No more “the meter is broken,” “the card machine isn’t working,” or “Alvalade? €25.” Lisbon City Council and two taxi associations have signed an agreement: from October 15, all rides from the taxi rank at Humberto Delgado Airport will be charged at fixed rates, with no meter.
Price:€16 or €19 depending on the area, or €20/€23 at night, on weekends and public holidays. The rule applies only to rides departing from the taxi rank at the arrivals area; trips to the airport will still be charged by the meter, as before. The agreement does not apply to Uber or Bolt.
Zone 1 (€16 daytime / €20 at night): Alvalade, Areeiro, Avenidas Novas, Beato, Lumiar, Marvila, Olivais, Parque das Nações, Penha de França, Santa Clara.
Zone 2 (€19 daytime / €23 at night): Ajuda, Alcântara, Arroios, Belém, Benfica, Campolide, Campo de Ourique, Carnide, Estrela, Misericórdia, Santa Maria Maior, Santo António, São Domingos de Benfica, São Vicente.
Outside Lisbon — according to Turismo de Lisboa’s fare table: Oeiras €36.95; Cascais, Estoril and Sintra €53.40; Ericeira €66.85. At night and on weekends, fares are about 20% higher.
The idea is simple: you know the price before getting into the car, so there is nothing to argue about. The taxi rank in the arrivals area will be reserved for drivers who have signed the agreement with the city and committed to accepting card payments and keeping their cars in good condition. The agreement was signed after an August police inspection, which found 67 violations among around 100 taxis — mainly incorrectly installed meters and missing documents — and following a wave of complaints about inflated fares at the airport.
There is a catch: this is not a government-set tariff, but a voluntary agreement based on the Lisbon Tourism Association’s price list, and consumer association DECO has already questioned its legality. For those going to Lumiar or Parque das Nações, the ride will actually become more expensive: a metered trip used to cost around €10.
The agreement does not apply to Uber or Bolt. But you know how easy it is to get an Uber or Bolt at the airport. Drivers simply don’t accept the ride, you wait, get increasingly annoyed, and eventually give up and take the metro.
The old hack still works: walk to the BP petrol station (less than five minutes) and order an Uber from there. It will be cheaper than the new official fares, especially if you live nearby.
