Who Will You Entrust Your Child to? The History of Trust in Polish Taxi Drivers (2000–2026)

Statistics often distort reality, but life always proves the truth. For the past two decades, we've been led to believe that the traditional taxi driver is a figure from another era, and that apps are our salvation.

Today, when the dust has settled after the marketing battles and the bot armies have been silenced, we see that this digital progress has started to eat its own tail.

Trust as the foundation of social relations

In the world of sociology, trust is considered the hardest currency. Although in the early 21st century we were told that Polish taxi drivers were bankrupt in this regard, the reality was much more complex.

To understand the evolution of this profession, we cannot rely solely on poll numbers – we must ask ourselves who we would confidently entrust with the safety of our own child.

The Myth of the "Black Sheep" (2000–2013)

Imagine a Polish street fifteen years ago. Throughout the first decade of this century, the taxi driver existed in the collective consciousness primarily as a media figure known as the "Złotówa."

Trust rankings, such as those published by Reader's Digest, placed this professional group very low , often well below the average for the rest of Europe.

However, it's worth considering whether this harsh verdict was fair. The low ratings weren't due to the fact that everyone in the industry was cheating.

The classic "black sheep" mechanism was at work here. One dishonest driver, preying on tourists near the station, generated more informational noise than thousands of honest craftsmen who quietly and safely went about their work.

The aforementioned "Child Test" proves crucial here. Think back to 2005 – despite complaints about high fares, a parent would not hesitate to put their teenager in a licensed taxi from a large corporation.

The taxi was then a natural extension of the public safety system.

The driver was a verified person, and his license provided certainty that could not be measured in just a few zlotys saved.

The Great Manipulation and "Self-Plowing" (2014–2019)

The appearance of platforms such as Uber and Bolt on the Polish market was not just a technological breakthrough.

It was a massive marketing operation, fueled by massive capital and aggressive astroturfing , i.e. creating the illusion of universal support through artificial crowds online.

At that time, any news of taxi driver protests was met with a wave of organized hate. Online bots and manipulated users shouted about the traditional industry "plowing itself out."

The people who blocked the streets in a desperate act of defense against unfair competition were cleverly cast as backward enemies of innovation.

With hindsight, we see that this alleged “self-ploughing” was a huge hoax.

It wasn't taxi drivers who were destroying their own market – it was new platforms that started to consume the foundations of quality.

Professional drivers warned at the time: "Today they tempt you with price, but tomorrow you will pay with lack of safety." Unfortunately, their voices were drowned out by the noise of talk of free markets and progress.

Interestingly, hard data from the 2018 GfK report showed a trend that the media refused to notice: trust in traditional taxi drivers began to grow .

The reason was prosaic – in the flood of random people moonlighting on apps, the “old taxi driver” suddenly became a symbol of predictability and professionalism.

The Decline of Quality and Back to Basics (2020–2026)

Recent years have brought a painful realization. A wave of dramatic reports of assaults and rapes in ride-hailing apps has shocked the public.

The police and the media began to speak out about problems that the industry had been reporting for a decade : the lack of real identity verification, account trading, and the renting of profiles to third parties.

Tech giants who previously scoffed at strict licensing were forced to implement lifesaving measures:

• The “Women for Women” service is a de facto admission that a random driver in the system can pose a real threat.

• Campaigns emphasizing the Polish identity of drivers – which was a response to the growing cultural and language barrier.

Now, in 2026, we're returning to our roots. In SW Research's latest prestige ranking , the taxi driver debuts with a 33% respectability rating.

This may not yet be the level of trust enjoyed by firefighters, but it is a stable result achieved through genuine professionalism , not an artificial algorithm.

Evolution of trust in taxi drivers in Poland (Actual Summary)

Year	Research / Phenomenon	Result	True Context and Interpretation	Source
2010	Reader's Digest	Low	The "Black Sheep" Effect. Despite complaints, the taxi was considered safe.	RD
2014	GfK Polonia	~50-55%	Taxi driver as a craftsman. Stable trust against app attack.	GfK
2018	GfK Verein	Growth	Paradox: hate bots online, but increased trust in the real world.	GfK
2023	Police Reports	Crisis	App crimes are rampant. Platforms are introducing verification.	Police
2024	SW Research	33%	A debut in the prestige rankings. A return to valuing the "professional" ethos.	SW Res.
2024	Ipsos Global	28% vs. 28%	Clear polarization. Rebuilding trust from the ground up.	Ipsos

So what now? Service, not just a dry algorithm.

The history of the last two decades is a lesson in humility for all of us. It turns out that no technology can replace a moral backbone, and lines of code cannot replace a human being.

The article clearly demonstrates that while trust in the profession is cyclical, its foundations are unshakable.

Paradoxically, the current crisis in the app-based transport sector is opening the door to true professionals.

The recipe for success, which emerges from years of experience, is surprisingly simple, although unattainable for bots:

1. Honesty as the norm: It's not about luxury, but about the optimal route and no price manipulation.

2. Feeling of safety: The passenger must be sure that the car is in good working order and the driver knows what he is doing.

3. Service Ethos: This is the key to everything. Treating work as a genuine service to others makes money a natural side effect, not the sole purpose.

Actions focused solely on "breaking records", imposed by soulless algorithms, always end in a decline in quality.

The taxi driver-professional is coming back into favor today , because in a world full of uncertainty, reliability has become the most desirable commodity.