Using data from a Bank of Italy survey, this paper analyzes the Italian taxi market and its recent
changes. Local regulations are rather homogeneous, while there is a widespread disproportion, within
municipalities advisory committees, between the number of taxi drivers representatives and that of
consumers’; indicators of service adequacy are seldom used. Service costs are rather homogeneous across
Italian provinces, while there is great variance as to supply and fares. The instruments provided to
municipalities by the new Bersani law have been used mainly in major cities. Service increase, achieved
mainly through additional shifts rather than through the provision of (free) additional licenses, was often
obtained in exchange for fare increases; the use of traffic policies has been almost absent. It is difficult to
evaluate the adequacy of local decisions, given the lack of non-occasional information on market
structure.
