Gondoliers in Venice, Italy have expressed concern about crowding on the historic city’s waterways due to the arrival of a new form of transport: Uber water taxis.
Uber is expanding its boat services in Europe. The firm launched a year-round water taxi in Venice on 23 July 2024, providing an on-demand “Limo Boat” transport option that is available to book between 8am and 8pm from nearly 200 dedicated points, meaning that passengers can call one up almost whenever they want to take a trip around the city’s famous lagoon. Prices start at €120 but with up to six people able to take each boat, they could be as cheap as €20 per person.
But as the city continues to battle overtourism with the introduction of a tourist access tax for 29 peak days this year and new limits on tour group sizes and loudspeakers, aimed at making the city less noisy and easier to move around, gondoliers have hit out at the Uber service. It will make the waterways even more crowded than they already are and take their customers, they say.
We are at the limit. Adding new boats will make work difficult, if not impossible.
Andrea Balbi, president of the Associazione Gondolieri di Venezia, speaking to The Times
🌹The memories from my first visit European countries in 1973.. 🇮🇹 Venice: A city to fall in love with, every moment is a treasure. Where every view is a painting. More canals than roads. Where boats replace cars. Gondolas are Venice's charming taxis. When in Venice… pic.twitter.com/OxpAsanLvs
— Suresh J Lalwaani (@isgfsuresh) July 15, 2024
Uber has sidestepped questions over the issue, with its general manager for Italy, Lorenzo Pireddu, responding: “We believe Italy and the rest of the world is made not just of cars but also integrated and complementary transport services. This cannot be more true than in Venice, where you cannot do without maritime transport.”
Maritime transport in the form of gondoliers and motoscafo boats that ferry tourists around the city already exists however. Costing somewhere between €105 and €135, a typical motoscafo from Venice Marco Polo Airport to the city centre could be undercut by the new service that also shuttles to and from the airport and to Venice’s beloved islands such as Lido, Murano and Burano.
The gondoliers are unlikely to be the only workers upset by the perceived intrusion of Uber on their workspace. Uber is set to expand similar services such as Uber Yacht to Spain’s Ibiza this August and Uber Boat is about to hit Greek destinations such as Mykonos to Athens, Corfu and Santorini.
Rio Novo is a connecting canal and the gondolas are surrounded by watertaxis and cargo ships: a unique experience with the wave motion 🥴#Venice… pic.twitter.com/GtpzbCtj8G
— la Flora e la Olga 🏳 (@laOlga60) April 16, 2023
“At Uber, we want to give our customers the opportunity to go anywhere, wherever they are travelling,” said Anabel Diaz, vice president, of EMEA Mobility at Uber.
“Whether it’s sailing around Ibiza in your own private yacht or experiencing the Venetian Lagoon by boat, we’re thrilled to add some Uber magic to our customers’ holidays this summer.”
