Wartburg 353 "85 "VEB Kraftverkehr Leipzig Taxi" (Saxony Leipzig)

Wartburg 353 '85 "VEB Kraftverkehr Leipzig/Taxi" (Saxony/Leipzig)

At VEB Kraftverkehr Leipzig was this Wartburg 353 in use. People waited in the cold and rain for a cab in long queues for hours - that was commonplace in GDR times. In principle, it was not possible to spontaneously flag down a cab. So you had to book it in advance. To cope with the rush for cabs, "directional cabs" were introduced in Leipzig at the beginning of the 1980s. This meant that passengers, who traveled in the same direction had to take the cab together. Those who didn't like it, had to wait. What is relatively unknown is that cars could also be hired in the GDR. In 1960, the self-drive car rental service opened, which was part of VEB Taxi. On offer: 20-year-old Wartburgs! You had to order six months in advance to get a rental car. Despite ancient technology and long waiting times, the car rental business in the GDR grew from the 1970s onwards.