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Improved road infrastructure, rising income levels, growth in tourism and options to hire a cab via mobile apps and/or online are driving the taxi industry revenue in Austria, which is estimated to reach nearly *** million U.S. dollars by 2023.

Tourism to drive industry growth

Taxi services are an integral part of the tourism industry in Austria. The country is ranked among the top ten countries in Europe in terms of international tourism receipts in 2018 and this is estimated to register a sustained growth over the next few years. These encouraging numbers, in turn, are likely to catalyze Austria’s taxi services market over the short to medium term.

Protest from traditional taxi operators to restrict growth in the short term

The introduction of technology has brought in a paradigm shift in the taxi operations industry, especially in the form of on-the-go bookings. The U.S. based ride-hailing service provider Uber is not only a pioneer in this space in Austria but also market leader with a share of 40% followed by BlaBlaCar and Foahstmit. However, traditional taxi operators have been protesting the alleged unfair practices being adopted by ride-hailing companies, asking for them to fall under the purview of existing Taxi regulations. Uber, on the other hand, has threatened to withdraw its services from the country if this happens. These ongoing developments are likely to curtail industry growth in the short term until the government brings in new regulations to offer equal opportunities to both legacy operators and the new age digital companies.