The reform was intended cut long passenger wait times, Rome Transport Councillor Eugenio Patanè told colleagues at a recent transport commission meeting, as reported by local news outlet Roma Today.
Low minimum tariffs have disincentivised the city’s drivers from taking passengers on shorter journeys, resulting in lengthy queues outside Rome’s central Termini train station and other hotspots, he said.
Until now, Rome hasn’t had a minimum taxi fare, though meters are set to €3 at the start of each journey from 6am-10pm on weekdays and Saturdays.
Under incoming rules, the starting fare is set to increase to €3.60, but any ride costing less than €9 will be rounded up to this amount.
READ ALSO: OPINION: Italy’s taxis are often a nightmare, but will things ever change?
On Sundays and national and local public holidays (giorni festivi), the minimum fare will be priced at €12 per journey, according to the city’s list of incoming tariffs published by Roma Today.
Minimum rates for journeys to and from the city’s airports and ports are also set to increase: a trip from the city centre to Rome’s Ciampino airport will cost €40, up from €31; a ride to Fiumicino airport €55, from €50; and a journey to the port of Civitavecchia €130, from €120.
An official start date for the new rates has yet to be announced.
READ ALSO: ‘I’ve given up’: How hard is it to get a taxi in Italian cities?
In addition to increased tariffs, the city’s leaders reached a deal with drivers unions in May to release 1,000 new licences, to be put up for tender at €73,000 each, in an effort to meet the expected additional tourist demand for the 2025 Jubilee year.
Patanè was reportedly due to meet with union representatives on Tuesday to discuss the changes.
A 24-hour taxi strike planned for Tuesday was called off at the last minute, according to a press release published by Rome’s transport department late on Monday. No reason was given for the cancellation.
Along with other major Italian cities, Rome has long struggled with a chronic taxi shortage exacerbated by the taxi lobby’s resistance to private car ride-hailing services and to issuing new licences.
Unions have staged a series of strikes this year over the government’s attempts to introduce an industry-wide reform to improve the situation.
The capital had around 1.3 million ‘unresolved calls’ – that is, people who tried and failed to book a taxi – per month last summer, according to a report from newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.
Please whitelist us to continue reading.
Given that in my experience 90% of taxi drivers in Rome try various efforts to rip customers off, I personally would have opened it up to Uber and let them strike to their heart’s content.
If the minimum rate will rise, I personally will pay only by card, and if the POS ‘isn’t working’ then they’ll be out of luck.
It’s a shame, as when you get an honest one it’s a great experience – but that is rare.