Taxi drivers from Termini- frustratring!!

Kristen,

I've had both good and bad experiences with Taxi drivers in Rome, but some of them are definitely scammers (IMO). It's great that most of your experiences have been good so far.

Good for you, Kristen - you did your homework and knew the answer to your question before you asked it.

Thanks for the heads up, I was wondering about that lately. I have some friends arriving at Termini this winter, and they asked me about hotels. I was going to recommend one near Termini because its so convenient for arrival, departure, and getting elsewhere in Rome. But since they are coming off a ski trip, they will be traveling "heavy". It occurred to me they would have trouble getting a cab to take them close by.

In the true confessions department, in a previous life I drove a taxi cab in Alexandria, VA. I used to work the taxi queue at Washington National (now Reagan) Airport. Nothing ticked me off more than spending an hour in the queue, then getting a fare to Crystal City, a $1.60 cab fare away. The big spenders would give you $2 and say "Keep the change, Bub." After a while, I gave up on working the airport totally as it was unprofitable, and left it to other drivers who were not as bashful about cheating the public. So now you know why the cab drivers at Termini are all crooks, it is a process of natural selection. And "crook" is not a derogatory term among taxi drivers. We all referred to each other as crooks.

Sam brought up a good point. I know at CDG in Paris, the cab drivers typically wait in the holding area for two hours before it's their turn to come up to the curb. Most will refuse a fare to a nearby area after waiting for two hours.

Bets and Sam- I agree about small taxi fares not being very desirable. However, in the case of Rome's city center, 10 euro is a pretty standard fare. From one end to the other, you would pay a maximum of 15 euro, maybe 20 at night. So it's not like we were taking a 2 euro ride. But I understand your point.

On my first arrival in Rome I went straight out to the left of the train tracks and there was a line of taxis and several driviers approached me quoting various flats rates that sounded exorbitant. I went back into the station and continued walking to the front of the station. There is an official taxi stand. I have several times taken taxis from there and it's always been by the meter and with a direct route. . . and a pleasant driver.

I was at the taxi stand in the front of the station which was why I found the whole situation so frustrating. I am also aware of the non legit taxi drivers. But all of the taxi drivers in the actual taxi line were being shady. But as I said before, this is not my usual experience. I was just wondering if it is a Termini thing.

Same happened to me last November. I walked - from the front of Termini not quite to the Forum area along Via Cavour - ended up with blisters to start the trip. Should have paid the extra $10 euros. Worth not getting blistered and sweaty before dinner, which amounted to walking all over the place with new blisters. Miserable first night in Rome, followed by magic after blister band-aids and foot care. Dirty plane socks and long walks in bloated feet do not pair well, which I already knew but was too cheap and proud of my being right on the fare.