When we visited Rome in the summer of 2022, we encountered a scene that perfectly captured the state of mobility in Italy at the time: the taxis were on strike. For days. In protest against Uber and other digital services, which the industry saw as an existential threat. For visitors, this created a paradox: instead of hailing a Roman taxi as usual, the only option left was often Uber. The very service the drivers were protesting against. The Uber rides we took during that period were reliable and comfortable, but noticeably more expensive than a regular taxi. The city was packed, the temperatures high, and Uber inadvertently became its own best advertisement.
A taxi strike and demonstration in Rome two years ago
A year later, in the summer of 2023, we were back in Rome and the situation had visibly shifted. The strike had left its mark, not just on the streets but in the broader debate around mobility. The partnership between Uber and Italian taxi associations had since gotten underway. Suddenly, the app allowed users to book regular taxis, clearly labeled as such and significantly cheaper than the premium rides offered by NCC drivers ("Noleggio Con Conducente": "chauffeur-driven rental car"). What had seemed like an unbridgeable conflict just a year earlier had evolved into a pragmatic blend: the traditional taxi industry survived, but for the first time cautiously opened itself to the digital sphere.
The clearest impression of this new hybrid system came, however, during the summer of 2025 in Bologna. There, the taxi option was unavailable through the app, but the Uber vehicles more than made up for it. When the driver pulled up in an immaculate, brand-new Tesla, dressed elegantly in a dark suit, it became evident: in some cities, Uber has repositioned itself in Italy as a premium service rather than an everyday transport option. The ride was pleasant, professional, and noticeably pricier. This contrast defines the current situation: Italy does not offer a uniform system but rather a patchwork of tradition, regulation, and digital modernization.
Rome: Uber Taxi as a complement to the existing system
What this patchwork looks like in practice becomes clear when looking at other cities. Milan, for instance, has emerged as a kind of showcase for the new mobility: both Uber Black and Uber Taxi are available there, and the app is present in various cities across Italy , including Rome, Naples, Palermo, and Cagliari. While in Rome, Uber Taxi serves as a complement to the existing System the service was introduced early in Naples, where it has helped ease the notoriously limited capacity to some degree. At the same time, the number of vehicles remains restricted, as only professional, licensed drivers continue to be permitted.
In parallel, additional platforms have established themselves in other markets. The largest taxi app in Europe Free Now is now also represented in several major Italian cities, including Roma, Milano, and Napoli. There, too, the app connects riders not with private occasional drivers but with traditional taxis or licensed hire cars (NCC)yet access is provided through a modern interface, with fixed-price options and digital receipts. For users, this means the choice is no longer simply between a taxi or Uber, but among different apps that all draw on the same professional groups: municipally licensed taxi drivers and NCC chauffeurs.
Uber entered the Italian market in 2013
The fact that Italian taxis long functioned as a self-contained system is one reason for these peculiarities. Licenses are scarce, strictly regulated, and in many cities have remained unchanged for decades. In major metropolitan areas like Roma in particular, this led to chronic shortages that during peak season or major events regularly caused frustration among tourists and locals alike. The next available vehicle was often far away, and calls for reform grew louder.
When Uber entered the Italian market in 2013, two worlds collided. Italian taxi associations saw the principles of their profession under threat. Unlike in other countries, however, a UberX-style model was never able to gain a foothold here: Italian law permits only professional, licensed drivers to provide passenger transport. As a result, Uber in Italy consisted from the outset of NCC drivers, chauffeur-style professionals whose service was high quality but costly. The fully open market that Uber pushed through in other countries never materialized in Italy.
1,000 new taxi licenses in Roma
The last few years, however, have brought movement to these structures. The pressure of digitalization, the expectations of international visitors, and an urban transport system in general need of modernization prompted a political response as well. In Roma, the mayor announced in 2024, for the first time in decades, the issuance of new licenses: 1,000 new taxi licenses along with additional permits for NCC vehicles, are intended to ease the chronic shortage. At the same time, the market continued to professionalize: taxi associations and Uber found ways to work together rather than against each other.
The result is a system that has not changed radically but is adapting incrementally. In some cities, such as Roma, a remarkable coexistence: affordable rides through the Uber app on one hand, premium rides at higher prices on the other. In other cities, such as Bologna, the upscale NCC offering continues to dominate, operating technically under the Uber label but resembling a limousine service more than anything else. In between are places where Uber Taxi has only recently become available and the app is perceived almost as a symbol of the transition into a new era of mobility an era that is taking shape wherever Uber Taxi is officially available, including in Rome, Milan, Naples and Palermo.
A new kind of flexibility for travelers
For travelers, this translates into a new kind of flexibility: those looking to save money can select a taxi within the app, while those who prioritize comfort or travel at unusual hours will find a reliable, if pricier, option in the NCC driver via Uber. And for Italy itself, this development symbolizes that tradition and modernization need not be mutually exclusive, as long as both sides are willing to move forward.
