Being in Rome and feelings anxious about how to use the public transport and navigate in a country that doesn’t speak English? Don’t worry, it’s easier than you’d expect. The options for getting around are bus, tram and metro but we’ll talk about taxi later.

Bus, Tram & Metro Tickets

The tickets are the same for these, so a single “metrebus” ticket can be used on metro, bus and tram in the city center. But, be warned that sometimes the buses do get delayed and there are frequent strikes that usually take place on a Friday or Monday.

Use an application such as Citymapper to plan your routes in advance, It’ll tell you where to get the bus, The amount of stops and advise of you of any closures that might delay you.

Ticket Types and Prices

Knowing these tickets can be used on almost all transport modes makes it a cheap and easy way to get around to city. However, If you do not have a validated ticket you can be fined by ATAC staff who get on random buses to check.

The tickets are validated by putting them into the yellow machines you’ll see on the buses or trams. You’ll also need to scan them when entering the metro. 24h tickets and longer will only need to be validated on a bus or tram once and then kept safe but scanned everytime you use the metro.

Your 24 hour time window will start from the time you first validate the ticket, not at the time of purchase.

Where to buy tickets

Tickets cannot be purchased on the bus and need to be purchased in a shop or using the metro station ticket machines. Both the ticket machines and shops will only accept cash, so make sure you’ve got some change on you.

The shops are called Tabacchi or Tabaccheria and you’ll see them all over the city, often selling tabacco, scratch cards, bus tickets, newspapers and other things. Also, the Green Kiosks you’ll see in the street will have them. They do close so make sure to get some extra tickets spare if your using the single trip tickets.

Ride Sharing

We’d recommend against ride sharing services in Rome. I say this because it’s expensive and unreliable. Many people have missed activities booked because their service was cancelled or they couldn’t find an driver on the app.

Uber is here, but you’ll also get Uber Black, making it expensive and often the driver may cancel the trip. We’d recommend to use the white Roman taxis.

Taxi’s

Taxi’s are much more reliable and are everywhere in the city, they are not that expensive but frequent trips do add up. Make sure you never take a taxi that gives you a price before the trip has started, they are supposed to use a meter. Move on to the next taxi if they refuse. This is not common but happens more often if you get a taxi directly outside a hotel.

How to get a taxi

1. Find a taxi rank nearby, you’ll see Romes White Taxi’s lined up towards a red/orange sign with “Taxi” written on it. DO NOT try to hail a one, it’s very unlikely you’ll get one to stop.
   
2. FREENOW App, This application uses only the official white taxi’s of Rome and will call a taxi to your location. It will also give you an estimate fare cost and some options towards the type of taxi you need. Even the payment can be handled in the application from your card.

Don’t worry about the language, all taxi drivers can all speak a little English and will be able to get you to your location.