Slovak police have begun a multi-day nationwide inspection of taxi services, covering both traditional cabs and cars booked through digital platforms, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok, Police Corps president Jana Maškarová and vice-president Rastislav Polakovič said at a Bratislava news conference on Wednesday.
The operation started on Tuesday 6 October and will run for several days. Officers are concentrating on road safety and whether the person behind the wheel is authorised to drive a taxi, TASR reported. Early returns already show scale: almost 500 vehicles checked and 45 breaches of the road traffic law, according to coverage of the same briefing (Sereď Online / ministry material; Pluska).
What officers are looking for
Šutaj Eštok said the focus is on driving that can lead to crashes, plus ordinary traffic offences. Polakovič listed recurring problems among taxi drivers: stopping and parking bans, waiting in bus lanes or at bus stops, entering prohibited roads, driving the wrong way on one-ways, ignoring mandatory directions, speeding and failing to keep a safe distance.
Police will also check for alcohol and other intoxicants. Drivers must display a taxi driver’s permit so passengers can see it, and the vehicle must be properly registered as a taxi. Foreign nationals behind the wheel can face checks by the Foreigners Police on the legality and purpose of their stay. The Labour Inspectorate is joining in on illegal work, employment status and working-time records.
Maškarová put passenger safety at the centre. In the first eight months of 2026, police recorded 47 road accidents involving taxi drivers, with 27 caused by the taxi drivers themselves, she said. Ministry briefing material cited by Slovak outlets also notes more than 100 accidents caused by taxi drivers between 2022 and 2025, with six deaths and 15 serious injuries.
A fast-growing licence book
Officials put almost 46,000 valid taxi driver’s licences on the Slovak books. About 85 per cent of holders are Slovak citizens; most of the rest are nationals of non-EU countries, with Ukrainians the largest group. Nearly 19,000 licences have been issued since the start of 2023 — the surge that, police say, makes regular checks of who is actually driving more urgent (Pravda / TASR).
Šutaj Eštok framed the crackdown as protecting passengers and honest operators alike. App data, he said, does not replace checking who is really at the wheel. Platforms are expected to work with properly authorised, professional drivers; he also flagged tax and cash-register compliance and signalled that other state bodies, including the financial administration, may join later.
Rules already tightening — more in 2027
Since January 2025, taxis in Slovakia may only use vehicles registered in the country, with plates recorded on the concession and in the taxi register. From 1 April 2027, further changes take effect: drivers will need to prove professional competence, with a theoretical retest of traffic rules every five years. When booking via a digital platform, passengers will be able to choose the language for talking to the driver — platforms that do not offer that face fines from €100 to €15,000.
That sits alongside earlier Slovak moves to police platform work more tightly — TaxiFeed has already covered how Bolt, Uber and delivery apps face tougher self-employment tests. Šutaj Eštok said inspections will become more regular, results will be published, and if the crackdown shows gaps, the interior ministry is ready to push more legislative changes.
For drivers who already follow the rules, the political message is familiar: expect more roadside and paperwork checks, and a state that wants the same standards whether the job came from a phone app or a street hail.