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Rome City Buses
How to get around Rome by ATAC public bus.
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ABOVE: A tourist snaps a photo of a No. 170 to
Termini Station. INSET BELOW: An electric minibus near the Spanish Steps.
By
Durant Imboden
Buses
are the mainstay of Rome's public transit network, with scores of routes
crisscrossing the city and extending into outlying districts such as Lido di
Ostia. For route maps in PDF format, see the ATAC public-transit agency's
map links.
City
bus stops are clearly marked, and city buses are easy to recognize: They're
usually light grey or orange, with an ATAC logo on the side and large electronic
destinations signs on the front. In additon to standard buses, ATAC has several
"electric-powered routes" in the city center that use minibuses like the one in
the small photo.
How to buy tickets
You must buy a ticket or tourist card (such as the
Roma Pass) before you
board a bus. For more information, see our
Metrebus Tickets and Fares
article.
How to ride buses
Riding an ATAC bus is simple. Get on at any door, then do one of
the following:
-
If you're traveling with an unused Metrebus ticket, stamp it
immediately in one of the machines near the doors. (Insert the ticket with
the front facing you and the arrow pointing down.) Wait for the machine to
stamp the ticket, then keep the ticket with you throughout the journey.
-
If you're traveling with a Roma Pass or another RFID (radio
frequency identification) ticket, hold it against the electronic card
reader's round yellow sensor and wait for the green light to flash.
Rome buses are often crowded (especially during morning and
afternoon rush hours), so don't be surprised if you need to stand.
Important:
-
A standard BIT single-journey ticket is valid for 100 minutes
of bus or tram travel after the ticket is stamped, with any number of bus
changes.
-
If you're caught traveling with an
unstamped or outdated ticket, you'll be subject to a fine of €50 plus
the price of a ticket.
-
Some suburban lines, such as COTRAL and ATRAL routes, have
their own tickets and pricing schemes. (The advice in this article is for
ATAC municipal bus routes only.)
-
Watch out for pickpockets, especially on Line 64 (which
connects Termini Station to the Vatican) and other bus routes that attract
large numbers of tourists.
About the author:
Durant Imboden
is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European
cities and transportation.
After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and
Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors (including Rome for Visitors) in
2001. The
site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The
Washington Post.
For more information, see
About
Europe for Visitors,
press clippings, and
reader
testimonials.
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