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Taxi (or alternative) app in Bari, Italy?

Posted by (Seattle, WA, USA ☔️) on

We're headed for Puglia tomorrow, and I'm wrapping up last details. One open item is getting (or getting back) to our flat in the centro historico in Bari. I've been in touch with staff there about parking and managing the ZTL restrictions, but had a question about taxis/alternatives.

On arrival in Bari, we pick up a rental car and will head for our flat in the old center. There is a ZTL but I'm told by staff at our BnB that the ZTL is not in effect at the time we will arrive, so a short drive in to drop bags and check-in is fine, then we will exit the old center and head for a large public parking structure down by the port. They describe the walk back from the parking structure to the BnB to be "about 15-20 minutes" but at the end of a long day flying from Seattle, I'm pretty sure we will be in no mood for that much walking (even without bags) until we can get "home" and get settled. So I'm assuming we will take a taxi from the public parking back to the old center.

My understanding is that there's really no Uber or Bolt or equivalent service (only a high-end Uber variant that's more than we need).

Two questions (OK maybe three):

  1. What's the best way to get a cab or other ride, coming from the large public parking facility near the port, and going to the old center?

  2. What's a wild guess for the cost for that? Don't need exact predictions, just want a reference for a reality check (ride should be 5-10 minutes, I'd assume, so I'm guessing no more than €25-€35ish for two people - but I haven't paid for a taxi in Europe for a while).

  3. I assume that most cabs will accept credit cards, and use the meter. Reasonable?

We will be doing this late afternoon, probably 15:00 - 18:00 on a weekday.

Thanks!

Posted by
1925 posts

I just read through some of the recent reviews of the Bari parking lots (including the one where we parked) and I am guessing that your host is sending you to Parcheggio Saba Porto. If so, it's for good reasons. The others are plagued with, uh, entrepreneurs who want to "help" you (for a fee) park your car. The guy who "helped" us park was kind of sweet and didn't ask for much money, so we went along with it, but the reviews talk about more unpleasant behavior than his was.

App for FreeNow or IT Taxi, maybe? I would hope your host can give you answers to your questions.

I feel for you, flying from Seattle! Getting from Minneapolis to Bari is long enough......You may find, as we usually do, that a walk afterwards actually seems welcome.

Good luck, and really your host should be more helpful!

Nancy

Posted by
12900 posts

They describe the walk back from the parking structure to the BnB to be "about 15-20 minutes" but at the end of a long day flying from Seattle......

After being stuck in a plane for 12+ hrs, does a 15-20 minute walk really sound that bad?

Sorry, no help on the 3 questions.

Posted by
7327 posts

Oh I'm sure we will be up for a nice stroll once we fully arrive and get a little time when we are not checking items off our travel checklist (and joe, we will be in transit a lot longer than 12 hours, once you figure in the two connections and departure/arrival hoop jumping). We should arrive before dark, so I expect we will go out to do some leg stretching and scoping out low-demand dinner options near our place. That, plus I figure it's all uphill from the parking facility (on the edge of the port) to the old center where we are staying.

@Nancy - Yes, we are headed for Parcheggio Saba Porto. It's surprisingly cheap and looked like a no-brainer (even without having to fend off "freelance parking helpers").

I've been exchanging messages with our hosts, they've actually been extremely responsive and helpful. I expect they're respond with answers to my questions above well before we arrive there.

App for FreeNow or IT Taxi, maybe?

I'm not familiar with these. I assume they just call a taxi for you akin to Uber but after that it's...a taxi. I'll try downloading these apps once we get SIMs in FCO before our last leg to Bari.

Thanks again.

Posted by
16910 posts

Numero 1
There are 3 ways to get a taxi in Italy:
a. Walk to a taxi stand (if any are nearby) and board one of the
taxicabs in the queue
b. call the taxi call center
c. use a taxi app
The website below is for the Bari Taxi company.

https://www.taxibari.it/

The tel number of the call center is +39 080 534 3333. You can use WhatsApp also (same number). Taxi companies generally give you the English option when you call (para Ingles marque el numero #, just kidding, that is Spanish)
If you want to use their app they use ItTaxi app, the app of the Italian Radiotaxi Association. Works just like Uber app. Set it up before you go, if you can.

Numero 2
It’s hard to guess without knowing the address of the destination and the time of travel (weekday or weekend, day or night). Assuming it’s really a 20 min walk, then it’s probably no more than 2km drive (.assuming some one way going arounds). The rate per km is 0.90€ but there is a flag drop of 3.50€ on weekday, incl. Sat. (or 5.80 on Sundays and nights after 10pm ). At the same time the minimum charge is 7€ on weekdays (or 9€ on weekends and nights). So I presume that for less than 2km you will be paying the minimum fare (7€ or 9€ depending on day and time) or just about that.

Numero 3
Yes. The law requires they use the meter and accept credit cards (Italian law requires all merchants including taxi to accept digital or card payments). However taxi drivers are notorious tax dodgers in Italy. The Italian tax law grants small entrepreneurs with total annual revenue of 80,000€ or less to pay only 15% flat income tax rate. That is much less than what they would pay otherwise. So taxi drivers go to great lengths to to ensure they stay under that revenue ceiling. Taxi drivers in Italy are by law independent owners of their taxi and licenses. Taxi licenses cannot be granted to companies, only to individuals. The general company number you call is a cooperative company of which taxi drivers are members to share shared business costs (like radio dispatch and marketing). Because of that tax break (flat tax) granted to small entrepreneurs taxi drivers try to get paid as much as they can with untraceable hard cash, which they will obviously not report to the tax man, so that they stay under the €80k ceiling. So don’t be surprised if the taxi driver tells you that their credit card POS terminal is temporarily out of order (wink wink!) and therefore they can only accept hard cash (triple wink).

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