An infected battle has flared up between Finland's taxi drivers.

Since the Finnish state introduced free establishment in the taxi industry, competition between taxi drivers has intensified - considerably.

The Taxi Act, which was introduced in 2018, means in practice that anyone with a license can drive a taxi.

The tariffs, which were previously strictly regulated, were released and the requirement for taximeters was abolished.

There are also no restrictions on how many taxis may be registered.

Fights and broken rear windows

The Finnish magazine Ilta-Sanomat has spoken to several taxi drivers who testify about how the hunt for customers has led to brutal methods.

According to the drivers, the situation has gone so far that what is similar to "cartels" of rogue taxi drivers has taken control of an area outside the railway station in Helsinki.

According to the drivers, the police have been forced to pull in when the customers were attacked by aggressive drivers.

Fights between drivers have also occurred.

- I have seen people who wrestle and get hit in the face.

I have worked for 40 years and have never seen anything like it, says taxi driver Timo Salonen to the newspaper.

Another driver says that he saw a rear window being smashed with a baseball bat and about cars that had been kicked.

Taxi driver Kaarlo Hjerpe no longer wants to stay at the train station.

- I have not been there for at least two years.

I do not want to get rid of my car, he says.

"Wages have fallen by 80 percent"

The changed taxi law has led to deteriorating conditions for several drivers, says Timo Salonen.

The reason is that the supply of taxis is significantly greater than the demand.

- Wages have decreased by 80 percent.

If I previously had 3,500 euros left in my pocket per month, now it is rather 600-700 left, he says.

- It goes without saying that the number of cars will increase by over 40 percent, but the number of customers is the same.

No advanced mathematics is required to calculate what it causes, says taxi driver Rainer Andersson.

The state promises action

The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority published a study on the taxi reform in January and was able to state that prices for taxi journeys have soared.

Then the Minister of Communications Timo Harakka promised measures, but only next year.

Even before the law was introduced, there was concern in Finland - and a warning came from Sweden.

- My greeting to Finland is that you have to think one extra lap.

You have to make sure that there are very clear sanctions for those who do not take care of themselves, said the Swedish Transport Workers' Union's Emil Burman to Hufvudstadsbladet.