For those familiar with the IT Taxi app: can you request a higher capacity taxi? I'll be traveling with 3 other adults and a child soon and it would be handy to have that available. I guess the first question should actually be: are there higher capacity taxis in Rome? I know Uber also has Uber Van in the area. I wouldn't be a good FT citizen if I didn't have deep knowledge and a backup :)

Since no one's answered, I'll answer that there are higher-capacity taxis in Rome; I'm not sure about them being requestable on the IT Taxi app. I used the app and there may have been a question about that, but I can't replicate it outside of Italy. You should be able to request one over the phone.

Uber being cheaper - anywhere - is now mostly a myth. They come quickly and are clean and take you exactly where you need to go with no nonsense about “taking you the long route” but they aren’t necessarily cheaper.

Except in Rome, uber does NOT always come quickly - trips cancelled by driver are common and they do sometimes take longer routes than necessary. Really, overall in Rome uber just sucks.

And, yes, on the itTaxi app there is a way - under "More options" - to indicate the number of passengers and/or the type of vehicle (saloon, van, station wagon)

We got ripped off by a taxi from FCO to our hotel to the city center. Should have been a fixed E$50, but, well, you know how this story ends. Taxis have their reputation, in my experience that time, deservedly so.

I think this is a YMMV situation.

In suburban Philly (mainline), it costs $60-70 for a crappy unreliable taxi to go to PHL airport. Uber is more reliable, cleaner and costs around $40-45 - sometimes even less.

Alternatively, midtown NYC to JFK is $>80 while NY taxis are regulated to $52 plus tolls & tips (there is a peak period surcharge of $4.50).

Was it an official white taxi? I have occasionally had an official driver try to tell me that the fare is not the €48 that is printed on the side of the car. In such cases, I merely mention the fare schedule posted on the sign, hand them a €50 bill and walk away. And it never escalates beyond that (saying something in Italian so that they know I can speak the language probably helps). They can be cited for this, and they know it. (Note, however, that if the hotel wasn't in the official center, that flat fare doesn't apply.)

And if it wasn't an official white taxi, I would not have recommended taking it.

General advise is to never assume Uber will be cheaper than a taxi.

This example is from Chicago, but is a good general case.

A local news station just did a study where four reporters arranged rides from the same destination to the same destination about 4-5 miles away. They literally pushed the button on the apps at the same moment.

1 used Uber
1 used Lyft
1 used the Chicago cab app
1 walked to the curb and hailed a cab

The hailed cab arrived first, and cost the least.

Some of the Uber taxes and fees can kill you. Chicago just implemented a surcharge for single riders in the general loop area during certain hours in an attempt to reduce congestion (and, i suspect, to placate the angry cab companies). I live on a busy corner in the loop and I've already noticed a sharp downturn in congestion. Similarly the surcharge when leaving ORD has put a typical Uber fare way above a cab ride.

Using Uber in Rome in November 2019 was mostly fine. Polite drivers, Mercedes cars, prices only a little more than a regular taxi, scarcely a penance! However, in the city centre, one-way systems can result in drivers not always being able to reach you. Had this once, but a substitute driver very quickly took over the call.

Wow...an ACTUAL case of the old joke... "You can't get there from here"......:D

Uber is banned in Turkey and does not show any cars available so you can’t get an Uber

Constantinople, the New Rome, was indeed the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, then followed the Ottoman one and after Kemal it became Istambul, in Turkey. I guess this thread, though, is about the capital of the Western Roman Empire... ;)