Uber in Rome: Don't
Jun 27, 2019, 10:20 am
#1
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Join Date: Oct 2000
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Uber in Rome: Don't
Apparently Uber is illegal in Italy. We didn't know that. Fortunately, it only cost us 10 euros.
We returned our rental car at the train station on arriving in Rome. Sixt wasn't set up well to process returns and it was obvious it was going to take awhile. There were four in our party, no need for all of us to be delayed and we were going to have to take two cars on to the hotel anyway. Two of us stood in a lengthy taxi ride where we saw a sign that there was a 6000 euro fine for taking Uber. The taxi was just 10 euros and we were delivered promptly and efficiently to our central Rome hotel. My husband and niece remained behind to check in the car. Not knowing about the sign I saw and knowing he didn't want to get in the lengthy taxi line, he called Uber. One arrived at the side entrance to the station where he was. He was charged 20 euros to come to the same hotel. We're used to Uber being much more affordable than a taxi. It's not in Rome - and it's illegal. That was the one and only time we used Uber. (Mostly we walked because we were so central.)
We returned our rental car at the train station on arriving in Rome. Sixt wasn't set up well to process returns and it was obvious it was going to take awhile. There were four in our party, no need for all of us to be delayed and we were going to have to take two cars on to the hotel anyway. Two of us stood in a lengthy taxi ride where we saw a sign that there was a 6000 euro fine for taking Uber. The taxi was just 10 euros and we were delivered promptly and efficiently to our central Rome hotel. My husband and niece remained behind to check in the car. Not knowing about the sign I saw and knowing he didn't want to get in the lengthy taxi line, he called Uber. One arrived at the side entrance to the station where he was. He was charged 20 euros to come to the same hotel. We're used to Uber being much more affordable than a taxi. It's not in Rome - and it's illegal. That was the one and only time we used Uber. (Mostly we walked because we were so central.)
Jun 27, 2019, 12:56 pm
#2
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Last I heard, Uber wasn’t illegal in Italy:
https://www.politico.eu/article/uber...-ban-in-italy/
But Uber should be nearly as expensive as taxis or more so there because I think they have to meet certain taxi standards and be licensed as some kind of level of chauffeured drive.
A €5000 or €6000 fine for taking an Uber? I have to wonder if that kind of mentioned fine for a passenger could even stand in court when taken up all the way in the EU. It seems to be a highly disproportionate punishment for a passenger’s single use or attempted use of Uber, so I would be interested to see any example of such expensive fine of an Uber passenger in Italy being charged and paid upon demand by a court.
https://www.politico.eu/article/uber...-ban-in-italy/
But Uber should be nearly as expensive as taxis or more so there because I think they have to meet certain taxi standards and be licensed as some kind of level of chauffeured drive.
A €5000 or €6000 fine for taking an Uber? I have to wonder if that kind of mentioned fine for a passenger could even stand in court when taken up all the way in the EU. It seems to be a highly disproportionate punishment for a passenger’s single use or attempted use of Uber, so I would be interested to see any example of such expensive fine of an Uber passenger in Italy being charged and paid upon demand by a court.
Last edited by GUWonder; Jun 27, 2019 at 1:03 pm
Jun 28, 2019, 3:59 am
#3
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,233
Uber is not illegal in Italy, whilst UberPop is (the one allowing every average Joe to become a cab driver).
I did a cursory check on the Internet, in Italian, and I found no notice on a 6 grand fine for using Uber.
My 2p is that the delinquents that form the illustrious category of Rome cab drivers have put up that sign to fool tourists.
I did a cursory check on the Internet, in Italian, and I found no notice on a 6 grand fine for using Uber.
My 2p is that the delinquents that form the illustrious category of Rome cab drivers have put up that sign to fool tourists.
Jun 28, 2019, 12:41 pm
#4
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Uber is not illegal in Italy, whilst UberPop is (the one allowing every average Joe to become a cab driver).
I did a cursory check on the Internet, in Italian, and I found no notice on a 6 grand fine for using Uber.
My 2p is that the delinquents that form the illustrious category of Rome cab drivers have put up that sign to fool tourists.
I did a cursory check on the Internet, in Italian, and I found no notice on a 6 grand fine for using Uber.
My 2p is that the delinquents that form the illustrious category of Rome cab drivers have put up that sign to fool tourists.
Uber is not illegal in Italy, whilst UberPop is (the one allowing every average Joe to become a cab driver).
I did a cursory check on the Internet, in Italian, and I found no notice on a 6 grand fine for using Uber.
My 2p is that the delinquents that form the illustrious category of Rome cab drivers have put up that sign to fool tourists.
I did a cursory check on the Internet, in Italian, and I found no notice on a 6 grand fine for using Uber.
My 2p is that the delinquents that form the illustrious category of Rome cab drivers have put up that sign to fool tourists.
Apparently Uber is again allowed in Italy and does operate legally in Rome and in Milan. As the drivers have to have an NCC license/medallion to do so, they should probably be in the same price range or even more expensive than common taxi services unless facing rip-off-level charges/rates from a common street taxi driver. The “fine” sign being outdated — if not also deliberately misleading — wouldn’t surprise me.
Can we perhaps get a picture of the signs?
Jun 28, 2019, 4:04 pm
#5
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Uber is not illegal, and the sign is a fake. As 13901 said, UberPool is. UberPool is the equivalent of a regular Uber in the USA: You don't need any qualifications to be a commercial driver, no license, no fees, no car inspection (except by another Uber driver in no official capacity), minimal background check, and lots of fraud. So UberPool was banned, and only Uber Black, the luxury version is still allowed, where drivers must meet the same training, licensing, background checks, car inspection, and other standards as taxi, limo, and private drivers. So most of the Uber drivers in Italy folded up and quit because they didn't want to meet any standards. The Uber drivers that remain I believe are only in Rome and Milan, and because of surge pricing and high demand because Americans still use them they are usually much more expensive than a taxi or a limo.
For example, Uber is legal in Florence, but you won't find any because the drivers all quit when they were forced to meet the same safety standards and regulations as all other drivers. There was only a very brief period of a few weeks in early 2017 when Ubers were illegal in Italy, but that has not been the case since then.
There has never been a time when a tourist would face a 6,000 euro fine for taking an Uber.
You are far more likely to be ripped off by a taxi in the USA than in Italy. It just seems you are getting ripped off because the byzantine one way streets never allow it to be a straight shot to where you are going, so it always feels like you are getting a tour of the city, but rip off are rare compared to the USA. It's not like just driving straight down Fifth Avenue in NYC in a typical Italian city, so it can feel like you are getting a tour.
Sometimes I get in a taxi in Rome and I know the driver is going 180 degrees opposite from the direction of my destination but it is always for legitimate reasons such as traffic, streets that take you even longer because of all of the one-ways, streets that are closed to traffic, etc. You can take Uber, but it is almost alway going to be much more expensive than any other means of travel in Rome.
There is an app called MyTaxi that works about the same way as Uber. It will get in touch with the nearest taxi and you can see the taxi coming on your screen, and follow it on the app to your destination to make some sense of the route.
It is kind of weird to use Uber in Rome when taxis are more economical and less difficult to use.
For example, Uber is legal in Florence, but you won't find any because the drivers all quit when they were forced to meet the same safety standards and regulations as all other drivers. There was only a very brief period of a few weeks in early 2017 when Ubers were illegal in Italy, but that has not been the case since then.
There has never been a time when a tourist would face a 6,000 euro fine for taking an Uber.
You are far more likely to be ripped off by a taxi in the USA than in Italy. It just seems you are getting ripped off because the byzantine one way streets never allow it to be a straight shot to where you are going, so it always feels like you are getting a tour of the city, but rip off are rare compared to the USA. It's not like just driving straight down Fifth Avenue in NYC in a typical Italian city, so it can feel like you are getting a tour.
Sometimes I get in a taxi in Rome and I know the driver is going 180 degrees opposite from the direction of my destination but it is always for legitimate reasons such as traffic, streets that take you even longer because of all of the one-ways, streets that are closed to traffic, etc. You can take Uber, but it is almost alway going to be much more expensive than any other means of travel in Rome.
There is an app called MyTaxi that works about the same way as Uber. It will get in touch with the nearest taxi and you can see the taxi coming on your screen, and follow it on the app to your destination to make some sense of the route.
It is kind of weird to use Uber in Rome when taxis are more economical and less difficult to use.
Jun 28, 2019, 4:11 pm
#6
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When we were in Rome a couple of years ago, Uber was always 2-3 times more expensive than a normal taxi. Know your prices, and don’t just assume Uber is going to be the cheapest.
Jun 28, 2019, 8:40 pm
#7
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 3,975
An aspect of Uber/Lyft that some of us like is the cashless payment: charge to the credit card on file. On the IT Taxi app, associated with the 3570 co-operative, one can attach a credit card for payment of a regular taxi called through the app, but I haven't tested it. I also see, with the Samarcanda co-operative at https://065551.it/ , the option to register a credit card with AppTaxi.
Jun 29, 2019, 8:08 am
#8
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UberPop is dead and gone but Uber Black (in a fancy car) is still alive and ticking. I have done Uber Black in Milan on an evening when taxis were nowhere to be found. It was a bit more than a taxi but not outrageous and the car was a lovely Jaguar so that was fine.
I use the IT TAXI app now and again but have not used the credit card feature. But IT TAXI at least is nothing like Uber in that the driver starts his meter when he gets the call and so he shows up to pick you up sometimes five plus Euros into your ride and you have no idea of what the final cost will be (though you can negotiate with Italian cab drivers, if you speak Italian and if something odd happened).
And here is a link to a copy of the fake sign: https://onlinguafranca.com/2017/06/3...egal-in-italy/
I use the IT TAXI app now and again but have not used the credit card feature. But IT TAXI at least is nothing like Uber in that the driver starts his meter when he gets the call and so he shows up to pick you up sometimes five plus Euros into your ride and you have no idea of what the final cost will be (though you can negotiate with Italian cab drivers, if you speak Italian and if something odd happened).
And here is a link to a copy of the fake sign: https://onlinguafranca.com/2017/06/3...egal-in-italy/
Jul 23, 2019, 12:36 pm
#13
Join Date: Mar 2016
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Taxi’s are very cheap in Rome the only problem being you can’t hail a taxi and must either phone for one or go to a taxi stand. I use Uber in other parts of Italy but not Rome. One of my strategies is to rent a car from a small city to avoid the higher rates for renting cars at airports, train stations and large tourist areas and taking a Uber ride to and from the small cities, worth the savings and hassle of the driving chaos of the large cities. I also did this in Beaune, France last month, paying only €42 per day for a great car.
Never seen these signs but will look for them on my trip through Termini Station in a few days and report back.
Never seen these signs but will look for them on my trip through Termini Station in a few days and report back.
Jul 24, 2019, 2:33 pm
#14
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I went through Termini Station this morning and saw a sign outside near the Taxi Stand, in English, with language about a €6000 fine for using Uber. It’s obviously been placed there to discourage tourists from using Uber. I know there are rules regarding where you can pick up passengers at airports and train stations and that only sanctioned Taxis can use. I know that only white taxi’s can use the “Taxi Stand” area.
Aug 29, 2019, 12:47 am
#15
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During our recent (August 2019) visit Uber in Rome was totally unreliable (trips repeatedly cancelled after driver accepted) and much more expensive than local taxi. First alternative we tried was the FreeNow app on my Android phone which worked fine, but a driver told me they don't like it because "they don't pay taxes in Italy" and prefer itTaxi app which we used extensively in Rome and Florence. Functions much like Uber, allows for storing of a credit card for payment and both on demand and scheduling in advance.