Bulgaria Warns Taxi Passengers: Cash Only on New Year’s Eve and Check the Meters!

Taxi passengers on New Year’s Eve should be prepared to pay only in cash after 9:00 p.m., as card payments will no longer be available. Many taxi applications depend on bank cards, which means customers will need to have either Bulgarian leva or euros on hand. Drivers will accept cash payments only.

Risk of Confusion With Taxi Meters

BNT reporter Teodora Georgieva explained that from 0:00 a.m. on January 1, some taxi meters will automatically switch from leva to euros. However, older devices require manual reconfiguration. This creates a potential risk of confusion, as the display may still show prices in leva while the actual calculation should be in euros. Passengers are therefore advised to always check their receipts, which display amounts in both currencies.

How New Devices Will Work

Krasimir Tsvetkov, chairman of the National Taxi Union, clarified how the transition will work for newer taxi meters:

“All devices of the new model will switch automatically at 0 o’clock. Currently, the device works in leva per kilometer. At 0 o’clock, this device will turn around and here it will display euros per kilometer, respectively, the price will no longer be 1.46 leva (€0.75), but will be 0.75 euros. And the initial fee will no longer show 2.94 leva (€1.50), but will show 1.50.”

Problems With Older Machines

According to Tsvetkov, older taxi meters cannot switch automatically because the necessary software upgrades have been delayed.

“This is a manual refinement of the device, it is carried out by replacing the processor, and the processors that control the automation came to the service stations in limited numbers only 4 days ago,” he explained.

Advice to Passengers

Because of these technical differences, Tsvetkov warned customers to be especially cautious when traveling in taxis equipped with older meters.

“In absolutely all cases, they should make sure by taking their receipt and looking at how much the exchange rate costs them in euros. The old and new models have prices in both leva and euros. This is the safest way to avoid problems,” he said.

Change May Be Returned in Leva

On the issue of receiving change, Tsvetkov noted that while some banks have tested euro cash availability, most drivers will likely return change in leva.

“The union has done a test case in several banks, but in the mass case the return will be in leva. The law allows for a return in leva in the absence of enough euros, so the law will not be violated in any way,” he stated.

He added that taxi drivers will need to work with both currencies simultaneously and calculate exchange rates carefully throughout the night to avoid disputes with passengers.