Freenow App

Search results

https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&filter=Travel+Forum&query=FreeNow

Below is the website for the Radiotaxi company in Modena:
https://www.cotamo.it/

Just for your information taxi licenses (medallions) in Italy can only be awarded to individuals not to companies, therefore each taxi driver is an independent licensee and owner of the taxi. Taxi drivers then join cooperative companies whose members are also independent licensees. These cooperative companies are formed to provide its members with shared services, such as radio dispatch, marketing, advertising, etc. CO.TA.MO. of Modena is one of such cooperative companies, the only one apparently in Modena.

As you can see in the website linked above the taxi drivers in Modena use an app called TaxiMove, an app used by many other companies in various Italian cities, including my own (Florence). You can download it on your smartphone from the Apple Store or Google Play. I don’t know if FreeNow works in Modena, however let it be known that FreeNow adds a 3€ commission to each ride, while I think that the app sponsored by the radiotaxi company (TaxiMove in the case of Modena) may not.

CO.TA.MO. of Modena also offers the option to send an SMS text message via WhatsApp to summon a taxi. The procedure with the WhatsApp message is explained below. You might need to add +39 (Italy’s area code) before the number displayed below.
https://www.cotamo.it/en/portfolio-items/taxi-message-335-18-38-555/

Whichever method you use, be aware that Italians don’t leave any tips to taxi drivers (not even a cent). Taxi drivers, as explained above, are independent entrepreneurs which earn considerably more than the average Italian. On top of that they are famously the biggest tax dodgers. Leaving a tip to an Italian taxi drivers is like leaving a tip to your dentist or to your attorney, on top of what those professionals already charge you for the service. I can guarantee you that a taxi driver in Italy makes more money than a medical doctor at the start of his/her career (with the difference that a doctor, if employed by a hospital and not an independent practitioner, cannot dodge the taxman like taxi drivers do religiously).

Roberto, thank you so much. Best response ever! I feel well prepared. 🙂

I now know more about the inner workings of taxi driving in Italy than I do in the US, thanks to Roberto!

I’ll add more information about taxi in Italy, for the benefit of all, so that you are even more prepared.

Taxi drivers is one of the most powerful lobbies in Italy. Italians dislike them more than Americans dislike lawyers and used cars dealers.

The taxi business is a quasi monopoly as cities award a very limited number of licenses and whenever a mayor or local politician announces that the city needs more taxi licenses the powerful lobby goes after that politician often using strikes as a weapon which causes the city to come to a halt and traffic chaos.

When Uber opened up shop in Italy in 2013 the taxi lobby immediately started an open strike and legal war against it. The taxi association filed a class action lawsuit against Uber and the Supreme Court of Cassation in a landmark decision in 2015, sided with the taxi lobby virtually impeding Uber to operate in Italy except for the more expensive Uber Black platform, which requires drivers to be licensed limo or taxi drivers.

The limited number of licenses is the reason why taxi fares are so high in Italy. For no valid reason only Italian (or EU) citizens can be taxi licensees, therefore, unlike in the US, you can rest assured that whenever you are in a taxi, the driver is Italian, often native of the city where s/he operates, since it’s difficult to enter the closed lobby if you are an outsider even from another city. Basically immigrants need not apply.

The business is so lucrative that licenses are transferred within the family from generation to generation. If not transferred within the family, the few licenses are sold to people (only Italians) who want to enter the business, and being so lucrative, buying a taxi license in a major city will cost you several hundred thousand euros (another reason why poor immigrants will have no chance to enter the business).

In spite of the huge earnings that taxi drivers can command, they pay very little in tax. Their lobby managed to convince the government they are not required to give you an official receipt unless you specifically ask (a so called “ricevuta fiscale”) like all other merchants are required to give, de facto allowing them to cheat on the Value Added Tax.

They also managed to be given a tax regime whereby as long as their revenue is under €85,000 per year they pay only 15% flat income tax (instead of 23% to 43% like the rest of Italians). That is the reason why you will be pressured to pay the fare in hard cash, because cash payments are not traceable and they don’t report them to make sure their revenue stays under €85,000. They usually report ridiculously low incomes although several reports indicate that a taxi driver in major cities can earn well over €6,000 gross a month, an amount that most Italians (including hospital physicians) can only dream of.

So do the Italians a favor. Refuse to pay cash, and actually pay directly through the app, and leave them ABSOLUTELY ZERO TIP. Save that tip for a restaurant server. Italians don’t tip, including restaurant servers, but restaurant workers are overworked and often exploited immigrants, so if there is a category that would deserve a couple of extra euro, that is them.

Wow, Roberto, this is all very interesting. Would the private drivers many use fall under the same rules? I assume they’re considered limo drivers. We’ve gotten some very good leads for such services on this forum, and when dealing with luggage and tight schedules, they can be a blessing even if they’re more expensive. Just curious.

The private drivers you are referring to (the ones you were at airports holding a sign with the name of the customer) is another category of licensed drivers. They fall under the so called “Noleggio Con Conducente” (car hire with driver), or NCC, regulations. The law requisites are similar. To obtain a NCC license they must have a driver’s license for a certain number of years, must be at least 21 y.o., have a clean criminal record, a Special professional driver certification (called “CAP” or Certificate of Professional Qualification, obtained through a special exam at the Italian DMV), etc.
the main differences between NCC and taxis is that the NCC must, by law, operate from an operating base (usually a designated company garage) as they cannot operate and solicit customers while roaming around in the public streets or at taxi stands (if you see one it’s an illegal unlicensed driver, which there are many in Naples especially). NCC service therefore must be, by law, always booked in advance at a specific price for a specific transfer or tour, to be agreed upon and cannot be changed based on a meter, like a taxi. It’s a more personalized service, generally more luxurious, with more luxurious cars, and NCC drivers are subject to a more stringent dressing code (you won’t a see a NCC driver in Bermudas, like you might see a taxi driver). Unlike taxis, the NCC license can be awarded to a company, which can employ drivers employees as long as the drivers have all the licensing prerequisites required by law.

Uber through its Uber Black and Uber Van services, is permitted to operate in Italy but only using NCC licensed drivers. So de facto in Italy Uber is just an NCC company, or better a middle man between the customers and the NCC company.

I used it for a few rides last month in Rome. Can't speak to Modena and Emilia-Romagna.

Freenow was as good as any other ride share service I've used around the world: Uber, Lyft, Bolt, etc.

Because it's owned by Lyft, I was hoping my US credit card's $10 a month Lyft credit would apply. Alas, it did not.

Yes have used Free Now in Greece (Athens and Thessaloniki both) No problems using it, and noticed we got licensed Taxi Drivers half the time (medallions and Taxi topper)