Companies usually operate at a fairly local level and although some of the larger companies provide long-distance, inter-city services, these are limited. Because of the lack of national services, it’s difficult to obtain detailed information on fares and there’s little published on the internet. Timetables, route maps and fares are available from local bus and railway stations, tourist information offices, bookshops and newsagents’. As with rail travel, there’s a bewildering range of concessionary fares for frequent travellers; obtain the latest information direct from bus companies.
To give just one example, Florence has several bus companies, most with their headquarters at or near S. Maria Novella railway station in the centre. The most important companies are Lazzi (which has a useful website, www.lazzi.it , some of it in English) and Sita, either of which will get you to most of Tuscany’s major destinations, albeit in their own good time. Lazzi also operates long-distance coaches to Rome and other major cities. Timetables for all routes can be obtained from an information booth outside the railway station.
A single ticket ( biglietto) from Florence to Pisa (100km/62mi) costs from €82 with Lazzi and takes around 2hrs 40m. Sienna is particularly geared to bus travellers and has a huge complex to the west of the city at Piazza San Domenico (from where a shuttle service operates to the city centre), equipped with tourist and hotel information offices, destination boards and ticket offices. In addition to serving the local area, long-distance coaches also go to Rome, Pisa and other destinations.
Major bus companies usually offer a variety of tickets, including single/one-way (valid for the day of issue only), return/round trip (valid for a number of days and usually cheaper than two single tickets), weekly (valid for five or six return trips) and monthly, which may be valid for a limited number of return journeys.
Tickets for both long-distance and local services must usually be purchased from tobacconists’, bars, news kiosks or bus company offices – you cannot buy them on buses! You may be given a number of tickets when a journey involves using a number of bus companies. If you live in a rural area, arm yourself with a sheaf of tickets of different values and, as you get to know the fares, use them as necessary.
Many bus companies in rural areas operate on the request stop ( fermata a richiesta) system, whereby they stop to pick you up or let you off only if you request it by signalling to the driver (from a stop) or ringing a bell (on board). A bus’s route and destination is shown by a sign in the front window.
A final word of caution: because of the large number of bus companies operating in most areas, all with their own rules and schedules, journeys in rural areas need careful planning and a good deal of local knowledge. Services can be infrequent or even non-existent on Sundays and public holidays.
City Services
This is where Italy often excels in the field of public transport, with bus and other city transport generally comprehensive, frequent, inexpensive and fairly rapid. This is particularly true as more cities are closing streets around historic centres to private cars and introducing more bus lanes.
However, Italians have an enduring love affair with their cars and sometimes drive into city centres when it’s forbidden and often treat bus lanes with total contempt. Although there are a few variations, most cities use the same system for buses. There’s a flat fare, usually around €0.90, that entitles you to make as many journeys as you like within an hour. Single tickets and blocks of five or ten can be purchased from tobacconists’, bars, news kiosks and sometimes ticket machines near bus stops.
Local information offices provide route maps and timetables. Some cities (e.g. Rome) have introduced buses adapted for disabled passengers on certain routes. Many modern buses and trams, mercifully, are now air-conditioned. If possible, it’s wise to avoid the ‘school run’ between around 1 and 2.30pm, when schoolchildren crowd buses.
City buses and trams usually have three doors, where you board at either end and exit via the central door. If you’re changing buses/trams and have a stamped ticket or hold a pass, you should enter via the front door.
If you have a standard ticket, you usually enter the bus or tram at the back and insert it in the orange or yellow validation ( convalida) machine, which is usually on the right (driver’s side) near the central doors. Once stamped (the machine may also cut the corner off), the ticket is valid for 60 or 75 minutes, including changing buses or trams.
Failure to validate your ticket can result in a fine of around €30. Bus stops are called fermata or fermata a richiesta, the latter being request stops where you must hold out your arm to signal the driver to stop. If you wish to get off at a request stop, you must push an orange or red button before your stop.
Many cities in Italy’s lower-lying regions, including Genoa, Milan, Naples, Rome, Trieste and Turin, operate tram or light rail networks. Turin has several enclosed tram routes, completely separated from other traffic, which transport you quickly around the outskirts of the city or from one side to the other. The ticket system is essentially the same as for buses, but trams tend to be a bit quicker because they have right of way over all other traffic. (In some of Turin’s streets, there are tram lines on either side of the road, and cars park in a line in the middle!)
Naples, Milan and Rome also have underground railways, known as ‘metros’, but don’t expect anything like London, New York or Paris. Rome has only two lines, in the form of a cross, with Termini Station in the centre. Several stations on line B near the centre have been upgraded to be more user-friendly for disabled travellers. Line A hasn’t been upgraded but the route is also served by bus route 590, which operates buses adapted for disabled passengers.
Most city transport operates from around 5.30 or 6.00am until 11.30pm or midnight, although you should check the times of the last service if you’re out for the evening. Trams in Rome cease operation at 9pm, although most bus services continue until around midnight and there are night buses ( servizio notturno) on some routes. Services are less frequent on Sundays and public holidays.
In cities where there are two or more modes of public transport, it’s usually possible to buy a ticket that can be used on all services. In Rome, for example, these tickets are known as metrebus metrobus and can be used on buses, trams, underground and overground (FS) trains, except the shuttle service to Fiumicino Airport.
There are the usual concessions in nearly all cities. Both Rome and Milan issue an unlimited-travel, 24-hour ticket for €4, Milan offers a 48-hour ticket for €5.50, and Rome provides monthly CIS passes, costing €30 for a personal pass (which contains personal details of the holder and which can only be used by him) or €46 for a non-personal pass, which can be used by anyone. Some cities provide discounts of up to 50 per cent for pensioners and students.
There are river buses in many cities, e.g. Rome, although most of these are strictly for tourists and aren’t useful for residents.
This article is an extract from Living and Working in Italy. Click here to get a copy now.