I'll be arriving in Florence at the Santa Maria Novella station, and I just need a taxi to get to and from the Hotel. If I take a taxi from the Taxi Stand outside the station it results in a round about way to get to the Hotel, at least according to Google Maps. But the route is very direct if I cross the street and start from the Florence Welcome Center. Is it possible to get a cab from that location? Does anyone know how to go about that? Is there an app I can use or a direct phone number to get an official taxi?
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1940 posts
You can use an app like AppTaxi to calls cabs - there are several and no official one but AppTaxi has worked well for me - to a specific location, but calling a cab to your location adds an additional cost to the taxi fare.
I think you are over thinking the issue. If you want to take a cab just take one from the cab stand outside the train station and live with whatever the fare and route turns out to be. Traffic - both pedestrian and vehicle - will probably play into delays more than any specific route. At some point you need to trust the driver knows the best way to get where you are going at that time of day and take you that way.
My $.02,
=Tod
Posted by
Firenze, Italy
2078 posts
I simply do not understand what you are talking about. If you want a taxi from a specific location non being a taxi stand, you have to summon it by phone. You will have to pay the route from the stand to your set spot, so what advantage you get? And in any way what advantage you get by leaving from about the same place?
There was a time when I was considering, instead of waiting in a long queue at the station, to walk through the underground passage to Hotel Baglioni and summon a taxi from there, but I am not sure it would have been an advantage. if there is a long queue at the station, probably there are few taxis around anyway...
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17518 posts
Which is your hotel? Don’t trust GoogleMaps to estimate taxi itineraries.
Googlemaps generally uses the itinerary for regular cars, avoiding restricted lanes and restricted streets. Those restrictions do not apply to taxicabs. They belong to a higher caste and can drive virtually everywhere, except for maybe inside the Duomo all the way to the altar, but they are lobbying for that privilege too.