That's how it looks your bus in Rome!

When in Rome buses are a quick and convenient way for the world traveler to explore and discover Rome. Rome’s buses have seen many improvements in recent years with new sleek buses more frequent services and improved accessibility few lines even got a/c system working properly helping passengers to cope with the Roman summer heat. While often less efficient than taxis buses are far more economical.

Many European town bus systems including the one in Rome Italy are not designed with tourists in mind and also Rome’s narrow alleys and cobblestone streets weren’t truly designed for buses. Rome’s bus system is used heavily by locals especially students except it often scares visitors and tourists away with its complexity. However you do not need to be one of these fearful tourists. Here are a few tips and tricks so that when you visit Rome you can use the buses love the Romans do!

Types of Bus Passes

There are several different types of bus passes that you can buy. The type that you purchase depends on how long you will be in Rome and how much you think you are going to use the city transportation system (all of the Rome bus passes can also be used on the metro system. A little more on that later).

BIT (Biglietto Integrato a Tempo/Integrated Time Ticket): €1.00. This is a single use ticket valid for 75 minutes from the time of the first ride. It is good for as many bus rides and transfers as you can get in within that timeframe behind validation. You can also use it for a single ride on the metro system. You are allowed to transfer the ticket from a metro ride to a bus within 75 minutes. However you may not use the same ticket when transferring from a bus to the metro.

BIG (Biglietto Integrato Giornaliero/Integrated Daily Ticket): €4.00. You can use this ticket for as many bus and metro rides as you like up until midnight on the day of the ticket’s validation.

BTI (Biglietto Turistico Integrato/Integrated Tourist Ticket): €11.00. This ticket is good for an unlimited number of metro and bus rides for three days from the day of validation.

CIS (Carta Integrata Settimanale/Integrated Weekly Ticket): €16.00. This ticket can be used for 7 days from the date of validation for an unlimited number of bus and metro rides.

Monthly Pass: €30.00. This ticket lasts for one calendar month and is good for an unrestricted number of bus and metro rides.

Your Rome Bus Ticket Explained

Where to Buy Bus Passes

Bus passes can be purchased at tobacco shops or tabacchi all through Rome and from most newsstands or giornalai. There also machines that dispense single use everyday tourist and weekly tickets at all metro stops. These ticket machines can also been found though very rarely at a few bus stops. Unlike many public bus systems tickets in Rome can’t frequently be purchased once you board the bus. Very few buses do have machines that dispense tickets thus do not count on being capable to buy a ticket after boarding a bus.

Validating Your Bus Ticket

After purchasing your bus pass it is requisite to validate it as soon as you board the bus. If you have a daily weekly tourist or monthly pass you only need to validate it the first time you use it. Each bus has at least two yellow validation machines generally with one on each end of the bus.

The Roman buses operate on a kind of honor system; it is up to everyone to buy its ticket and validate it. There are ticket checkers (controllori) that hop on & off buses to make sure passengers have validated tickets but until recently these checkers were few and far between but lately I’ve seen ticket checkers everywhere and visitors no longer have the opportunity of getting a free ride.

So if you do occur to get caught the fine is either €50 on the spot or €104 if you select to pay later. All of the ticket checkers do speak English and tend to have no mercy for tourists that appear to be “unaware” of Roman transportation laws. You cannot avoid getting a fine once they zero in on you. If you get off the bus the ticket checker will follow you until they are done writing the fine.

Deciding Which Bus to Use

When deciding which bus to use to get around the city the official website for the Roman transportation system http://atac.roma.it used to be invaluable. ATAC has had a new Web site for a few weeks now that is only in Italian at this point. Here is ATAC old website otherwise Google ATAC Roma and click where it says Calcolo percorso it takes you to the old Web site including Spanish French German and English versions. The British flag is on the upper right. The Calculate route (Calcolo Percorso) is a great tool to define the best bus route between any two addresses and/or landmarks in Rome. Simply input your starting and ending destinations and press ‘Enter’.

If you plan on using the bus system a lot it might be worth to buy a good map showing all bus routes in Rome. These can be bought at most of the newsstands you see on the street for just a few Euros. When planning your bus routes ignore the bus schedule entirely. The official bus timetables in Rome are merely suggestions a sort of good-will and completely useless in reality. Buses scarcely ever come on time and locals never expect that to happen. So when using the bus system plan for 45 minutes to an hour in trip time to let for late buses and transfers to get to most places in central Rome. Try to avoid traveling by bus whenever possible during students peak hours i.e. early morning and luncheon time so to avoid yelling kids and crowded buses.

Knowing When to Get Off the Bus

The majority of the Roman buses do not have any internal system that tells you which stop is coming up. Locals rely on experience and external surroundings to understand when to get off but unfortunately tourists with little scholarship of the city layout do not have this advantage. The best way to know when your stop is coming up is to follow the bus route on a map in real time while you are on the bus. Make sure you mark your stop on the map before you leave for the day or better yet just use the bus map you purchased. Do not trouble attempting to count stops to know when to get off. Oftentimes a bus driver will skip a stop if no one wants get on or off which throws off anyone trying to count stops. Furthermore while you can attempt to the bus driver for help do not rely on this method for getting around. Many Roman bus drivers are not eager to help people particularly non-Italian speakers. Oftentimes they will just ignore a tourist who is trying to speak to them in English. It may seem like a sweeping generalization to say that all Roman bus drivers are reluctant to help tourists; however this generalization has a more than just a grain of truth to it. If you get confused try asking a local bus passenger for some help. Romans understand that their bus system is not particularly easy to use and are often happy to help as much as they can. However it is probably best to prepare as much as possible before boarding the bus.

On a side note make sure that you get off at the middle door of the bus. Sometimes the driver will not open the other doors for people to get on and off.

Strange enough night buses are very reliable in Rome

Night Buses

At midnight the regular buses in Rome stop running and the night bus service begins. Night buses follow completely different routes from the daytime buses so it is important to plan accordingly. They run from 12:00am to 5:30 and come every twenty minutes during the week and every ten minutes on Fridays and Saturdays. The night bus service while sometimes serene a little unreliable in terms of its schedule is more dependable than the daytime service.

The Roman bus system is not the easiest thing in the world to manage even Romans have problems with it sometimes. However do not let all this information overwhelm you. Rome’s public transportation system is a highly thrifty way to get around Rome and if you spend a little time planning your bus routes you should be fine. Just try to enjoy the organized chaos of the buses since it is Rome at its best and should be part of any real Roman experience!

Visit Venere.com blog for great traveling tips and tricks and see what Travel Tips Michayla is offering up today. Here please find the Original Post: Things to Know About the Rome Bus System.

This article has been re-edited and published with the consent and in contract with Venere.com © Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

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Ciao from Rome:-)

Nancy Aiello

Since 1997 Nancy Aiello Tours based in Rome specializes in Tailor-Made Private Guided Vatican Rome & Italy Tours for Leisure & Business Travelers.

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