, and falls when demand eases. It is a fixed price in the sense that it is known before accepting, but it is not predictable: the same trip can cost twice as much an hour later, and anyone who needs to get home at that hour has no alternative.
A pre-booked transfer is calculated with the tariff in force at the time of booking and is fixed on confirmation: if you book a week ahead the return from a wedding at three in the morning, the price is the one you saw that day, even if it rains that night or the whole town leaves at once. What the tariff does take into account is the time of day: a small-hours trip may carry a surcharge declared from the start, because a driver working at those hours earns more, but that surcharge is public and fixed, not an auction.
What does the price include and what does it not?
It includes the full trip between the pickup and destination addresses for the passengers and normal luggage that fit in the booked vehicle, fuel, the tolls the planned route crosses when they have been included in the calculation, taxes (passenger transport is taxed in Spain at the reduced VAT rate) and the reasonable waiting at the pickup point that the platform publishes in its terms. It also includes what sets a pre-booked service apart: the driver knows where they are going before leaving, the vehicle is the one booked and the invoice is issued to whoever asks for it.
It does not include what was not booked: a long wait because the passenger is not there, a stop added along the way, a second destination, more passengers or luggage than the vehicle admits, or extraordinary cleaning of the car if needed. Nor does it include, unless stated, tickets, paid parking at the destination or waiting time during a visit. The specific terms — how much waiting is included, what happens with a delayed flight, how to cancel and with what notice — are published by each platform on its help page and are worth reading before booking, because they are what counts.
What can change the price after booking?
Only a change to the service ordered. If the customer changes the pickup or destination address, adds a stop, asks for another vehicle or moves the time into the small hours, the price is recalculated with the same tariff and shown again before accepting; nothing is charged without the customer having seen it. If the driver has to wait longer than agreed because the passenger does not appear, or an extra leg that was not planned has to be driven, what applies is what the published terms say, not a judgement made on the spot.
What does not change the price is what happens along the way without the customer asking for it: a traffic jam, a diversion, a closed road, rain. That risk is borne by the service, and it is the reason fixed pricing exists. So, when comparing one quote with another, the useful thing is not only the figure but what it covers: a lower price with waiting, tolls or luggage charged separately can end up costing more than a slightly higher one with everything included.
Frequently asked questions
Is the fixed price per person or per car?
Per car. It is shared by everyone travelling, up to the seats of the booked vehicle; that is why for groups it usually pays off against individual public transport tickets.
Does the price go up if there is a jam or the driver takes a detour?
No. The price was set on the planned route when booking and traffic or the way the driver takes do not change it. It only changes if the service ordered changes: address, stops, vehicle, time or passengers.
Why does the same trip cost differently at different times?
Because the tariff takes into account the estimated time at that hour and may carry a declared night or holiday surcharge. It is a fixed, public surcharge, not a price that rises with demand.
Does the price include tolls and VAT?
It includes VAT on passenger transport, which in Spain is the reduced rate, and the tolls of the planned route when they have been included in the calculation; the breakdown shows it before confirming.
Where do I see the exact price of my trip?
In the calculator on the website of the area where you are picked up, with the exact address, date and time: each province's site publishes its routes with the "from" fare and the calculator gives the exact price before booking.
Sources
- Ley 16/1987, de 30 de julio, de Ordenación de los Transportes Terrestres, y su reglamento: arrendamiento de vehículos con conductor y contratación previa (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- Ley 37/1992 del Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido, artículo 91: tipo reducido para el transporte de viajeros y sus equipajes (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- Ministerio de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible · transporte de viajeros por carretera: taxi y VTC (consulted on 27 October 2026)
How we write, where the figures come from and how we correct an error: editorial policy.
Taxi tariffs are set by each city council and each platform publishes its own terms; this piece explains the method, not a price. The exact price of a trip comes from the calculator on the area's site with the address, date and time.