You do not generally hail a taxi in the street. There are taxi stands in high traffic areas of the city, for example, in front of Central Station, by Leidseplein and Rembrantplein and on the Damrak, just north of the Royal Palace. It is quite difficult to miss the black Mercedes and Minivans that adorn their roofs with white taxi signs, while they sit and wait for passengers.
If you are not near one of the taxi stands or you know that you will need a ride at a certain time and place, you can also call a taxi, and the person operating the booking line will give you an approximate time at which one of the company cars will arrive to pick you up. If you do not call in advance and arrange this appropriately, you can generally have a car sent within 10 and 20 minutes, depending on your location and how busy they are. Taxis are fairly expensive, with a typical example being the ride from Schipol Airport to the city centre, which will cost about €40 for the journey that will last between 20 and 30 minutes (depending on traffic conditions).
Do not be concerned if you notice that your cab driver seems to abide by his or her own rules of the road; taxis in Amsterdam are not subject to the same traffic laws as the rest of the passenger vehicles that you see, but instead, they are allowed to drive along the routes that are accessible to other forms of public transport, such as trams and buses.
Taxi Companies and Contact Information:
- Taxicentrale Amsterdam (TCA)
Tel: 020 6777777 - TBA Taxicentrale
Tel: 020 6330032 - Ambassador Taxi
Tel: 020 6930640 - Airport Cab Company
Tel: 020 4198224 - Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
Tel: 06 21240373 or 0900 123 5000
