The official Madrid taxi is white with a red diagonal stripe across the front door. There are more than 15,000 taxis in Madrid, so it’s very easy to find one available in most of the city’s streets.
Using a taxi in Madrid is a comfortable and fast option compared to other means of public transport, particularly if you are in a rush and need to be somewhere in a short time.
It’s also considerably more expensive than the Metro and the bus, especially if you have a tourist transport pass or a Multi Card, two particular tickets that can save you lots of money.
If the taxi is free it will display a green light on the roof.
To hail a taxi all you need to do is raise your hand. Unlike other European cities, there is no need to go to a taxi rank. The free taxi will stop right were you are.
There are also many taxi ranks around the city, indicated by a blue sign with a white letter ‘T’.
The only places where you must take a taxi from the corresponding ranks are railway (Atocha and Chamartín) and bus stations (Estación Sur de Autobuses and Avenida de América), and at the airport.
Prices are based on the official rate as fixed by Madrid City Hall and are generally updated every year (mid-December).
There is always an obligatory minimum fare of when the meter is switched on.
There are two standard rates of pay, depending on whether or not you are travelling during peak or off-peak times, and two to go to/from the airport.
Here is a complete list of the official supplements that you can pay.
There is no supplement for pets, wheelchairs and luggage, as long as the trunk and/or roof rack of the vehicle has enough capacity.
If you wonder how much would a taxi cost to/from the airport, read more about
Or you may be interested in taking a taxi to/from the Atocha train station.
Nowadays all taxis accept cards and other payment methods (e.g. your travel debit card, Apple Pay).
If you intend to pay with cash, taxi drivers are only required to make change for 20€ bills and smaller. So make sure you have small bills!
There is a myriad of services, websites and apps that offer this service.
But these are my favorites:
If you book a taxi through an app you will pay the exact same amount as if you stop in on the street. They apply the official fares for each city.
Here are some of the advantages of using an app like FreeNow or TXMAD:
Many Madrid taxi drivers speak a little English, but it’s always a good idea to have a pen and paper to write down the address. There are many similar sounding streets and you could wind up across town.
A good tip is to print out small slips of paper with the name of your hotel and the address (or your apartment address) before you leave home. That way if you are not confident in speaking Spanish, you can politely hand the driver one of the slips, with a “Vamos aquí, por favor” (“We are going here, please”).
And, please, don’t forget to be polite. Say “Hola” or “Buenos días” when you get in and “Gracias, adiós” when you leave.