How we compare taxi fares in Malta

Where our eCabs fares and waiting times come from, how often we ask, how we work out eCabs' normal rate and what it adds at busy times, and what isn't covered.

Where the fares come from

Every fare is a quote from eCabs' own booking page, ecabs.com.mt/request-a-ride, exactly as it shows it to anyone without logging in: the price for a ride on demand ("Now"), paid in cash, at the time stated next to it. Our price bot names itself, follows eCabs' robots.txt, waits at least three seconds between requests, and only ever asks for quotes and waiting times: it never books a ride, sends a phone number or registers a flight.

eCabs' normal rate, and what it adds at busy times

Every quote states each ride type's rate: a base fare, a price per km, a price per minute of driving and a minimum fare. At the normal rate:

fare = base + per km × distance + per minute × driving time, at least the minimum (to 10 cents)

For eCabs Go that is €3.65 + €0.75 per km + €0.15 per minute, at least €5.00.

eCabs doesn't say which distance and driving time it used. But one quote prices about 25 ride types with different rates for the same trip, so we can work them out: if eCabs charged a certain multiple of its normal rate, every ride type's price is that multiple of its own formula. Solving for the multiple, the distance and the time together fits every ride type to within a few tens of cents. The multiple is how far eCabs was above its normal rate: 1 is the normal rate, 1.5 is 50% more. For example, at 16:33 on 12 Nov 2026 Malta Airport to Valletta came out at 7.9 km and 23 minutes: eCabs Go €13.00 at the normal rate, quoted at €13.80. Up to 8% above counts as the normal rate (rounding and small fees).

Quotes for a ride booked ahead ("Later") are not used for this: eCabs prices them well above the same ride on demand, whatever the hour.

Waiting times

eCabs' booking page shows, for a pick-up point, eCabs' area there and the minutes until a car of each type can reach you, or that none is available. eCabs has 54 areas: one for each locality in Malta (Tarxien covers Santa Luċija too) and one for all of Gozo. We asked once for every locality to learn which area it is in, and now ask about every area every two hours (the even hours one day, the odd hours the next), each time at a different locality of the area, so that every locality's area stays checked. The typical wait by hour is the median over the last 28 days, once every hour of the day has been read on at least 3 days.

What isn't covered

The maps

The maps are drawn on this site from OpenStreetMap's local council boundaries (© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)), simplified, with no map tiles from anyone else. Each map has a legend, labels where they fit and a table beside it with every value, so nothing depends on colour alone.

Independence

maltacompare is an independent price comparison site, not affiliated with eCabs, and nobody pays us for placement: every list is ordered by price alone (waiting times by how long you'd wait). We don't use affiliate links. The site shows Google ads, which have no say in the order. Read who runs maltacompare and how to reach us.

Found a wrong fare?

Email [email protected] with the ride, the time and what eCabs' app or page showed. We check every report.

Taxi fares

From Malta AirportFrom VallettaFrom SliemaFrom St Julian'sFrom BuġibbaFrom MostaFrom Victoria (Gozo)eCabs waiting times by area When taxis cost more Taxi fares in Malta and Gozo