Rome prepares to issue 1,000 new taxi licences ahead of Jubilee Year.

A taxi driver operating out of Rome's Fiumicino airport has been fined €2,700 for refusing to take a blind couple and their guide dog in his car on Thursday evening.

The cab driver's refusal to the couple, a 47-year-old woman and a 39-year-old man, in obvious difficulty and in need of a taxi to get home, was apparently triggered by their guide dog, reports Corriere della Sera.

Local police officers together with Aeroporti di Roma staff helped the couple to find another taxi, before police caught up with the offending taxi driver and handed him the hefty fine.

A report of the incident was also sent to Rome's city transport department which will take further administrative action against the fined taxi driver, according to Corriere della Sera.

• Why is it so hard to get a taxi in Rome?

The news comes the same week that another taxi driver was fined €3,000 for ripping off a group of Chinese tourists that he took into Rome from Fiumicino airport.

Police stopped the driver near the Colosseum after being informed by the Chinese tourists that he had tripled their fixed-rate fare of €55 from Fiumicino into town.

The driver in question also faces administrative action from the city, according to media reports.

Rome recently announced new taxi fares along with 1,000 new taxi licenses, which will be put out to tender on Monday 2 September.

The move is designed to address a long-standing shortage of taxis in Rome ahead of Jubilee Year 2025 when millions of additional tourists and pilgrims are set to arrive in the Eternal City.

Photo credit: Sorbis / Shutterstock.com.