ChiamaTaxi 060609
Single number run by Roma Capitale
How to get a taxi in Rome (and actually have one turn up)
Phone, app, WhatsApp or rank: all four work in Rome, but not in the same way and not at every hour. Here is what to do for each one, with realistic waiting times and what to try when nothing comes.
Radiotaxi 3570
Cooperative, the largest in Rome · over 3,700 taxis
Pronto Taxi 6645
Cooperative, running since 1974 · about 1,800 taxis
Samarcanda 06 5551
Cooperative · about 450 taxis
1. By phone: the single number or a cooperative
06 0609 is the ChiamaTaxi service run by Roma Capitale. An automated system answers: you say the street and house number, it finds the nearest rank and assigns the job to the first car in the queue among those signed up. It tells you the call sign and the minutes. Nobody is on the line, so it works well when the address is straightforward and you are near the centre, less well further out or when the street name is hard to pronounce.
The cooperatives answer with a human operator, around the clock: 06 3570 (Radiotaxi 3570, over 3,700 cars), 06 6645 (Pronto Taxi, about 1,800), 06 5551 (Samarcanda, about 450), 06 4994 (La Capitale), 06 4157 (Tevere). The operator finds a car on that fleet and gives you the call sign and the wait. This holds up best at peak times, because the fleet is large.
What to say: street, house number, district, a visible landmark, how many of you there are, how much luggage, and the destination if it is an airport or the port, so the flat fare applies. Everything else can wait until you are in the car.
Smaller cooperatives, useful when the big numbers are engaged: La Capitale Radio Taxi 06 4994 · Radio Taxi Tevere 06 4157 · Radio Taxi Cosmo 06 88177 · Free Now 06 9480 7976.
2. With an app
Apps show the car on a map and let you pay without cash, but none of them owns taxis: Free Now passes the request to drivers signed up to its platform, itTaxi and Uber (the "Taxi" option) to the Radiotaxi 3570 fleet, Chiama Taxi 060609 to the drivers in the council scheme, InTaxi to Pronto Taxi, Samarcanda Plus and Wetaxi to Samarcanda. The price shown is an estimate: what you pay is the meter, at the usual fares. The full comparison is on the taxi apps in Rome page.
3. On WhatsApp or Telegram
Radiotaxi 3570 answers on WhatsApp at 06 3570, Pronto Taxi at 342 009 3509 (Telegram and SMS too), Samarcanda at 329 498 5551 (Telegram too). Write the address, how many passengers and the time: back comes a confirmation with the call sign. Handy from a noisy bar, and for anyone who would rather not speak Italian on the phone.
4. At a rank
Rome has more than a hundred official ranks, marked by a "TAXI" sign and yellow lines on the road: Termini (piazza dei Cinquecento and via Marsala), piazza Venezia, the Colosseum, piazza di Spagna, the Pantheon, piazza del Popolo, Trastevere (piazza Belli), St Peter's (piazza Pio XII, just outside the colonnade) and every other district. You take the first car in the queue; if the first driver refuses the job without good reason, that can be reported. Many ranks have a post wired to 06 0609: if no car is waiting, you call from there and the nearest one comes. The full list with a map is on the taxi ranks page.
5. In the street
A free taxi has its roof sign lit and can be flagged down, as in any city. In Rome, though, free cars in the centre are heading for the nearest rank, so a raised arm works mainly on the big through roads — Nomentana, Tuscolana, Ostiense, Prati — and outside bars late in the evening.
6. Booking ahead
For a flight, a train or a ship it is worth booking the evening before with a cooperative, giving the time and the destination: you pay the normal meter, or the flat fare where the route has one. On flat-fare routes starting in Rome the driver waits up to 10 minutes from the time you gave; after that the meter takes over. Free Now (up to 4 days ahead) and the Chiama Taxi 060609 app also take bookings, but confirmation depends on how many drivers are working at that hour: a phone call to a cooperative is still the safest route. Details on the booking a taxi page.
How long it takes to arrive
In normal conditions, 5 to 15 minutes. The wait grows at rush hour, in the rain, on strike days and during big events: at Termini the queue passes an hour at peak periods. Shortages at Christmas 2025 and in the summer of 2025 made the national news; in 2026 the 1,000 new licences issued by Roma Capitale came into service, which has shortened waits without ending them.
When nobody answers
- Change number: 06 3570 → 06 6645 → 06 5551. Each cooperative only sees its own cars.
- Open Free Now or itTaxi: they show how many taxis are free around you.
- Walk to the nearest rank, especially in the centre.
- Check the taxi strike page: on strike days only certain hours are covered.
Frequently asked questions
How do you get a taxi in Rome?
Four ways: by phone (06 0609 with an automated line, or 06 3570, 06 6645 and 06 5551 with a human operator), through an app (Free Now, itTaxi, Uber with the Taxi option, Chiama Taxi 060609), on WhatsApp, or by walking to one of the ranks across the city. A free taxi can be hailed in the street, but in the centre a rank is quicker.
How does 060609 work?
You call, an automated line asks for the address, you say it in full and the system passes the request to the nearest taxi among those signed up to the service. It reads back the call sign of the car and the minutes to wait. The "Chiama Taxi 060609" app does the same thing.
Does ordering a taxi cost more than taking one at a rank?
At most €5 more. The car comes with the meter running, but as you get in the amount cannot exceed the flag fall plus €5 — so €8.50 on a weekday daytime, €10 on Saturdays and public holidays, €12.50 at night. If you are the one running late, that cap no longer applies.
How far ahead should I call?
For a ride across town, 10 to 15 minutes is enough; at rush hour (8-10am and 5-8pm), in the rain or during big events, allow 30. For a flight, a train or a ship, book the day before with a set time.
Can you hail a taxi in the street in Rome?
Yes, if it is free — you can tell by the lit sign on the roof. In practice, free taxis in the centre are heading for the nearest rank, so you will find one there before anyone stops for a raised arm.
Do drivers speak English?
Many do, at least enough for an address and a price. The fare schedule inside the car has to be displayed in Italian and English. If speaking is awkward, WhatsApp works well: the cooperatives take a written address.