The first taxis in Kalamata appeared at the beginning of the 1920s, but not in the form we know today.
They were called “μόνιππα” and was a horse with a carriage, it had four positions that were facing each other. Later they were called “φορτοταξί”, because in addition to people they carried various things. After a few years the taxis became vehicles exclusively for transporting people, difficult if we think that in 1955-1960 there were only two individuals who had a car in Kalamata. Therefore, using a taxi was a luxury. It was mainly used by doctors, lawyers and businessmen.
By the middle of the 1950s there had been enough taxis in Kalamata for that time, and their owners decided to organize themselves. Specifically, in 1955 there were 24 taxis and there was only one driveway on the main street of the square, at Vassileos Georgiou Street, where all the taxis were gathered. Thus, in 1957 (from the information of the then practical books), they founded “Taxi Owners Association of Kalamata “. The minimum route was costing 10 drachmas, back then imagine that 60 drachmas, was a good payday. The taximeters were mounted in 1965 as well as the signs at the top of the cars, the purpose of which was to stand out from the rest of the vehicles. As the years passed, the taxis in our city were rising. In 1975, the licenses had reached 90.
Most of the above information and photos were given by Mr. Georganas Ioannis, who was a taxi owner for many years and was president from 1960 to 1970 and representative of the federation. Indicatively, Mr. Georganas, with his taxi, carried prominent personalities of the time, in 1961 Karamanlis and Kanellopoulos, in 1964 the King, in 1965 Kyprianou and the Archimandrite of Africa.
In 1979 a proposal was made by a member of the Association for the development of taxis and a more organized, structured and more professional association. This proposal was the launch of the Radio Taxi Cooperative of Kalamata.
In 1981, the founding of the Radio Taxi Cooperative of Kalamata with a 5-member council was established, on 26/8/1981 the regulation was adopted. It started with 22 cars which, shortly before, had the wireless devices to consult each other. So it was proposed in 1979 to organize them using the wireless devices. Let us note that many of these owners are still active members of Radio Taxi. The first call center was located at Nedontos Street, where our Co-operative office is today. Note that tasks were carried out at the center by owners as well as taxi drivers whenever needed.
At the end of 1982 the frequency was removed and reopened in 1983 until today. The call center was more organized, with machines that monitored car codes and could serve the center in its communication with taxis. The first telephone answerers were self-taught and participated in the separation of the city on sections and their perimeters. There were three people in the call center with an 8-hour shift and from then until today it is operating 24 hours a day.
In 1983 the pickup stations were 3 to serve our city. In 1991, there were 82 taxis and, as a result, our stations became more because of the population of Kalamata and therefore the city expanded. The earthquake of 1986 contributed to this fact, because in addition to the ruined houses, new houses and apartment buildings were built in places that were first land.
Later in the call center, other modern machines (for the time being) were added and we moved to another larger area, in the center of Kalamata.
Today, in 2018, the “Taxi Owners Association of Kalamata”, in accordance with Law 3109/2003, have 117 cars and our city is divided into twelve pickup stations. The call center is located in the area of Artemidos 89 and now has state-of-the-art computerized equipment for the best communication and service of the center with taxis and the center with its customers. It works, as we said, with 4 24-hour phone operators.