Catching a bus in Rome

 

I could say that Rome's buses, trams and metros are fairly frequent, reliable and cheap. All well and good, but how do you actually use them?

 

You buy your ticket … either a 2 euro ticket which combines unlimited bus rides and one metro ride from 75 minutes after validation, or a 7 euro ticket which lasts 24 hours … at any tobacco shop or metro station. Some bus stops, like the one at Largo Argentina, also have ticket machines. You generally cannot buy a ticket on board.

 

You must validate your ticket. That means running it through the yellow machine on the bus as soon as you get on. (The metro does this for you when you feed your ticket through). The machine stamps your ticket with the time; if it's been 75 minutes since validation it's, well, invalid and won’t work, though you are entitled to complete your journey if time expires once on board. Otherwise, everyone would just carry the same ticket around and use it over and over and over. To my observation, actually having a ticket is something of a rarity among locals and it is only the tourists who are seen ‘validating”.

 

How can you tell at the bus stop what the bus route is? With difficulty! The bus stops (Fermata) were designed for Romans, not for tourists. So instead of a handy bus route map at each stop, you get a list of stops. Sometimes, this can work out. Piazza Venezia is a stop that's usually listed as "Venezia" or "Piazza Venezia"; "Aracoeli" takes you there, too. But Piazza Navona is rarely "Piazza Navona" (look for "Rinascimento" instead) and if you get on a bus to "San Pietro" you will wind up far from St. Peter's Basilica -- instead, the closest stop is the one called "Cavalleggeri".  And if you want to get to the Cavour metro stop, don't get on a bus with a stop called "Cavou".  That bus will take you over near the Vatican.

 

The best way to use the buses, therefore, is to plan a route -- and have a bus number in mind -- in advance. Unless you know Rome fairly well, just wandering around looking for a bus with the stops you want can be an all but impossible way to get around. Note that pick-pockets treat buses as happy hunting grounds.

 

My favourite bus in Rome is the small electric-bus No.116 that winds its way from the Via Giulia behind the Piazza Farnese, through the Campo dei Fiori, then right through the heart of the city to the top of the Via Veneto … and back again. Fun to just get on and ride! (Out of operation in mid 2019 … hopefully back soon.)