Is There Uber In Italy & Rome? Yes - But It's Complicated!

While Uber exists in Italy, it’s probably not like how you’re used to it back home. Uber did a massive expansion in Italy in 2022 which allowed 12,000 taxi drivers from all over the country to use the platform. Previous to the 2022 expansion, Uber was only readily available in large cities like Rome, Milan, Turin, and Bologna. Now, in many smaller cities in Italy, you can still use the Uber app but it will connect you with traditional metered cabs in areas where there are no Uber cars available.

✔️ Uber in Italy Quick Guide

🚕 Where is it Available? Uber is available all over the country, but mostly as a service to call metered cabs to your location. This is called “Uber Taxi”.
✈️ From the Airports: You can take Uber directly from most international airport terminals in Italy. The service might not be as readily available at smaller domestic airports.
💸 Is it Cheap? Uber is not much cheaper in Italy than traditional taxi services, because the main use of the app in Italy is to call metered taxis to your location through GPS.
✅ Is Uber Legal in Italy? Traditional Uber X cars are illegal in Italy. Instead, Uber offers Uber Taxi, which uses the app to call metered cabs, and luxury services like Uber Black and Uber Lux.
📲 Is it Safe? Using Uber in Rome & Italy is safer than hailing taxis off the street because Uber has GPS tracking.

FYI: Some links on my site are affiliate links that help support my site at no additional cost to you. Read more on my privacy policy page.

✈️ Italy Airport Transfer Service

While you can take Uber Black Cars from international airports in Italy, it’s more expensive than arranging airport transfers ahead of time.

→ Book It!

What You Need To Know About Uber In Italy

✔️ Uber Has Expanded In Italy – It used to only be available in major cities, and then only as the “Black Car” luxury service. Now it’s available all over the country, but only works to hail metered cabs to your location outside of cities.

✔️ There Is No Traditional Uber In Italy – Uber X, the standard version of the taxi service popular in other countries like the United States, does not exist in Italy. Instead, you have the option to take an “Uber Black”, which is Uber’s more up-scale car service, or hail a traditional medallioned Italian Taxi through the Uber app.

✔️ Taxis Are Stricly Regulated In Italy – The reason there is no traditional Uber in Italy is due to the stringent taxi regulations imposed in the country. Taxi drivers in Italy need to spend a ton of money and time to get licensed, so an Italian court deemed it unfair competition for Uber drivers to offer cheap rides while not being licensed. Uber got around this by launching mainly Uber Black and Uber Lux in Italy, which aren’t deemed to be competing with traditional cabs because they are considered “luxury services”.

These are all the cities in Italy that have the Uber app enabled – that being said, Uber Black is only readily available in larger cities like Rome & Milan. In other smaller cities in Italy, Uber works by hailing traditional taxis that use a meter to your location through the app.

Cities in Italy With Uber (From Uber’s Website)

Agrigento -Alessandria – Ancona – Aosta – Arezzo – Ascoli Piceno – Asti – Avellino – Barletta – Belluno – Benevento – Biella – Bolognia – Brindisi – Caltanissetta – Campobasso – Carbonia – Catanzaro – Chieti – Cosenza – Cremona – Crotone – Cuneo – Enna – Fermo – Foggia – Forlì – Frosinone – Gorizia – Grosseto – Imperia – Isernia – L’Aquila – La Spezia – Latina – Lecce – Lecco – Lodi – Lucca – Macerata – Mantova – Massa – Matera – Milan – Nuoro – Oristano – Perugia – Pesaro Urbino – Pordenone – Potenza – Ragusa – Ravenna – Rieti – Rome – Rovigo – Savona – Siena – Siracusa – Sondrio – Taranto – Teramo – Terni – Trapani – Treviso – Turin – Verbania – Vercelli – Vibo Valentia – Viterbo

Uber is just as safe to use in Italy as it is anywhere else in the world. That being said, there are a few safety tips I always try to adhere to while using ride-hailing apps and taxis in foreign countries.

📲 My Top Safety Tips For Using Uber In Italy

✅ Always take a picture of your Uber driver’s license plate (and make sure they see that you took a picture!).

✅ Use Uber’s “share-ride” feature to share your trip with your emergency contacts in live time.

✅ Ask your Uber driver for your name before getting in the car. Some taxis will pretend to be your Uber driver because they just want some work.

✅ Get a local Italian SIM card so you have data during your trip in case you need to call someone. 💡 Tip: You will need an unlocked phone for this!

✅ You can download a map of your city offline on Google Maps so you can track your trip exactly if you don’t have a cellular signal.

There is Uber Eats in Italy and it’s commonly used in larger metropolitan cities. While there is Uber Eats delivery service available in Italy, it’s located in its own app. To use Uber ride-hailing service and Uber Eats food delivery services in Italy you will have to download two separate apps.

Uber is Legal in Italy – That being said, there was a long road strewn with various legal battles to get there. Uber began operations in Italy in 2013 in major cities like Milan and Rome. In 2017 Uber was successfully sued by Italy’s taxi association – as a result, Uber was blocked from operating standard ride-hailing in the country.

In Italy, traditional taxis are strictly regulated. Getting a taxi medallion in Rome for example costs a taxi driver thousands of Euros, and the licensing process is lengthy. When Uber popped up in the 2010s offering rides that were competitively priced with traditional taxis, but requiring a minimal licensing process for drivers, Uber was deemed unfair competition by the Italian courts. After this ruling, Uber was only allowed to run its more high-end “Black Car” service because as a luxury transfer service, it was deemed not in competition with traditional cabs.

In 2022 Uber got around the rule by expanding its services in Italy to include traditional taxis. Now, you can hail legally traditional metered taxis directly through your Uber app in most cities in Italy, as well as use the app to call Uber Black and Uber Lux car services.

screenshot From Tripadvisor.com where User Reverie1947 details how they were scammed taking a taxi from an airport in Italy. — From Tripadvisor.com User Reverie1947 details how they were scammed taking a taxi from an airport in Italy.

Uber & Taxi SCAMS In Italy To Avoid!

🚩 “Meter Is Broken” Scam – All legally medallioned taxis in Italy are required to have a meter, so if any taxi driver claims their meter is “broken” they’re just trying to scam you!

🚩 Driving Around To Drive Up The Meter Scam – This is the taxi scam I fell for when I was studying abroad in Italy. Basically, taxi drivers will take the “scenic route” and run up the meter when they get foreign tourists in the cab. They can do this easily because foreigners are oblivious to the most direct routes and how long drives are supposed to take.

🚩 “You Only Gave Me 5 Euros” Scam – If you’re paying in cash, which you have to do more often than not in Italy, a taxi driver might claim you only gave him a 5 Euro bill when you actually gave him a 20 or 50! They do this by keeping a €5 bill in the palm of their hand ready to show you as “proof” you only gave them 5! This scam is sadly quite common in Rome.

Different Types Of Uber

In larger cities like Rome you’ll have a few different options on which type of car you can hail through your Uber app:

🚕 Uber Taxi – This is the newest and most common form of Uber in Italy. This service sends a metered taxi to your location through your phone’s GPS, and estimates the metered fare for you ahead of time. It seats 4 passengers max.

🚘 Uber Black – Uber Black is a more up-scale version of the traditional Uber X service that’s most commonly used in the United States. It seats 4 passengers max.

🚐 Uber Van – Uber Van is the larger version of Uber Black. It’s also a high-end car service but with room for up to 6 passengers.

🥂 Uber Lux – Uber Lux is the highest tier of Uber cars available in Italy, it seats 4 people max.

screenshot from the Uber app showing that You can call an Uber Black and a traditional taxi on the Uber App in Rome and Italy. — You can call an Uber Black and a traditional taxi on the Uber App in Italy.

Taxis Vs. Uber In Italy

I remember when I was studying abroad in Rome and I took a taxi cab with my mother in the center of the city. Neither of us spoke Italian, but I had been there a few months and I knew how to get from point A to point B. The taxi driver we hailed off the streets of Rome (unbeknownst to us) was taking us the “scenic route” around the city. AKA, driving us around in circles to inflate the metered fare! So, in my personal opinion, I would always rather take a tracked taxi service like Uber instead of hailing a random cab off the street.

💵 Is Uber Cheaper Than A Taxi In Italy?

Traditional taxis can be cheaper than using Uber in Italy because there is no traditional Uber, also known as “Uber X” in Italy – instead, you can only use the app to hail Uber Black cars, which is a more high-end service. However, since you can use the Uber app to hail traditional metered taxis, I still recommend downloading the app even if you’re traveling Italy on a budget!

a picture of the Colosseum in rome, italy. Rome is one of many cities in italy that has access to uber. — The Colosseum in Rome (Photo from Canva).

Is There Uber In Rome, Italy?

There is Uber available in Rome. Rome is a large city in Italy so you have the option to take Uber Taxi, Uber Black, Uber Van, and Uber Lux.

✈️ Getting To/From Rome’s Airports

What you need to know about getting to/from the airports in Rome:

✈️ There are two airports in Rome, Fiumicino (FCO) and Ciampino (CIA).

✈️ Taxis charge a fixed rate to go to/from the airports in Rome – Fiumicino is currently 48€, and Ciampino is 30€.

✈️ You can also take Uber Black or Uber Lux from the airports in Rome, but for the same price (or less) I recommend arranging airport transportation ahead of time.

👉 Check Rates & Dates For Airport Transfers Here! 👈

Is There Uber In Italy & Rome? Yes – But It’s Complicated!