Municipal police have seized three vehicles and issued fines totalling €980 in a fresh enforcement operation targeting unlicensed tourist transport services operating in and around the UNESCO-listed city centre.
Officers from the Municipal Police Administrative Unit and the Porta Romana district station carried out a series of inspections across key tourist locations.
At Piazzale Michelangelo, two electric caddies were stopped while carrying tourists. Both were found to be operating without the permits required under Florence’s tourist transport regulations. Their drivers were each fined €160 and the vehicles seized.
A separate inspection in Via dei Benci resulted in the seizure of a Fiat 500 “spiaggina” — a beach-style open-top variant — being used for tourist transport. The vehicle type is not authorised under city regulations. Its operator received a €500 fine and the vehicle was also seized.
A further violation was recorded on Ponte Santa Trinita, where an authorised caddy was found parked for an extended period without passengers while nominally operating on a designated tourist transport route. That driver was fined €160 for breaching operational rules.
Safety and Quality of Life in Florence centre
City officials framed the crackdown in terms of public safety, traffic management and quality of life in one of Italy’s most heavily visited urban areas, as well as fair competition for operators who comply with local licensing requirements. Further inspections are planned in the coming weeks.
Florence has been tightening regulation of its historic centre on multiple fronts in recent years. Authorities across Italy’s major tourist cities grapple with the pressures of mass tourism on heritage infrastructure and resident communities.
