Portugal's Regulator Revokes the Taxi Fare Rules Due on 14 October and Replaces Them, Keeping the 2 Euro Flag Fall and Giving Meters 90 Days to Switch

The national taxi fare rules that were due to take effect on 14 October have been revoked before passengers saw them. The Autoridade da Mobilidade e dos Transportes (Mobility and Transport Authority, AMT) published Regulamento n.º 1324-A/2026 (Regulation 1324-A/2026) in the Diário da República (the official gazette) on 13 October. Article 21 revokes Regulation 717/2026 of 9 June, and the new text takes its place with its own timetable.

On 4 October we reported that the new fares would apply from 14 October, the date the AMT gave in a statement dated 1 October. That date no longer holds. The fare model survives almost unchanged; the timetable and several surrounding rules do not.

Why the rules were rewritten

The preamble says putting Regulation 717/2026 into practice, and the sector's comments, showed some solutions needed clarifying. And Lei n.º 59/2026 (Law 59/2026) of 25 August, which changed the law on TVDE (app-based ride-hailing), now lets a vehicle alternate between taxi work and ride-hailing, so the two regimes had to be aligned. The new rules cover only taxi trips, not a dual-registered car's ride-hailing work. Earlier in the summer the AMT had already postponed the old rules until after the ride-hailing law took force.

How the fare is worked out

The formula is the same as in June. A fare is a flag fall plus a price per kilometre for the distance covered plus a price per minute for the whole duration of the trip. Distance and time are both charged throughout the ride, rather than the meter switching between the two. The annex sets a reference flag fall of 2 euros, 0.73 euros a kilometre and 0.34 euros a minute.

The price per kilometre never varies. Only the time charge changes, through a multiplier:

• Weekdays, 07:00 to 22:00: 1.00
• Weekdays, 22:00 to 07:00: 1.25
• Weekends and public holidays, 07:00 to 22:00: 1.50
• Weekends and public holidays, 22:00 to 07:00: 1.75

For the first year, the transitional article applies a 9 percent reduction and states final prices of 0.58 euros a kilometre and 0.28 euros a minute, the same figures as in Regulation 717/2026. On those numbers, a 10 kilometre weekday daytime trip lasting 20 minutes would come to 13.40 euros (our own illustration). The AMT's board may update fares during 2027, depending on costs and on operators reporting the required data.

The only supplement in the regulation is 0.80 euros when the taxi is called by phone or booked through a dispatch centre or app. It must be visible on the meter from the start. Tolls are paid by the passenger on top of the meter. In June, ECO reported, citing Público, that the current flag fall is 3.25 euros and that the old luggage supplement would go.

What changes from the June version

• Larger taxis: the June text set a 4 euro flag fall and double the price per kilometre for taxis able to carry more than four passengers. The new text applies that surcharge only when more than four passengers are actually carried, not merely because the vehicle is bigger.
• Airports and cruise terminals: where fixed fares exist alongside the meter, passengers must be given the choice between the options, with the conditions clearly displayed at the pick-up point. Local authorities may set up separate ranks or queues for each option.
• App bookings: platforms may offer a fixed price, the meter price, a contract price or a price from an adaptable formula, but the formula must rest on objective, predefined and verifiable parameters, and the scheme must first be sent to the AMT for its opinion. The June text spoke of "dynamic" tariffs.
• Meters: operators get up to 90 days after entry into force to adapt them, against 70 days before.

Local and metropolitan transport authorities can still set their own fares, such as fixed prices to set zones, within these rules.

When it applies

Article 22 says the regulation enters into force 10 days after publication. Counted in calendar days from the day after publication on 13 October, that is Friday, 23 October. When it dated the old rules, however, the AMT counted their start period in working days under the Código do Procedimento Administrativo (Code of Administrative Procedure); on that reading the date would be 27 October. The AMT had not published a date for the new text by 14 October.

Meters then have up to 90 days to be adapted, which on a calendar count runs to late January 2027. The transitional article says the new tariff applies to all taxis at the same time, with no early application, and that the first-year reduction takes effect from entry into force "respecting the meter adaptation period". It does not spell out what a taxi with an unadapted meter charges in the meantime, nor what applies between 14 October and the new date.

The rules cover mainland Portugal; the Azores and Madeira can adopt them by decision of their regional governments.

Lisbon airport

Lisbon's fixed fares from the airport rank are a separate local agreement due to begin on 15 October. At a parliamentary hearing on 13 October, AMT president Ana Paula Vitorino said the regulator had not been consulted and called the agreement "partially illegal" because it sets fares outside Lisbon, such as to Cascais and the south bank, according to Lusa, as published by Observador.

What it means for passengers

The text does not make clear which fares apply before meters are adapted, so check the meter and the tariff notice. Once the new tariff is running, night, weekend and slow city trips will lean more on the time charge, while the flag fall is lower. Taxis must carry a sticker inside the rear left window explaining the tariff. If a fare looks wrong, ask for a receipt and note the taxi's number. The regulation requires taxis and apps to show how to complain, including the AMT's contacts; the electronic Livro de Reclamações (complaints book) is at livroreclamacoes.pt.