People searching for “taxi Mestre” usually want a number and a price. The number is 041 5964, and the price, on the journeys that matter, is fixed. The rest is worth two minutes of your time, because taxis in Mestre follow precise rules and anyone who doesn’t know them pays more.
Our verdict in short: the road service on the mainland is well regulated on paper — administered fares, listed ranks, published supplements — but the official documentation is partly out of date, and the two available lists of ranks don’t match. It is a reliable service in the middle of the day and an undersized one at the morning peak.
“Taxi Mestre” is not a company
Worth saying straight away, because it is the first misunderstanding: there is no company called Taxi Mestre. On the Venetian mainland there is effectively a single dispatch cooperative, the Cooperativa Artigiana Radiotaxi, which the city council lists alongside the Comitato Unitario Taxi and which Marco Polo airport names as its own provider. Our review of it is here: Radio Taxi Venezia.
Another frequent mix-up: Consorzio Motoscafi Venezia, Venezia Taxi and the other names you turn up searching for “taxi Venezia” are water operators, not road ones. The airport indeed lists them under private motorboats.
There are 120 road taxi licences in the Comune di Venezia: 111 spread across the mainland, the airport, Piazzale Roma and the hospital, and 9 on the Lido. They are awarded by public competition under the national framework law on non-scheduled transport, Veneto regional law and the council’s own regulation; to apply you must be entered on the Chamber of Commerce drivers’ register. At least 5% of the vehicles must be wheelchair accessible.
The ranks (and where the sources disagree)
The council lists seven operating ranks:
- Venezia Mestre railway station
- Ospedale dell’Angelo
- Mestre Centro, on via Poerio
- Marco Polo airport
- Piazzale Roma
- Lido, piazzale Santa Maria Elisabetta
- Stazione Marittima, only while ships are in port
At Favaro, piazza Pastrello, there is a signposted call point with no permanent rank, offering fixed-fare rides only to the Ospedale dell’Angelo, on weekdays and Saturdays from 07:00 to 22:00. There are also trial stands at Carpenedo (via Trezzo), San Giuliano (Porta Rossa) and Marghera, at the Panorama tram terminus and in piazza Mercato: there you can either get in on the spot or call — the car reaches the stand at no cost to you and the meter only starts when it pulls away from it. The council still lists them among the service points in operation, always labelled as trials: there is no record of any act making them permanent, and none closing them either.
One useful inconsistency to flag here. For “Mestre centro” the council gives via Poerio, the operator gives Piazzale Cialdini: two points about 400 metres apart. And piazza XXVIII Ottobre, which many people cite as a rank, appears on neither official list. If you are looking for a taxi in central Mestre, head for via Poerio or phone.
Outside authorised ranks a taxi may not wait, with one exception: near theatres, from an hour before the end of a performance. And beyond the city boundary, taking the fare is at the driver’s discretion.
What it costs
These are the fixed fares that matter if you are moving between Mestre, the airport and Venice.
| Route | Fixed fare |
|---|---|
| Marco Polo airport ↔ Mestre Centro | € 35.00 |
| Stazione Marittima ↔ Mestre Centro | € 35.00 |
| Piazzale Roma ↔ Mestre Centro | € 23.00 |
| Ospedale dell’Angelo ↔ Mestre station | € 14.00 |
| Favaro tram terminus → airport (supplements included) | € 12.00 |
| San Giuliano / via Righi → Piazzale Roma (towards Venice only) | € 10.00 |
| Within the Mestre Centro zone → Mestre station (hailed ride) | € 5.00 |
“Mestre Centro” is a defined zone, not a figure of speech: it runs around viale Stazione, piazzale Favretti, via Piave, via Circonvallazione, via Torre Belfredo, via Cappuccina, via Ca’ Marcello and viale Ancona. If you land at Marco Polo and your address falls inside that perimeter, you are entitled to ask for the €35.
Three conditions the council spells out: fixed fares apply only when starting from a rank, during that rank’s staffed hours, by the shortest route and with no stops. They do not apply to phone bookings, except at the Marghera and Favaro call points between 07:00 and 22:00. And they include every supplement, luggage included.
Outside those cases you pay on the meter: flag-fall €3.20, minimum fare €8.00 by day and €11.00 at night or on public holidays, €1.70/km up to €16.52 of fare and €2.15/km beyond, switching to time-based charging below 20 km/h. Supplements: €3.20 at night between 22:00 and 06:00 and on public holidays, €4.80 for the airport or the Marittima, €1.20 per item of luggage with a side over 50 cm.
One detail that changes the bill more than you’d think: if you call, the meter starts when the car sets off towards you, not when you get in. At a rank or hailed in the street it starts on board instead. For a call from one end of the mainland to the other that is several euros before you have even left.
Strengths
- Administered, published fares, with clear fixed routes to the airport and the Marittima.
- A single number for every rank in the Comune, with an app, SMS and prepaid vouchers as alternatives.
- Night coverage, when buses and trams thin out: the night supplement is €3.20, not a percentage uplift.
- Door to door with the luggage, the real advantage over bus and train when you arrive loaded.
Weaknesses
- Official documentation out of step: the metered-fare PDF linked from the council page still shows an obsolete table, with amounts lower than those in force. The correct figures are on the operator’s site and in the council’s schedule of fixed fares.
- Rank lists that don’t match between council and operator, as above.
- No fixed fare Mestre ↔ Piazzale Roma outside Mestre Centro: everything else is metered, and no typical amount is published.
- Availability at peak times: Tripadvisor reviews describe long waits at Mestre station and at the airport in the early morning, along with cases of bookings cancelled shortly before the time. The listing gathers 102 reviews with an average of 3.1 and a distribution split in two: a small sample, but consistent themes.
When the taxi beats the bus
It comes down almost entirely to how many of you there are and how much you are carrying.
| Situation | The sensible choice |
|---|---|
| One person, airport → central Mestre | City bus or shuttle: the taxi costs many times more |
| Three or four people with suitcases | Taxi at the €35 flat fare, door to door |
| Arriving after the last departure | Taxi, with a €3.20 night supplement |
| Airport → Piazzale Roma, two people | Express coach at €12 each, or a taxi at €40 if your luggage is bulky |
| Mestre → historic centre | Taxi as far as Piazzale Roma, then vaporetto or boat |
The full comparison between express coach, Aerobus, Alilaguna boat and water taxi is in water taxi, Alilaguna or vaporetto; our review of the express coach is in ATVO.
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from €12 per person
Book on Tiqets -
from €18 per person
Book on Tiqets
What to do if the price doesn’t add up
Two moves, in this order. Before you set off, ask explicitly for the fixed fare to be applied: the council itself recommends this, precisely to head off disputes. At the end, ask for a receipt and note the car’s number.
Complaints about car taxis are submitted in writing to the Comune di Venezia, at gestione.mobilita@comune.venezia.it or by certified email to mobilitatrasporti@pec.comune.venezia.it. The responsible office is the Direzione Mobilità e Trasporti, at viale Ancona 59.
Read before you go
- If you are carrying on into the historic centre, the road ends where we explain in Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto.
- If you are flying in and have to pick a way into town, start with from the airport to Venice.
- If someone offers you a private car away from the rank, the rules are different: NCC in Venice.
- Numbers, ranks and the meter in working order: road taxis in Venice and Mestre.
A taxi in Mestre does one thing well, and it does it well: it takes you from one address to another with your luggage, at a price you can check before getting in. Ask for the fixed fare when you are entitled to it, and for everything else compare against the bus before you call.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a taxi company called Taxi Mestre?
No. On the Venetian mainland there is effectively a single dispatch cooperative, the Cooperativa Artigiana Radiotaxi, alongside the Comitato Unitario Taxi. The number is 041 5964.
Where do you catch a taxi in Mestre?
The official mainland ranks are Venezia Mestre station, the Ospedale dell'Angelo and Mestre Centro on via Poerio. There are also trial stands at Carpenedo, San Giuliano and Marghera.
How much is a taxi from the airport to Mestre?
€35 per car, if your destination falls inside the Mestre Centro zone as defined by the city council. Ask for the fixed fare at the start of the ride, not at the end.
How much is a taxi from Mestre to Piazzale Roma?
From Mestre Centro to Piazzale Roma the fixed fare is €23. From other points on the mainland there is no published fixed fare: you pay on the meter.
When does the meter start if I call a taxi?
If you book by phone the meter starts when the car is assigned and sets off towards you. At a rank or hailed in the street it starts when you get in.
Taxi or bus from the airport to Mestre?
On your own the bus almost always wins. With three or four people and luggage the taxi's €35 flat fare becomes competitive, and it drops you at the address.