> That implies that he thinks Taxis are a public transport, but of course, they aren't.
In Germany, Taxis are considered part of public transport, and regulated as such. This is justified by them providing an essential service (transportation), to everyone in a community when regular public transport is not available (e.g. no line or a night) or impossible to take (e.g. people with limited mobility)
The private counterpart to the public Taxi is the minicar.
The most important federal regulation, without which a Taxis isn't a Taxi is the "Beförderungspflicht" - the obligation to carry someone. It doesn't matter if you just wanna go around the corner or it the direction is inconvenient for the driver. Within the designated area (usually the city limit) they _have to_ transport you where you want to go, at the regulated price. (Obviously there are exception for people who are behaving violently, etc.).
Connected to this is also the "Betriebspflicht", if your company has a license to provide Taxi services it _has_ to be provided at a certain minimum level. This is a way to guarantee that there's always a minimum amount of Taxis.