Italy to issue more taxi licences after anger over summer shortages

Italy’s rightwing coalition government has approved a 20 per cent increase in the number of taxi licences in main cities to meet the rising demand and alleviate an acute shortage of cabs that recently left tourists stranded for long periods amid a brutal heatwave.

The move by prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, however, stops short of an overhaul of the dysfunctional sector, despite widespread customer discontent, which would include letting ride-hailing apps such as Uber into the country and capping licence prices.

The decision comes just days after Italy’s antitrust watchdog announced that it was launching a probe into taxi service problems, including waiting times, the refusal to use fare meters or accept card payments, and the number of cabs available per shift. 

Italian consumers — and the vast numbers of tourists who visit the country — have complained for years about the difficulty of obtaining a cab, especially at peak times. Italy is also one of the few European countries where Uber and its competitors are mostly banned. 

Former prime minister Mario Draghi last year proposed to reform the taxi sector and help connect customers and drivers through apps. But his proposal set off angry protests and strikes by taxi drivers and was not taken up by Meloni’s government once in office.

The persistent taxi shortage has gained more urgency during the heatwave, with passengers stranded for hours under the scorching sun and prompting public outrage.

Italy is also expecting a surge of visitors at big public events in the coming years — including the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee — expected to draw 32mn Catholic pilgrims to Rome — and the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, which will put even more pressure on already-strained transport services.

At the end of a cabinet meeting on Monday, industry minister Adolfo Urso said that larger cities and those with an international airport could increase the number of licences by up to 20 per cent and issue temporary licences that last up to two years.

Taxi drivers’ associations are unhappy with the government’s decision and claim that issuing new licences disrupts the system. Taxi drivers’ union Unica Filt Cgil has immediately called for a strike.

“[The measure] distorts everything we have built so far . . . if the government pursues on the path of deregulation and liberalisation, we have no choice but to call workers to the fight,” Unica Filt Cgil national co-ordinator Nicola Di Giacobbe told the Financial Times.

According to rules dating back to 1992, licences are issued through public tenders by city councils that decide the numbers of permits, requirements and fares. A 2006 law, aimed at boosting competition, encouraged local authorities to issue new licences and allow taxi drivers to hire substitute drivers in order to keep their cars on the road for longer hours.

But little has changed since and politicians have limited the number of new licences to placate taxi drivers’ demands not to depreciate the value of their licences.

So far, the permits issued amount to just 7,703 in Rome, 4,852 in Milan and 2,365 in Naples, while private-hire drivers — who are also required to hold a specific licence — number about 1,000 in Rome and 200 in Milan, according to the latest data from 2018 published by Italy’s Transport Regulation Authority. By comparison, New York has 13,000 yellow cabs and London 21,000 black cabs, in addition to multiple ride-hailing apps with thousands of available cars.

Uber and other similar apps have been banned since 2015, when a Milan court ruled that UberPOP was providing services on “unfair competition grounds”. The verdict was later overturned, but the US company has since divested from the Italy, with its food delivery service also shutting down this summer.

Uber’s higher-end “black” service is available in large cities through private-hire drivers, but is significantly more expensive than a taxi journey. For example, a taxi to Milan Malpensa airport has a fixed rate of €104, which can soar to over €200 with Uber black, according to the app.

“We want to value those who work in our country and, if anything, curb and oppose large multinational corporations, certainly including Uber,” Urso said this month. 

The shortage of cabs adds to other inefficiencies and mishaps lamented by customers.

A video of a taxi driver destroying an Australian couple’s souvenir after refusing card payment for a €5 trip went viral last year.

Local media allege that taxi drivers earn a lot more than the average €1,800 per month they declare to tax authorities because they are generally paid in cash. The Italian government last year sought to introduce a €30 threshold under which card payments could be refused. It was later forced to backtrack and a €30 fine was introduced from this year for card payment refusals.

Some taxi drivers admit that more transparency is needed in their day-to-day business.

Roberto Mantovani, a taxi driver from Bologna, received death threats from his colleagues after he revealed his lucrative daily earnings on social media, both in cash and card payments. “The way we taxi drivers interact with customers, tourists and institutions is just wrong,” Mantovani told a TV show last month.