Home / Simulation / Taxi Rush
Taxi Rush is a free online taxi game played from above. Fares wait at the kerb all over a grid of city streets: stop beside one and they climb in, then follow the green arrow and stop beside their door to be paid. The meter pays by the road distance of the ride, a quick delivery adds a tip of up to 60% of the fare, and — the part that makes it a rush — every delivery puts seconds back on your shift clock, more for a long ride delivered fast. The clock starts short, so a slow shift ends early; on the first streets a sharp driver can keep it going until dusk, and in the bigger cities the clock is what ends every shift. Each fare wears a coloured ring for the length of the ride: red for a short hop, amber for cross-town, green for a long haul. Passengers who wait too long walk off, and a passenger kept in the cab too long gets out and walks, paying nothing. Eight shifts grow from a quiet six-by-five suburb to a ten-by-eight metro with sixteen cars in traffic, closed streets and a night shift. Stars are takings, measured with test drivers. No download, no sign-up — drive with the arrow keys or WASD, or the on-screen pedals on a phone.
How to play Taxi Rush
- Press Start shift, or just touch the pedals. Up (or W) is the gas, Down (or S, or Space) brakes and then reverses, and Left and Right (or A and D) steer. On a phone, use the four pedals under the city.
- Fares wait at the kerb in coloured rings: red for a short hop, amber for a cross-town ride, green for a long haul. Stop on the road right beside one, almost at a standstill, and they climb in.
- Follow the green arrow over your cab to the green ring at their door and stop in it. The meter pays by the road distance, and a quick ride adds a tip.
- The clock at the top left is your shift. It only counts down, and every delivery puts seconds back on it — more for a longer ride and more for a faster one. When it reaches zero the shift is over.
- A passenger kept in the cab too long gets out and walks without paying, and a fare left waiting at the kerb for 32 seconds gives up and someone else appears.
- The shift also ends at dusk, however much clock is left. Take at least one star’s worth of fares to open the next shift; eight shifts add bigger cities, closed streets and more traffic.
Tips
- Choose before you drive. A long green ride pays more and puts the most time back, but only if you can reach it and deliver it quickly — a short hop right next to you can be worth more than a long ride across town.
- Brake before a corner, not in it. The cab turns tightly at low speed and much wider at full speed, and every kerb you hit takes speed you have to build again.
- Cars in traffic keep to the right and stop for nothing but you. Hitting one costs nearly all your speed, so hang back behind a slow one until the next junction.
- Stop right beside a fare, almost at a standstill: rolling past does not count, and neither does stopping more than a car’s length away.
- Use the minimap in the corner. Every waiting fare shows there in its colour, and so does the drop-off once someone is aboard.
- The tip falls the longer the ride takes, and so does the time a delivery puts back. A quick delivery is worth more twice over.
- Stuck nose-first against a block? Back off with the brake, turn, and go — reversing turns the cab the other way, like a real car.
FAQ
Is this taxi game free to play?
Yes. Taxi Rush runs free in your browser with no download, no install and no account, on a computer, tablet or phone.
How do you pick up and drop off passengers?
Drive to a fare waiting at the kerb and stop on the road right beside them — the cab has to be almost stopped. They climb in, a green arrow appears over the cab, and the drop-off glows green on the street and on the minimap. Stop in that ring to be paid.
How does the clock work?
It starts short and only counts down, and each delivery puts seconds back on it. A longer ride puts back more, and so does a faster one, so the way to keep a shift going is to deliver quickly. The shift ends when the clock reaches zero, or at dusk, whichever comes first.
What do the coloured rings mean?
The length of the ride. Red is a short hop of under four and a half blocks, amber a cross-town ride of up to seven and a half, and green a long haul beyond that. Longer rides pay more on the meter and put more time back on the clock.
How do I get three stars?
Take the fares that pay best for the drive, and deliver them fast. The star marks were measured with test drivers over sixty cities on every shift: one who plans and reacts quickly reaches three stars about seven times in ten; one who plans with slower hands reaches two about as often; and a novice who always takes the nearest fare earns one most of the time. A cab that never moves earns nothing.
Is it like Crazy Taxi?
It is the same kind of game — pick up fares, race a clock that fills up with every delivery — seen from above on a city grid, with tips and a meter. Taxi Rush is not affiliated with Sega or the Crazy Taxi series.
Is it the same city every time?
Drive again replays the same city with the same fares and the same traffic, so you can learn it. New city deals a different street plan, with different streets closed and different fares.
Can I play the taxi game on my phone?
Yes. Four pedals sit under the city: steer left and right on one side, brake and gas on the other. Held upright, the frame grows taller so you can see more of the road ahead.