Like most Italian cities, even the
larger ones, the best way to get
around Rome is to
walk -
you'll see more and will better
appreciate the city. The city
wasn't built for motor traffic,
and it shows in the traffic jams,
the pollution, and the bad tempers
of its drivers. That said, its
bus
service , run by ATAC, is, on
the whole, a good one - cheap,
reliable and as quick as the
clogged streets allow. Remember to
board through the rear doors and
punch your ticket as you enter.
To sidestep the traffic, Rome
also has a metro , which
runs from 5.30am to 11.30pm,
though it's not as useful as you
might think, since its two lines
are more directed at ferrying
commuters out to the suburbs than
transporting tourists around the
city centre. Nonetheless, there
are a few useful city-centre
stations: Termini is the hub of
both lines, and there are stations
at the Colosseum, Piazza Barberini
and the Spanish Steps.
When the buses and the metro
stop around midnight, a network of
nightbuses clicks into
service, accessing most parts of
the city through to about 5am;
they normally have conductors so
you can buy a ticket on board (but
keep spare tickets handy just in
case); they are easily identified
by the owl symbol above the
"bus notturno" schedule.
During the day there are also a
few tram routes in
operation, one of which - the #8,
connecting Viale Trastevere with
Largo Argentina - is brand new and
very quick.
Travellers with disabilities
Only two stops on Line A have
accessibility for disabled
persons (Cipro-Musei
Vaticani and Valle Aurelia) but
bus #591 does the same route and
can accommodate those with
disabilities. Also, be advised
that on Line B, Circo Massimo,
Colosseo and Cavour do not have
accessibility but bus #75 stops
at those sights and has new
buses that can accommodate those
with disabilities (although you
may have to wait for a few of
the older buses to go by).
Maps, tickets, passes
Metro
maps are posted up
in every station, and we've
printed one at the end of this
book. If you're going to use the
system a lot, especially the
buses, it may be worth investing
in the excellent detailed
Lozzi
transport map (L8000),
available from most newsstands,
or getting hold of the official
ATAC
map - free from tourist
information offices, and from
the
ATAC information office
in the centre of Piazza dei
Cinquecento - although this can
be out-of-date and somewhat
unreliable. There is a toll-free
enquiries line (Mon-Fri
9am-1pm & 2-5pm; tel
167.431.784) for information on
COTRAL services in Rome and
Lazio.
Flat-fare tickets cost
L1500 each and are good for any
number of bus rides and one
metro ride within 75 minutes of
validating them. Buy them from
tobacconists, newsstands and
ticket machines located in all
metro stations and at major bus
stops. You can also get a day
pass , valid on all city
transport until midnight of the
day purchased, for L6000, or a seven-day
pass for L24,000. Finally,
it's worth knowing that there's
a L100,000 spot fine for
fare-dodging, and pleading a
foreigner's ignorance will get
you nowhere. BIRG tickets
(regional transport passes) for
COTRAL and ATAC services,
available from machines in the
metro, tabacchi and
newsstands, are well worth
buying if you are going out of
Rome for the day; prices range
from L3500 to L15,500, depending
on the distance you intend to
travel.
Taxis
The easiest way to get a taxi
is to find the nearest taxi
stand ( fermata dei taxi)
- central ones include Termini,
Piazza Venezia, Piazza San
Silvestro, Piazza di Spagna and
Piazza Barberini. Alternatively,
taxis can be radio paged (tel
06.3570, tel 06.4994, tel
06.4157 or tel 06.5551), but
remember that you'll pay for the
time it takes to get to you.
Only take licensed yellow or
white cabs, and make sure the
meter is switched on; a card in
every official taxi explains -
in English - the extra charges
for luggage, late-night, Sundays
and holidays, and airport
journeys. To give you a rough
idea of how much taxis cost, you
can reckon on a journey from one
side of the centre to cost
around L10,000, if the traffic
isn't too bad, though the
supplement after 10pm is L5000,
L2000 on a Sunday.
Car and bike rental
Car rental is only
worthwhile for trips out of the
city, but renting a bike
or scooter can be a nippy
way to negotiate Rome's clogged
streets.
Useful bus routes
#23- Piazza Clodio-Piazza
Risorgimento-Ponte Vittorio
Emanuele II-Ponte Garibaldi-Via
Marmorata-Piazzale Ostiense-Basilica
di S. Paolo.
#64 Termini: Piazza
della Repubblica-Via Nazionale-Piazza
Venezia-Corso Vittorio Emanuele
II-St Peter's.
#492 Stazione Tiburtina-Termini-Piazza
Barberini-Via del Corso-Piazza
Venezia-Largo Argentina-Corso del
Rinascimento-Piazza Cavour-Piazza
Risorgimento.
#660 Largo Colli Albani-Via
Appia Nuova-Via Appia Antica.
#714 Termini-Santa Maria
Maggiore-San Giovanni in Laterano-Baths
of Caracalla-EUR.
#590 Same route as Metro
Line A but with accessibility for
disabled; runs every 90 minutes.
#910 Termini-Piazza
della Repubblica-Via Piedmonte-Via
Pinciana (Villa Borghese)-Piazza
Euclide-Palazetto dello
Sport-Piazza Mancini.
Night Buses
#29N Piazzale
Ostiense-Lungotevere
Aventino-Lungotevere De'Cenci-Via
Crescenzio-Via Barletta-Piazza
Marina-Via Belle Arte-Viale
Liegi-Viale Regina Margherita-Via
dei Marruccini-Via Labicana-Viale
Aventino.
#40N Same route as Metro
line B.
#55N Same route as Metro
line A.
#78N Piazza
Clodio-Piazzale Flaminio-Piazza
Cavour-Largo di Torre
Argentina-Piazza Venezia-Via
Nazionale-Termini.
Useful tram routes
Trams
#8 Viale Trastevere-Largo
Argentina.
#19 Porto
Maggiore-Viale Regina
Margherita-Viale Belle
Arti-Ottaviano-Piazza
Risorgimento.
#30 Piramide-Viale
Aventino-Colosseum-San Giovanni-Viale
Regina Margherita-Villa Giulia.
