Public transport in Rome: what is the best and cheapest way to get around?

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

If you visit Rome, then you will definitely have such a situation when you need to urgently drive somewhere in order to catch a meeting or not be late for an important event. Therefore, in order not to be late and not get lost in this huge metropolis, you need to know everything about transport in Rome in advance, after which it will be easier for you to choose the right vehicle for yourself and save on travel.

Roman transport: varieties

Rome is a huge city with an area of as much as 1285 km2, so its transport network is quite extensive, because there are always a lot of people who want to visit this or that place. That is why several modes of transport are quite developed in the Eternal City at once. Among the underground and surface transport in Rome you can find:

• trams that run on six routes;
• three types of buses;
• metro, consisting of three branches, one of which was built recently;
• trolleybuses, which travel part of the road on wires, and the rest reach with lowered rods;
• electric trains that allow you to quickly cover 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 it is absolutely impossible to get lost in the subway, especially since it consists of only three branches.

1. 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 on its way, and the end stations of the line are Laurentina and Rebibbia.
2. 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 end stations of the branch are Anagnina and Batistini.
3. Line C, painted green and called Linea C, is the youngest subway line, partly opened in 2014. It is she who is the most convenient for viewing all the Roman sights.

Trams

Trams are a very developed mode of transport in Rome for short distances. There are six tram routes in total, each of which allows the tourist to travel in one direction or another through the central part of the capital of Italy, as well as the streets adjacent to it. Trams operate from 5.30 am to midnight with an interval of movement from Monday to Saturday at 5minutes, and on Sunday - in 8 minutes. Moreover, tourists can optionally choose one of two types of tram - either the old one, painted green, or the new one, painted orange.

Buses

Very well among public transport in Rome, bus routes are also developed. Moreover, unlike trams, you can ride buses even at night, the main thing is to choose the right type of this transport. In total, there are three types of city buses in the Eternal City:

1. Regular yellow or red buses run around Rome from 5.30 am to midnight with an interval of 10-45 minutes, depending on the chosen route.
2. Express buses stand out among their brethren because 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 final station, because it will get there without stops.
3. Night buses with the letter N on the route number, the stops of which are marked with the image of an owl, run around Rome from midnight to 5.30 with a traffic interval, depending on the chosen route, in an hour and a half.

Trolleybuses

A very important part of Rome's transport system are trolleybuses, which first began to run through the capital of Italy in 2005. And here it will be easy for tourists to navigate in order to follow the right route, since there is only one trolleybus route in Rome - 90 Express, which runs along the route from Termini Station to Largo Labia and back. Andcuriously, from the station to the port of Pia, the trolleybus moves on special batteries with folded "horns", since there are no wires 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.

Trains

An important role among the transport of Rome for tourists is played by trains that move 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 the high speed of the train. These trains follow the directions of Roma Giardinetti, Roma Lido and Roma Nord. The remaining 8 electric trains run on suburban routes, allowing you to travel outside of Rome, because there is also a lot of interesting things there. Notable among these are the FR1 trains, which will take you to the new Fiumicino Airport, and the FR6 trains, heading towards Ciampino Airport.

Types of tickets for Roman transport

In the capital of Italy, there is only one transport company ATAS, which operates all types of land transport, except for the trolley bus, so to travel by tram, train, bus and metro, it is enough to buy just one ticket for public transport in Rome. However, it is worth remembering that there are several varieties of such tickets:

1. BIT - the simplest, regular ticket, costing one and a half euros, for whichyou can ride buses and trams for a total of one hundred minutes, making as many transfers as you like. It can also be used on the subway, but there you can only ride it once.
2. BIG is a daily ticket worth 6 euros that allows you to ride any form of Roman transport from the moment it has been validated until midnight.
3. BTI is a tourist ticket worth 16.5 euros, which is valid for three days from the date of its composting. It will be very convenient for those tourists who want to spend three days in Rome and see the maximum number of attractions.
4. CIS is a weekly ticket worth 24 euros, which is valid for seven days from the moment it was punched. 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.

Purchasing transport tickets in Rome

There will be no problems with buying a travel document from tourists in Rome. 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 ticket offices, at metro stations, in specialized machines and even in the most ordinary stalls selling newspapers and cigarettes. In addition, if a tourist has a SIM card from a local operator, then you can also purchase a ticket via an ordinary SMS. However, just having received a ticket, you cannot immediately get into a transport vehicle with it.means, first it will need to be composted. True, there should be no problems with this either, since the composters necessary for this are in every tram, bus and trolleybus, as well as right at the entrance to the metro.

Rome Transportation Card

If you can buy a regular ticket for public transport, then you will need to use a special ticket to travel by train in the capital of Italy and its suburbs. True, before buying it, you will need to think about where you are going to use it, since the territory along which electric trains run is divided into several transport zones, where Rome is the first zone, the nearest suburb is the second, the remote suburb of the capital is the third-seventh zones. Travel tickets for electric trains differ depending on the purpose of the trip. There are three types of travel cards:

1. BIRG is valid for 24 hours from the moment the pass was validated. To ride on 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.
2. BTR is valid for three days from the moment the ticket was validated. For trips through 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.
3. CIRS is valid for seven days from the date of composting. For trips within the city, the ticket will cost 13.50 euros, and for trips to the seventh zone and back, you will have to pay 61.50 euros.

Save with Travel Kit

Tourists who want to save money and see the maximum number of Roman sights, upon arrival in the Eternal City, can purchase a special tourist package Kit, which will not only allow you to travel in any transport in Rome, but also receive several additional services. You can buy this package online, at FrecciaClub or Trenitalia ticket offices, at tourist centers or museums. The cost of this package is 28 euros if it is purchased for two days, or 38.50 euros if the tourist package is purchased for three days. At the same time, when buying a tour package for 28 euros, a tourist can, in addition to traveling by transport, enter one museum for free at his discretion, and when buying a package for 38.50 euros, he will be able to visit any two museums for free. But besides this, when buying a Kit package, the tourist will also receive:

• map of Rome with addresses and phone numbers of all tourist places in the Italian capital;
• guide to Roman museums and interesting archaeological sites;
• a program of cultural events for which you can buy a ticket at a decent discount.

Note for tourists

In order for your visit to the Eternal City to leave you with only the most positive impressions, you should remember a few more important nuances about transport in Rome that can be very useful to you:

1. When staying in Rome, it is better to book accommodation in or near the city center in order to be as close as possible to public transport stops.transport.
2. To save money on sightseeing, upon arrival in Rome, you can book a special bus tour, which will give you the opportunity to see all the interesting places at the lowest price and without buying tickets for public transport.
3. On any public transport, kids under one meter tall can ride for free.
4. When entering public transport, the ticket must be validated. However, if the composter fails, you can write the time of boarding the transport in your ticket with your hand.
5. You can enter a bus, trolleybus or tram only through the rear or front doors, and exit only through the middle ones.
6. Since some buses do not stop at all stops, you can stop them by raising your hand or pressing the special yellow button.
7. If the controller notices that the tourist has not paid the fare in Rome in public transport, the passenger will have to pay to the cashier not only the cost of his fare, but also a fine of 40 euros.