Taxi scams in Rome, and the rights that protect you

How to tell a licensed taxi

• A white car with TAXI on the roof, a licence number on the doors, at the back and inside the car, and the city crest on the front doors.
• A meter in plain sight, switched on — except on flat-fare routes, where it stays off because the price is already set.
• The fare schedule on display inside the car, in Italian and English.
• Drivers wait in the queue at a rank. They do not walk up to people, and they do not tout.

The two places where touts work

Fiumicino arrivals. Someone approaches you inside the terminal with "taxi? taxi?" and quotes €80 to €120 for the centre. The real price is €55 flat, and real drivers are outside, in the queue at Terminals 1 and 3. Checks in 2026 led to fines and seizures, but touts are still around.

Termini station. The same approach happens inside the concourse and on the platforms. The ranks are outside, in piazza dei Cinquecento, via Marsala and via Giolitti. More on the taxis at Termini page.

The answer in both cases is the same: do not follow anyone who approaches you, walk to the rank, take the first car in the queue.

What you are entitled to

• To pay by card. A legal obligation since 30 June 2022; refusing carries a penalty of €30 plus 4% of the amount.
• A receipt. The city council schedule requires drivers to issue one: it shows the amount and the licence number, and it is what any complaint or refund rests on.
• The fare schedule on board. It has to be displayed and legible, in Italian and English; the meter has to be visible and running, except on flat-fare routes.
• The shortest route. Unless you ask for something else, or traffic makes it pointless, the driver takes the route that suits you best.
• The first car in the queue. At a rank the turn belongs to the first taxi, which cannot pick its customers or turn down short rides.
• The cap on ordered rides. If you called by phone, app or rank post, as you get in the meter cannot show more than the flag fall plus €5.
• No invented extras. The only extras allowed are luggage from the second bag (€1) and passengers from the fifth (€5). There is no night, holiday, airport or animal supplement.

Source: Roma Capitale, Resolution of the Capitoline Council no. 157 of 21 May 2026

What nobody can ask you for

• A "lump sum" within the city instead of the meter: the only flat fares are the ones for airports, stations and the port.
• More than €55 from Fiumicino to the centre, or more than €40 from Ciampino, however the car was ordered.
• A surcharge for paying by card, for the time of night or for a public holiday.
• Being asked to get out because the ride is too short: the €9 minimum fare covers that.
• A price per person on a flat-fare route: €55 and €40 are per car, for up to four passengers.

How to make a complaint

1. Collect the details

   Licence number (on the doors, at the back and on the receipt), date, time, route, amount paid and what happened. A photo of the receipt is enough.

2. Report it to Roma Capitale

   Fill in the report form of the Dipartimento Mobilità Sostenibile e Trasporti (in the "NCC, Taxi e Botticelle per i fruitori" section of comune.roma.it) and send it by certified email to protocollo.mobilitatrasporti@pec.comune.roma.it with a copy of your ID. For information: 06 6710 70721 and 06 6710 70722, mobilita@comune.roma.it. Roma Servizi per la Mobilità also has an online form.

3. Tell the cooperative or the app as well

   Cooperatives have their own complaints desk and can act faster on a member; Free Now and Uber handle refunds in the app.

Lost property

Call the switchboard that sent the car straight away, with the time and the route, or use the licence number on the receipt: in most cases the driver brings the item back the same day. If the car cannot be traced, items found on board go to the lost property office of Roma Capitale, which you can contact with a description.