There are three kinds of taxis in Bucharest:

- Taxis belonging to reputable companies, that charge an average fare per kilometer and use smaller Dacia or, more and more often, Skoda and Renault cars. The companies I would list here are Leone, Cobălcescu, Meridian, CrisTaxi, Taxi 2000, Mondial. They will charge about RON 1.39 - 1.80 / km. plus the starting, which is about one kilometer’s ride.

- Taxis belonging to expensive companies, that charge more, have bigger / better cars or simply have the same type of cars with the ones above, but charge more. I would list here Taxi Grand and Fly Taxi. They charge 2.50 - 3.50 / km., depending on the time of the day / night when you go and on the type of car.

- Taxis that will cheat you. As simple as that, and the ways they will attempt to do so are various. Some of them imitate the logos of reputable companies. Others will write 7.50 RON / km. on their door, with the "7" so narrow that it looks like a 1. Others will simply do something to the meter, so that it indicates more than it should; Taxi Arsenal’s cars typically parked in front of the Hilton and other top end hotels are notorious for that. They will come to you at București Nord railway station, saying the subway no longer runs, that they want to go home anyway and will give you a big discount (I have heard this so often that I wonder whom it works with), that they know a shortcut, there is no other taxi and they are your last chance on earth. Avoid them. Not being careful here can end with paying even 100 lei for a ride, and the stupid part of is that in some cases this might be legal (if they are licensed to charge RON 7.50 / km. and the Holy Cow knows how much for starting).

A few pieces of advice regarding taxis in Bucharest:

- They all should have an oval license on their door, issued by the City Hall

- The price per kilometer should be written on the front door, as well as the price for starting (Ro. pornire)

- They should start the meter immediately when they start, or as soon as you get in the car (whichever happens first)

- In the end they have to give you a receipt indicating the total amount you have to pay

- When you go to the airport (especially to Bucharest Henri Coandă OTP, which is way out of the city), some of them will ask for "return money"; this started before February 1, 2010, when TaxiFly was the only company allowed to have cars waiting in front of Bucharest OTP Airport; now this is nonsense, as the TaxiFly monopoly is gone. Paying such a return fee is illegal.
- In Bucharest there is no "FIFO" rule for taxis, except for sometimes at the airport. So, if there are 5 cars in a line in front of your hotel, choose the one you prefer, according to the company you want to use the services of, or simply to the driver you sympathize with.
- Tipping is customary, but not compulsory. If you appreciate the service, a 10% tip is enough.

- Have money ready in small bills, to avoid the driver's pretending he does not have change or running across the city to find ATMs and shop attendants to change your big bills.

- According to the law, the driver should not smoke in the car or play manele (turbofolk) when driving with customers. This is not always enforced, but you should know about it.
- As a personal point, a convinced nonsmoker, I for one do not mind if people smoke next to me as long as they ask whether it is OK with me, and I leave tips if people react naturally (i.e. neither over-courteously, nor rudely). As always, life provides  totally different experience from the book. Apart from the cheaters and “fuck this, fuck that, fuck everything” or “let’s give that pussy a whistle” drivers, I have had (and still do) some great experience with taxi drivers in Bucharest, whether it was about listening to the Led Zep, talking psychology, beautiful women, daily routine or art. And then, to hell, I admit talking to “ordinary” people down the road is possibly my greatest pleasure. So, my two bani advice: never assume taxi drivers are all bad. Actually nobody is bad until he / she is placed in a bad situational environment. As Philip Zimbardo said, there’re no bad apples, there’re only bad barrels.