Originally Posted by
Dansa
In 15 years of visiting it has always been the taxis of Rome that I have found dishonest. Once I was shown the date as the fare, another time the switch from a 20 euro note to a 5 euro note. A slight of hand by the driver. A premium charged for entering the Vatican City, not even in the city yet. Refusal to use the meter so it was fixed price. Told that this is very far away and wanted 50 euro, when turned away I got a cab for 15 euro. Interestingly when the cab driver talks about being aware of thieves, I am most on guard. Another time thrown out of the cab because the driver spotted an airport fare (people with luggage). I could go on and I would say this relates to maybe less than 10 percent of cabs, but they are out there. An Uber like system would stop all of these abuses.
That sounds very unusual. The only places these things have happened to me are NYC and San Francisco. Since I'm fluent in Italian I might be less vulnerable but I don't think that is it. I'm fluent in english, and yet taxis have tried to rip me off more in the USA than in Rome. A few things to think about. You will always feel that the driver is running up the meter. Rome is a warren of one way streets and traffic. It's not uncommon for the driver to start off going that seems like the wrong way, but it turns out they are not. They are just dealing with the uniqueness of Rome. I also have to ask about your approach, and how many days you've spent in Rome over these 15 years, and whether or not you have been their recently. Rome is a different place than it was in the 1980's and 1990's.
Are you only taking official taxis? If so, I don't understand how all of those things could have happened to you. There are plenty of "drivers" will hit on you as soon as you exit Termini, or go landslide at FCO. They will definitely cheat you because they are people posing as taxi drivers, not real taxis.. Official taxis are white, they have a taxi sign on the roof, the phone number of the company on the door, a logo saying SPQR, it will say Comune di Roma on the outside door, the license of the driver will be prominently displayed inside the car on the left door, and there will always be a meter. They will only pick you up at official taxi stands, or at least that's true 98% of the time, with the only exception being during the middle of the night if you happen to see one (rare).
They don't run the meter when taking someone from FCO to downtown Rome because it's a flat 48 euro rate. The only exception is if you are going outside of the Aurelian Walls such as to the Vatican, which is what you describe.
The fixed rate only applies to Roman taxis. Taxis at FCO are sometimes registered in the city of Fiumicino and do not have Comune di Roma displayed on the door. The fixed rate of 48 euros does not apply to them, and it will cost you about 60 euros. That's not a surcharge, it's just something to be aware of. If you are going to Rome, take a Roman taxi.
There are all sorts of legitimate surcharges. For example, there is a 2 euro surcharge when taking a taxi from Termini, surcharges for nights, time of day, weekends, amount of luggage, and other things (although women get a discount after 10PM, and there is often a discount for young people coming out of clubs on Friday and Saturday night) that are legitimate. If you call a taxi there is a 3.5 surcharge for the call and they start the meter when you call them so it is already running when they arrive.
I've never met anyone who was fooled by the sleight of hand thing you describe, where they tell you you gave them a smaller bill. I have a feeling it might be related to most tourists not being familiar with the currency, and also, it's super easy to avoid. Do what I do in NYC or just about anywhere else is count out the money or say, "here is a fifty," in english if you don't speak Italian. That's a basic rule when handing over large bills even if you are just ordering a cup of coffee, both in the USA and in Europe. Small shops in the ISA do this more frequently than taxi driers, but the don't use sleight of hand, they just try to short change you. I would say that things such as you describe occur maybe 1% of the time, just as they do anywhere else, and 99% of Roman taxi drivers are honest.
There is also an app called MyTaxi that works something like Uber. It will summon the nearest official Rome taxi, give you the estimated cost, show the driver making progress coming to you, and one you download it link to your credit card or PayPal, you pay on the app.
Uber is in a heap of trouble in Europe. They skirt the rules (eg, vehicle inspections, registration of the vehicle, insurance, background check of drivers, the driver must have a professional drivers license, etc.) by claiming that they are an app, not a transportation company. The EU recently decided in a non-appealable decision that Uber is a transportation company and EU-wide rules apply to them. Rome had already independently made this decision, which is why Uber is more expensive than a taxi Rome, because drivers now have to pay more out of pocket expenses to follow the rules that govern public transportation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/b...urope-ecj.html