Heavy traffic flows in and out of the city from early morning until after midnight, making driving noisy and irritating. This has had some effect of reducing traffic, but congestion is still very serious, making commuting very time consuming. Some Athenians have gone to the extreme of buying another car with odd or even-numbered plates, to be able to drive into the city every day of the week. Not surprisingly, parking is a constant problem. It is difficult to get a cab in Athens, but the best place to get them is near large hotels.
All reputable taxis have meters, and fares are reasonable.
A small tip is customary. Taxi drivers seldom have change for large bills, so make sure to have small bills at hand. Drivers usually speak enough English to reach a destination and to follow directions, but language problems are still frequent and some drivers do not know the city well, so it is wise to carry a card with the name and address of your hotel. Cab drivers sometimes take more than one passenger or group of passengers. As an alternative, public transportation is good and inexpensive.