Street taxi in Flanders: why must you be able to manage your own rides onboard?

In short: in Flanders, a street taxi (straattaxi) may pick up a passenger on the street to increase revenue. You are not limited to platforms only, or only to private clients you already know.

But as soon as a trip happens outside an app — street hail, call, hotel, etc. — the platform no longer handles it. You then need an onboard tool to record the journey, the price and the transport ticket, and to present them at a control. See also street taxi vs rank taxi.

This article explains what you must be able to do without an intermediary, how a day with direct trips is organised, and how to have the right tool to handle them correctly.

Even “100% platforms”: a street trip remains possible

Take the most common case for many operators.

The driver starts the day, connects to one or more platforms, and intends to accept only the trips they send. Platform trips can be managed and transmitted by those platforms.

Yet during service, someone may still:

• stop them on the street;
• call for an immediate trip;
• ask for a trip outside the app (hotel, regular client, WhatsApp, etc.).

Flemish rules allow this. It is not a grey area: a street taxi may be booked via an app or called / stopped without an intermediary.

In that second case, without suitable onboard equipment, the driver may be unable to:

• record the trip correctly;
• confirm the fare to the customer;
• record departure and arrival;
• produce the transport ticket;
• transmit the required information;
• include the trip in the duty sheet;
• present the data during a control.

So the question is not only:

“Which platform do you work with?”

The real question is:

“If someone hails you or asks for a trip without a platform, can you handle it correctly?”

What Flemish regulation provides

Article 33, §1 of the Flemish decree on operating conditions for individual paid passenger transport requires that every vehicle in service has equipment to securely record, store and consult the data in articles 34 and 35.

Those data mainly concern:

• the duty sheet, called dienststaat;
• completed trips;
• prices;
• distances;
• pickup and drop-off places;
• the transport ticket, called vervoerbewijs.

Article 33, §2 separately requires that data processed by intermediaries also be recorded, stored and consulted securely.

There are therefore two different levels:

1. equipment available in the vehicle;
2. processing by any platform or intermediate dispatch.

Direct consequence: the fact that an intermediary manages its trips does not remove the need for a tool onboard for trips off-platform — including a single street hail. The legal detail is in “What equipment must be present in a Flanders taxi?”.

Why do you need a tool even if you only do platform trips?

Working mainly with Uber, Bolt or a dispatch does not change the street-taxi framework.

A street taxi is made available to the public. It may be booked via an app, but also called or stopped on the street. The official Flemish page distinguishes these situations — as in our guide street taxi / rank taxi.

When a trip is ordered via an app, the fare or fare structure can be communicated before departure.

When a taxi is stopped on the street without a prior fare agreement, the trip is calculated by the vehicle equipment according to the operator’s displayed tariffs.

That is the core point: as long as you can pick up a passenger on the street, you must be able to manage that trip onboard — even if you “prefer” platforms. For articles 33–36, controls and data retention, see “What equipment must be present in a Flanders taxi?”.

Two ways of working with a street taxi

1. The ordered trip

The customer books before pickup, for example:

• via an app;
• by phone;
• via a form;
• through a hotel;
• through a company;
• directly with the driver.

The fare or fare structure is communicated to the customer before the trip. A written confirmation may be sent electronically.

With TaxiGer, a direct request can become an instant trip before departure. The driver can then:

1. create the trip;
2. communicate the price or estimate;
3. start the trip;
4. record the journey;
5. finish the trip;
6. generate the transport ticket;
7. transmit the trip to Chiron when the connection is enabled.

2. The customer who stops a taxi on the street

The Flemish Region also allows a person to call or stop a street taxi directly.

When no fare agreement has been made in advance, the trip is calculated by the vehicle equipment according to the operator’s declared and displayed tariffs.

In the workflow offered by TaxiGer, the driver can create an instant trip immediately before starting the trip.

This method allows you to:

• formalise the request;
• communicate the price;
• identify the customer if necessary;
• record the trip;
• keep an audit trail;
• produce the regulatory documents.

That does not mean every street stop must become a TaxiGer trip. It is a simple, structured way to handle a direct request with a digital tool.

What is the duty sheet for?

Article 34 sets out the information the dienststaat must contain.

At the start of service, it includes in particular:

• the operator’s identity;
• the date;
• the vehicle;
• the plate;
• the driver;
• the start time;
• the mileage;
• the vehicle location when the service uses equipment other than a taximeter.

During service, it must be able to include in particular:

• breaks;
• the number of trips;
• the final prices of trips;
• distances travelled;
• distances travelled with a passenger;
• pickup and drop-off places.

At the end of the day, the driver closes their service with the final data of their activity. They must also be able to generate a copy of this sheet and present the data in a readable form identical to the original data.

The duty sheet is therefore not simply a button the driver clicks in the morning and evening. It represents their professional activity during service — detail in the street-taxi duty sheet guide.

The transport ticket after each trip

Article 35 requires a transport ticket to be given to the passenger or customer at the end of the trip without them having to ask.

This document includes in particular:

• the operator’s contact details;
• the vehicle;
• the driver;
• the sequential trip number;
• pickup and drop-off times;
• pickup and drop-off places;
• the distance;
• the fare;
• the total price;
• complaint information.

The transport ticket cannot simply be handwritten. A taxi that accepts a direct trip must therefore be able to produce this document, even when the trip does not come from a platform.

Transmission to Chiron

Chiron is the central Flemish taxi trip database.

The Flemish Region states that operators must send trip information to Chiron. The connection can be set up with the help of an IT partner or an external provider.

When a trip comes from a platform, that platform may, depending on the arrangement agreed with the operator, handle its transmission.

When a trip is created and managed in TaxiGer, TaxiGer can send the corresponding messages to Chiron.

The split can therefore be organised as follows:

• trip from a platform: managed and transmitted by that platform;
• private trip or instant trip created in TaxiGer: managed and transmitted by TaxiGer;
• direct trip created in TaxiGer: managed and transmitted by TaxiGer.

The goal is not to send the same trip twice. Each source remains responsible for the trips it handles. See also Does Chiron replace the documents?.

A concrete working day with TaxiGer

Whatever the setup (platforms, private customers, or both), the duty sheet (dienststaat) is mandatory for everyone. The first action of the shift: start service and immediately create the duty sheet — before any trip.

Situation A: the driver mainly works with platforms

Start of the day

The driver starts their shift and immediately creates their duty sheet in TaxiGer. This step is mandatory, even if they only intend to accept Uber, Bolt or other platform trips. The sheet records the driver, vehicle, start time, mileage and departure location.

During the day

The driver carries out the trips received from their platforms. The duty sheet stays open for the whole service.

If they receive a direct request — that is a trip taken on the street directly — they can create an instant trip in TaxiGer.

End of the day

The driver must close their duty sheet and keep the required data. How trips from other systems appear in a global duty sheet depends on how those data are made available or imported into TaxiGer.

Situation B: the driver also has their own customers

Start of the day

Same rule: the driver starts their shift and immediately creates their duty sheet in TaxiGer — an obligation that applies to 100% of drivers, whether or not they have private customers.

Private trips

For each private trip, they can:

1. record the request;
2. assign the driver and vehicle;
3. communicate the fare;
4. start the trip;
5. finish the trip;
6. generate the transport ticket;
7. transmit the data to Chiron.

Platform trips

Trips from platforms remain managed by their own systems.

Direct trips

The driver may also receive a request by phone, WhatsApp, hotel, company or directly on the street. The trip is then recorded in TaxiGer as an instant trip before it starts, and handled like a private trip.

End of the day

The driver closes their duty sheet and can consult their documents.

Instant trips restore the driver’s independence

A driver who depends exclusively on platforms lets those platforms control:

• access to customers;
• the relationship with passengers;
• commissions;
• assignment rules;
• the driver’s visibility;
• much of their commercial activity.

With TaxiGer’s instant-trip system, the driver can formalise a direct trip without sending the customer to a third-party platform: confirm the request, communicate a price or estimate, start and close the trip, produce the transport ticket.

They keep the commercial relationship while using a system capable of managing the trip and its administrative obligations.

Regulatory equipment becomes a commercial tool

The regulatory obligation can feel like a constraint. But it can also become an advantage.

Good equipment allows the driver to:

• work with several trip sources;
• accept their own customers;
• reduce dependence on platforms;
• manage direct trips;
• produce their documents;
• structure their activity;
• keep a trail of their trips;
• prepare for controls;
• gradually grow their own clientele.

Equipment is therefore not only there to show something to an inspector. It allows the driver to fully exercise their independent taxi activity.

How TaxiGer helps

TaxiGer brings together in a single application the tools needed for the day-to-day management of a taxi or a fleet:

• digital duty sheets;
• instant-trip system;
• trip start and end;
• transport tickets;
• driver and vehicle tracking;
• archiving;
• Chiron connection;
• documents accessible during a control.

For large fleets, TaxiGer can offer tailored solutions adapted to the company’s organisation, trip sources and transmission needs. See TaxiGer features.

The question to ask every driver

Simply ask yourself:

If someone stops me on the street or asks for a trip without a platform today — which the law allows — can I handle that trip correctly?

Can you:

• confirm the trip?
• communicate the price?
• record departure?
• record arrival?
• hand over the transport ticket?
• transmit the required data?
• include the trip in your activity?
• present the information during a control?

If the answer is no, these direct trips remain difficult to accept and document correctly — even if most of your activity still goes through platforms.

Request a demonstration

TaxiGer helps Flemish operators manage their services, direct trips, documents and regulatory transmissions.

Our team first analyses your current setup: licence type, vehicles, drivers, platforms used, private trips, currently declared equipment, Chiron transmission method.

We then show you the solution adapted to your activity. For large fleets, TaxiGer can propose a tailored organisation.

Contact TaxiGer for a demonstration →

Also check with the municipality that issued your licence which equipment or software is listed in your file.

Read next

For the legal detail (articles 33–36, controls, retention, platform vs vehicle distinction):

What equipment must be present in a Flanders taxi? →

FAQ

Official sources

• Flemish Government Decree of 9 June 2023 — articles 32 to 36 (fares, equipment, dienststaat, vervoerbewijs)
• Flemish Decree of 29 March 2019 — service categories and fares
• Vlaanderen.be — Taxi: soorten en voorwaarden (straattaxi)
• Vlaanderen.be — Rittendatabank Chiron