Is there Uber in Rome? Is it more or less expensive than a regular taxi? How does it work?
Despite some local protests and legal battles, Uber has managed to set foot in Rome and other Italian cities, and now it’s fully operative in a few sectors, alongside the usual standard ride providing.
If you are in the city and need a lift but don’t feel like using the Rome metro or general Rome public transport, and are willing to spend more, calling a taxi or renting an Uber car are viable solutions.
Our simple and complete guide will tell you everything you need to know before using Uber in Rome, including how to book it and how much you should expect to pay.
Check out our full guide to the best ways to get around Rome.
Why is Uber illegal in Rome?
Let’s make things clear first: Uber is not illegal in Rome. The history of Uber in Italy has been quite stormy indeed, and the company has been the object of several legal battles. This was at its arrival in 2013 with UberPop where any private citizen with a car could offer a lift from the Uber app. A service that is very popular in the U.S., in Italy it immediately found obstacles and was finally declared illegal by the court.
Since then, UberPop is not allowed in Italy so also in Rome, the only Uber services you can book through their app are the more expensive Uber Black, Uber Lux, and Uber Van.
How to book Uber in Rome
The process to book Uber in Rome is the same as all over Italy. These are the steps:
- Download the Uber app and create an account. Head over Uber website and download the app from Apple Store or Google Play and then create an account by adding your email and phone number. Alternatively, you can also create an account using your Google profile.
- Request a ride. You can request a lift also via a web browser but probably the app makes it easier especially if you are not traveling with your laptop.
- Set your destination. If the app is in Italian, you need to click on “Dove si va?“, add your desired destination, and then click on “Conferma” to confirm and be assigned a driver nearby.
- Meet your driver. Through the app, you can also monitor his arrival and wait for him at the set departure point.
- Make sure it’s the right driver! Check the plate number, the model of the car, the name of the driver, and also that the driver knows your name.
- Pay for the drive. You can do so by cash directly to the driver, by card, or even using the Uber Cash that you have left in your account, if any.
Fees of Uber in Rome
Since the cheapest Uber option, UberPop, is not available in Italy, with Uber in Rome you can only book more expensive cars with options like UberBlack, the luxury UberLux, and the vans of UberVan. This makes regular taxis a cheaper option than Uber in Rome.
Some of the fees you can expect to pay using Uber in Rome compared to regular taxis are:
- Uber fees in Rome: between 30 and 50€ from Termini station to Saint Peter’s Square; between 15 and 25€ from Stazione Termini to Villa Torlonia, between 50 and 90€ outside the walls like from Stazione Termini to Ipogeo degli Ottavi north of Rome but inside the GRA A90;
- Rome taxi fees: there is a fixed departure fee which is 3€ on weekdays and 4,50 on weekends. The fees go from T1 to T3 and they are: T1 – 1,10€/km, T2 – 1,30€/km, T3 – 1,60€/km. So let’s say, when I took a Rome taxi from the 3570 myself, I paid around 30€ from Stazione Termini to Ipogeo degli Ottavi and around 15€ from Stazione Termini to the Vatican.
Does Uber pick up at Rome airport?
Uber services are available to and from both Rome airports, Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport in Fiumicino and Giovan Battista Pastine International Airport in Ciampino, so working as pick up and drop off.
Where is the Rome Airport pickup location?
Uber pickup locations at Rome airports are subject to change and depend on the driver. To find your pickup location, you need to check the Uber app after you request a ride. This applies to both Fiumicino and Ciampino airports.
Uber fees to and from Rome airports
Also when it comes to Rome airports pick up and drop off, the fees with Rome’s regular taxis are cheaper. These are the fees you will likely be charged by using Uber services to and from Rome airports from areas both inside and outside the Aurelian Walls compared to standard taxis.
- To and from Rome inside the Aurelian Walls and Fiumicino airport:
- with Uber: 63-69€ using UberBlack Saver, 70-77€ using UberBlack, 105-116€ using UberLux, 106-116€ using UberVan
- with regular Rome taxi: 48€ fixed fee.
- To and from Rome outside the walls but within the GRA A90 ring road and Fiumicino airport:
- with Uber: 69-76€ using UberBlack Saver, 76-84€ using UberBlack, 115-126€ using UberLux, 115-127€ using UberVan;
- with regular Rome taxi: it can’t be more than 70€.
- To and from Rome inside the Aurelian Walls and Ciampino airport:
- with Uber: 50-55€ using UberBlack Saver, 54-60€ using UberBlack, 82-90€ using UberLux, 82-90€ using UberVan;
- with regular Rome taxi: 30€.
- To and from Rome outside the Aurelian Walls but within the GRA A90 ring road and Ciampino airport:
- with Uber: 57-62€ using UberBlack Saver, 63-69€ using UberBlack, 94-104€ using UberLux, 95-104€ using UberVan;
- with regular Rome taxi: between 50 and 60€.
- The ride between Fiumicino Airport and Ciampino Airport:
- with Uber: 51-56€ using UberBlack Saver, 60-66€ using UberBlack, 90-99€ using UberLux, 90-99€ using UberVan;
- with regular Rome taxi: 50€.
What is the Rome equivalent of Uber?
The Italian version of Uber in Rome is IT Taxi, which is an Italian app hailing metered taxis to your location through GPS on your phone. IT Taxi partnered with Uber in 2022, so now you can just use either Uber or IT Taxi as a taxi-hailing platform while in Italy.
If you want to use Uber but request a regular Roman taxi from the 3570 Radio Taxi cooperative, after picking your destination, you select “Taxi” as a product. The rest of the process is just as you would do when booking an Uber car.
What are Uber services in Rome?
Apart from providing a ride, Uber in Rome has been offering different services.
Uber Eats
Uber Eats is a food delivery Uber app like Glovo, Deliveroo, and JustEat. With the Uber Eats app, you can enter the address you need the food delivered and the app will give you a selection of restaurants and types of foods you can order, including the estimated waiting time and the fee.
Electric scooters
These have been the rage all around Rome for the past couple of years. In Italy, we call them monopattino and if you ask me, I truly dislike them. And not just for their wild parking habits, because this is one aspect that has been ruled by the authorities, but also because they hardly follow the street rules and signs, making it even harder for citizens to drive in Rome.
Uber partnered with Lime, so through the main Uber app, you can also rent an electric scooter by selecting “2 route” (2 wheels) by touching the scooter icon. Select one of the scooters located near you and to unblock it, scan the QR code on the handlebars.
