Dr. Henrike Schulte and Dr. Maximilian Gerhold successfully overturned, on behalf of the European mobility platform BOLT, the City of Cologne’s general administrative act imposing minimum fares for ride-hailing services.

Following controversial public debate, the City of Cologne had issued a general administrative act, applicable as of 1 June 2026, mandating minimum fares for app mediated ride-hailing services set at 20 percent below the local taxi tariff. Such rides are typically booked via platforms like BOLT or UBER and are particularly popular among younger users. The taxi industry has long advocated the introduction of minimum fares for ride-hailing. Cologne is the first city of over one million inhabitants to adopt such minimum fares.

The Administrative Court of Cologne granted OPPENLÄNDER’s applications for interim relief on behalf of BOLT and a fleet partner (order of 24 July 2026 – 18 L 1226/26). The court held already at the preliminary stage that the City’s general administrative act was “likely unlawful.” Its issuance would have required a prior City Council resolution. Moreover, Cologne was not permitted to extend minimum fares to the entire mandatory taxi service area; such rules—if permissible at all—may only be set for rides within the city limits.

Because of these illegalities, the court did not need to decide whether minimum fares in Cologne could be ordered under German passenger transport law or whether they would be compatible with the EU freedom of establishment applicable to the Estonian company.

Dr. Schulte and Dr. Gerhold had already prevailed for BOLT before the Administrative Court of Gelsenkirchen against the City of Essen and are currently pursuing proceedings concerning a comparable general administrative act before the Bavarian Administrative Court of Munich; a decision there is still pending.

The Cologne order is not yet final. The unsuccessful City of Cologne may file a complaint against the decision.

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A selection of media coverage of our success for BOLT (in German only):

• Tagesschau: Kein Mindestpreis für eine Taxi-Alternative 
• Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: Gericht kippt Mindestpreis für Mietwagenfahrten
• beck-aktuell.HEUTE IM RECHT mit einer Einordnung unserer Partnerin Dr. Henrike Schulte 
• Pressemitteilung des Verwaltungsgerichts Köln: VG Köln kippt Mindestpreis für Mietwagenfahrten in der Stadt Köln
• LTO: Kein Min­dest­preis für Bolt in der Dom­stadt
• JUVE: Oppenländer verbucht Punktsieg für Taxi-Konkurrenz