Roman taxi stands vs. ride hailing apps

according to https://www.romewise.com/taxi-in-rome.html#pay-rome-taxi-credit-card

All Rome city taxis are required by law to have POS machines. This
means you SHOULD be able to pay with a credit card. I say "should"
because sometimes you will find these POS machines to mysteriously be
"out of order." On the other hand, since Covid, many drivers are happy
to use a contact-less pay system. If you don't have cash, make sure to
ask the driver before you get in if you can pay with credit card.

First off, I am not sure the Uber works the same in Rome. I think it works only with the high end black cars. Personally I have never had any problems with cabs in Rome. You do have to use the taxi stands. When it comes to the money switch, I always keep a firm grip on the bill and literally wave it under his nose --- And say, Twenty?, or ten?, or whatever the number on the bill is as if I don't know what the number is. I make an issue of what ever the number is that I am handing him so that he knows that I know. Never had a problem in 20 years. I would just use the taxis. (Now, I would not make the same claim abut taxis in Naples.)

Rome is so very walkable. We’ve only needed to take a cab to/from station with our luggage and had our hotel call for us.
Have never used bus or metro

Where are you staying?

Just note -Uber does not exist in Rome as we know it. It is UberBlack- more like a limo service and more expensive than a cab
No Lyft either

There are a few taxi apps that have been mentioned here, a search should find those for you

Otherwise you do have to get taxis at a taxi stand, cannot just hail on the street as you would in NYC for example.

When I did the Best of Rome tour some years ago on our first day we were given a transit pass and we learned how to use the Metro and the buses. Admittedly I still got mixed up due to two metro routes having a stop with similar names, but managed to sort myself out. On the whole I found that walking was the easiest way to get around but certainly found the transportation lesson learned on that tour helped me with subsequent visits to Rome. Don’t forget the Hotel will always call you a cab.

You are going to have a wonderful time!

I also suggest you download the Citymapper app. You can put in your hotel address as your "home" and then it will route you back there on foot from wherever you are. For some reason I did need a bit of a learning curve on "following" the route when I was in Paris, lol, but once I got the hang of it it was quite easy. Just point your phone in the direction of the route.

If by ride hailing apps you mean Uber or Lyft, you won't find it in Italy. Italian courts have decided in a landmark decision in 2015 that the ride hailing service like Uber, operated by regular citizens without taxi/limo license using their own cars, is illegal in Italy. As a result of that decision, Uber operates a service called, Uber Black, which is a luxury black limo service operated by licensed limo drivers. Given the nature of that service, those rides will be just as expensive as any limo service, and certainly more expensive that a regular taxi.

You can of course go to a Taxi stand or even call a taxi (see the numbers provided in the first comment above).

The Italian Taxi association (Unione Radio Taxi d'Italia, or URI) has however its own app, called ItTaxi, which you can download from the Apple store or Google Play. It works like the Uber app, but if you use it, a regular taxi will come to you. It was suggested to me by my relatives in Rome, who use it regularly.

Interestingly enough, last May the Uber corporation struck a deal with the URI and their ItTaxi, which allows ItTaxi to use the Uber platform. I have not used Uber in Rome last June, but ItTaxi app works well, but I've not tried the Uber platform after that deal between Uber and the Italian Taxi Association.

Regarding the unscrupulous taxi drivers, I've never heard of instances such as the one you mentioned. The most common issue with taxi drivers in Italy is that they don't like tp take credit cards and but rather prefer to be paid in cash (that way they dodge the tax man), therefore they are likely to tell you that their POS credit/debit card machine is not working. So if you want to pay with a credit card, it is better that you make that clear with the taxi driver before you board it. Or better yet use the ItTaxi app, where you first load the credit card and pay through it, just like you can do with the Uber App. The ItTaxi app also gives you the option to pay the taxi driver directly, or if you prefer, pay through the credit card you uploaded in the app.

Regarding the use of public transit, that is very easy to use and is cheap. A 90 min ticket costs only €1.50 and you can use any buses, even transfer from bus to bus, within the 90 min validity timeframe. If you stay in Trastevere at the San Francesco hotel, which RS tours uses sometimes, taking the no. 8 trolley is very convenient. The stop is right there a block away in front of the Italian Ministry of Public Education. If you go now the no. 8 trolley is operated by buses, since the City is replacing the tracks for the next 5 months. The Metro in Rome is limited and serves only certain neighborhoods. It works well to go from the station to the Colosseum/Forum, to the Vatican, and to the Spanish steps, but if you don't stay along the metro route, you won't use it much if at all. If you stay in Trastevere, the metro is nowhere near.

You can find taxis at all of the popular tourist sites. Just follow what Rick tells you about which taxis to take.

I got a card from the hotel with their address. I could just show that to the taxi driver and ask him how much before the ride started.

Riding the bus is pretty easy if you know where to catch it and where to get off. The Metro is very limited, and I found it a bit dirty and creepy. Besides, the stations are hard to find, even if you know where they are supposed to be.

We will visit Rome next month too. I plan to use the ride hailing app "ItTaxi" which is recommended by multiple sources. My understanding is Uber and Lyft are unavailable in Italy.

Thank you all for your input. I've downloaded the apps that you've suggested and I'm looking forward to my Day 1 transit tutorial. Bon voyage, everyone!

Greer

You will do great. City Mapper is the best!