Rome blog for Bed & Breakfast Chaplin Hostel

Official taxis in Rome are white and have an identification number written on the door (usually a name of a city and a number, for instance Lima 14), and have a taxi meter. When you call a taxi company, you will be put on hold while an operator contacts the taxi closest to you. You will then be provided with the taxi’s identification code and the approximate waiting time.

Rome airport taxis

There is a fixed price for taxis to the two airports of Rome. From within the Roman city walls to Ciampino Airport (and vice versa) the rate is 30€. From Fiumicino or Leonardo Da Vinci Airport (and the other way around) you are to pay no more than 40€. Both the Chaplin Bed and Breakfast Rome and Hotel Little Italy Rome are within the city walls. From both the Chaplin B&B and the Little Italy Hotel you might be better off using public transport.

Taxis within Rome

Within Rome you will probably only need a taxi at night after the metro has stopped running and the number of buses has dwindled to once an hour. Within the center during daytime it is better to either use public transport or to just walk.

It is unusual for Romans to hail taxis (I was told by one driver, who did not seem to be joking, that they are too lazy to do this) so do not be surprised if you are ignored. There are taxi stands near most of the major tourist attractions. If you find yourself somewhere without a taxi stand in the vicinity, call one of the following numbers:

• 06 3570
• 06 8822
• 06 4157
• 06 4994
• 06 5551
• 06 6645

The taxi stand nearest the Bed & Breakfast Chaplin Hostel is at Rome Termini (Via Marsala-exit), while the one closest to the B&B Little Italy Hotel can be found at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Taxi fares:

The official fares ought to be displayed inside the taxis themselves, in eight different languages: Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Japanese. In reality they rarely are, so these are the official fares:

From 7am to 10 pm the initial fare is € 2,33. From 10 pm to 7am the initial fare is € 4,91. On Sundays and holidays the initial fare is €4,91 as well. The cost of an individual fare increment amounts to € 0,11.

Within the G.R.A. (Grande Raccordo Anulare), the ring road around Rome, fare 1 applies: A cost per kilometer of € 0,78 (increments of € 0,11 every 141 meters, when you are driving faster than 20km/h).

Outside the G.R.A. the cost per km is € 1,29 (€ 0,11 every 85,3 mt when you exceed a speed of 20km/h). Drivers are obliged to inform clients the moment fare 2 is applied. (They never do this.)

If the speed is below 20km/h the increment is applied every 19,2 seconds. (Somebody thought that was a good idea. That somebody probably had a British background, since the arbitrariness of the 19,2 seconds is only rivaled by the scoring system of games like tennis, darts and snooker.)

There is a surcharge of € 1,04 for items of luggage bigger than 35×25×50 centimeters.

If there is a problem, ask for an official receipt (not just a piece of paper) specifying the taxi number, the amount paid and the itinerary.