If you visit Rome, then you will definitely have a situation where you need to urgently drive somewhere to catch a meeting or not be late for an important event. Therefore, in order not to be late and not to get lost in this huge metropolis, you need to know everything in advance about transport in Rome, after which it will be easier for you to choose the right vehicle and save on travel.
Roman transport: varieties
Rome is a huge city, the area of which is 1285 km 2 , therefore its transport network is quite extensive, because there are always a lot of people wishing to visit a particular place. That is why several types of transport are quite developed in the Eternal City. Among the underground and ground transport in Rome you can meet:
- trams that travel along six routes;
- buses of three varieties;
- Metro, consisting of three branches, one of which was built recently;
- trolleybuses, which travel part of the road by wire, and the rest reach the deflated booms;
- trains that allow you to quickly overcome the maximum distance.
Metro
The Metro in Rome is the youngest in all of Europe and was created just over 60 years ago. Its scheme is as simple and logical as possible, so getting lost in the subway is completely impossible, especially since it consists of only three branches.
- Line B, painted blue and called Linea B, is the oldest of them and allows you to cross Rome from the southwest to the northeast. There are 22 stops along its way, and the terminal's final stations are Laurentina and Rebibbia.
- Line A, painted in orange and called Linea A, was launched in 1980 and allows you to cross the city from the northwest to the southeast. There are 27 stops on its way, and the terminal's final stations are Anagnina da Batistini.
- Line C, painted green and called Linea C, is the youngest metro line, partially opened in 2014. It is she who is the most convenient for a review of all the Roman sights.
Trams
A very developed mode of transport in Rome for short-distance transportation is trams. There are six tram routes in total, each of which allows a tourist to travel in one direction or another along the central part of the capital of Italy, as well as the streets adjacent to it. Trams function from 5.30 a.m. to midnight with a traffic interval from Monday to Saturday at 5 minutes, and on Sunday at 8 minutes. Moreover, tourists can optionally choose one of two types of trams - either the old one, painted in green, or the new one, painted in orange.
Buses
Buses are also very well developed among public transport in Rome. Moreover, unlike trams, buses can be driven even at night, the main thing is to choose the right type of transport. There are three types of city buses in the Eternal City:
- Regular yellow or red buses run through Rome from 5.30 to midnight with an interval of movement, depending on the chosen route, in 10-45 minutes.
- Express buses stand out among the brethren in that they are painted green. You need to take such a bus if you need to quickly get to your destination, which is located at the terminal station, because it will get there without stopping.
- Night buses with the letter N on the route number, the stops of which are marked with an owl, run in Rome from midnight to 5.30 with an interval of movement, depending on the chosen route, at an hour and a half.
Trolleybuses
A very important part of the transport system of Rome are trolleybuses, which first began to ply the capital of Italy in 2005. Moreover, it will be easy for tourists to navigate here to take the correct route, since there is only one trolleybus route in Rome - 90 Express, which runs along the route from Termini Station to Largo Labia and vice versa. And what is interesting, from the station to the port of Pia, the trolleybus runs on special batteries with folded "horns", since there are no wires there so that they do not spoil the beautiful panorama of this section of the city. The length of this trolleybus route is 11.5 km.
Electric trains
An important role among the transport of Rome for tourists is played by electric trains that travel along eleven routes. Three types of such electric trains run directly around the city and allow you to get to some places a little faster than buses and trams, due to fewer stops and a high speed of movement of the train. These trains follow directions to Roma Giardinetti, Roma Lido and Roma Nord. The remaining 8 electric trains run along suburban routes, allowing you to travel outside of Rome, because there are also a lot of interesting things there. Among them, the electric trains moving along the FR1 line, which will allow you to get to the new Fiumicino airport, and the FR6 electric trains heading to the Ciampino airport stand out especially.
Types of tickets for Roman transport
In the capital of Italy, there is only one ATAS transport company, which operates all types of ground transport, except for a trolley bus, therefore, to travel by tram, electric train, bus and metro, you only need to buy one ticket for public transport in Rome. However, it is worth remembering that there are several varieties of such tickets:
- BIT is the easiest, regular ticket, costing one and a half euros, on which you can ride buses and trams for a total of one hundred minutes, making as many transfers as you like. It can also be used in the subway, but there you can ride it only once.
- BIG - a daily ticket worth 6 euros, with which you can ride any type of Roman transport from the moment it was validated until midnight.
- BTI - a tourist ticket worth 16.5 euros, which is valid for three days from the moment of composting. It will be very convenient for those tourists who want to spend three days in Rome and explore the maximum number of attractions.
- CIS - a weekly ticket worth 24 euros, which is valid for seven days from the moment of composting. If a tourist plans to spend about a week in Rome, then it is better to buy it, and then, if necessary, buy a daily or tourist ticket.
We get tickets for transport in Rome
With the purchase of a travel document, tourists in Rome will not have any problems. He can buy a ticket for any type of ground or underground transport in the capital of Italy in a huge number of places. These tickets are sold at special box offices, at subway stations, in specialized vending machines and even in the most ordinary stalls where newspapers and cigarettes are sold. In addition, if the tourist has a SIM card of a local operator, then you can also purchase a ticket using ordinary SMS. However, just having received a ticket, you cannot immediately get into a vehicle with him, first you will need to compost him. True, there should be no problems with this either, since the necessary composters are in every tram, bus and trolleybus, as well as right at the metro entrance.
Rome travel card
If you can buy a regular ticket for public transport, then for traveling by train in the capital of Italy and its suburbs, you will need to use a special ticket. True, before buying it, you will need to think about where you are going to use it, since the territory on which electric trains run is divided into several transport zones, where Rome is the first zone, the closest suburb is the second, the remote suburb of the capital is the third and seventh zones. Electric train passes vary depending on the purpose of the trip. There are three types of travel cards:
- BIRG is valid for 24 hours from the time the ticket was validated. To travel along the first transport zone, you will have to pay 3.30 euros for it, and to ride to the seventh zone and back - 14 euros.
- BTR is valid for three days from the moment the ticket was validated. For trips in the first transport zone, it will cost 8.90 euros, and to ride to the seventh zone and back, you will need to pay 39.20 euros.
- CIRS is valid for seven days from the moment of composting. For trips within the city, the ticket will cost 13.50 euros, and for trips to the seventh zone and vice versa, you will have to pay 61.50 euros.
We save with a travel package Kit
Tourists who want to save money and explore the maximum number of Roman sights, upon arrival in the Eternal City, can purchase a special travel package Kit, which will not only allow you to travel in any transport in Rome, but also get some additional services. You can purchase this package through the Internet, at the box office of FrecciaClub or Trenitalia, at tourist points or in museums. The cost of this package is 28 euros if it is bought for two days, or 38.50 euros if the travel package is purchased for three days. At the same time, buying a tour package for 28 euros, a tourist will be able to visit one museum free of charge at his own discretion, and when buying a package for 38.50 euros, he will be able to visit any two museums for free. But in addition to this, when buying a Kit package, a tourist will also receive:
- a map of Rome with addresses and phone numbers of all tourist places in the Italian capital;
- a guide to Roman museums and interesting archaeological zones;
- a program of cultural events for which you can buy a ticket at a decent discount.
Tourist note
In order for a visit to the Eternal City to leave you only the most positive impressions, you should remember a few more important nuances about transport in Rome, which can be very useful to you:
- When staying in Rome, it is better to book accommodation in the city center or near it, to be as close as possible to public transport.
- To save on visiting attractions, upon arrival in Rome you can order a special bus tour, which will make it possible to explore all the interesting places for a minimum price and without buying tickets for public transport.
- On any public transport, children whose height is less than one meter can ride for free.
- When entering public transport, a ticket must be composted. However, if the composter is faulty, you can enter the time of boarding into the transport on your ticket with your own hand.
- You can get on a bus, trolleybus or tram only through the rear or front doors, and get out only through the middle ones.
- Since some buses do not stop at all stops, you can stop them by raising your hand up or by pressing the special yellow button.
- If the controller notes that the tourist did not pay for travel in Rome by public transport, then the passenger will have to pay not only the cost of their fare, but also a fine of 40 euros.