cost of taxi from madrid airport to city center

So, while I couldn't get any cab at arrivals to take me on a metered journey I discovered that the guys upstairs dropping off at departures (at least in the case of terminal 1) were happy to do metered trips so I would suggest everyone picks up their cab at departures rather than arrivals. I went to airport information to try and see what the deal was, apparently €30 is a standard charge for anyone going to the city centre and then anything else should be metered but because they queue so long for passengers the cabs try to charge everyone the flat fee which is pretty outrageous. For a little while after that no cab would take me as I was clearly a trouble maker, then one quoted €20.

I immediately said 'No' and opened the door, if I had not opened the door I'm sure he would have pulled off and held me to this extortionate fare. As I was putting on my seatbelt the guy said it would be €30. Coming to the taxi queue outside arrivals I got into an official cab on the taxi rank and said where I wanted go. Yesterday I was staying at a hostal a short distance (3kms) from the airport. Just a quick warning and tip for pilgrims travelling by taxi from Madrid Airport.

Cost of taxi from madrid airport to city center