How to get around Rome by public transport
One very cheap fare or transport card allows you to use almost all means of public transport in Rome with the exception of taxis and airport transport. Buses, subway trains, trams (streetcars), and light rail are operated by the same company called ATAC. You can hop on any of their transport using the same ticket. Here’s how.
Where can I buy single tickets for the Rome public transport system?
Tickets are available from machines at all Metro stations. These machines allow you to select an English Language interface (shown by the British flag not the stars and stripes). They take euro bills and coins, but not credit cards even though many of them have a credit card slot. But beware: they never dispense more than €6 in change (resto)! The machine will happily eat your €20 bill but won’t give any of it back until you’ve bought €14 worth of tickets.
However recently many of the machines won’t accept bills of more than €10. Finally the depressingly common fuori servizio or guasto signs both mean ‘out of order’. All is not lost though: you can also buy these tickets in most tabacchi – tobacco stores, distinguished by the “T” sign outside. Go to the cash register and ask for un biglietto (oon beel-YET-oh) or “X biglieti” ([number] beel-YET-ee”) to get the standard 100-minute ticket (below).
Things are changing though: new, orange ticket machines are being rolled out slowly throughout the Metro network that take credit cards and dispense all types of tickets.
Can I use contactless payment in Rome’s public transport system?
Yes, but right now only on the Metro. All turnstiles are fitted with a contactless payment tab that will accept contactless credit and debit cards, as well as NFC-enabled phone payment systems (i.e. G-Pay and Apple Pay).
Tapping your payment method will automatically debit your account by €1.50, granting you 100 minutes’ use of the transport system including one Metro ride.
ATAC claims it will roll out the same “tap-and-go” system throughout the entire system, including trams and buses, but until then you will need a ticket to board these means of transport (unless you’ve already tapped into the system in a Metro station).
Is there an app that I can use to buy tickets?
The “MyCicero” app allows you to buy tickets for the Rome transport system.
How to buy a ticket using MyCicero…
Can I get a city card that includes the Rome public transport network?
The most famous city card is the Roma Pass. This gives unlimited access to the city’s public transportation system for 2-3 days, two free entries to major sights, and discounts to museums, though not to the Vatican. However this option does not include airport transfers, the card has to be physically picked up from an office, and some visits still have to be booked in advance. Read more…
What lines can I use my transport ticket or card on?
Lines shown below can all be accessed with the ATAC tickets mentioned below. This includes all the way to the beachside town of Ostia Lido – you can honestly get there for €1.50 each way! Note for the gray lines on the map – commuter rail lines – stations in red indicate the furthest extent of ticket validity: i.e. you can’t use the standard ticket to travel beyond the station in red; after that you would need a train ticket purchased in the originating station. You can also use your ticket on the “FL” main train lines that cross the city, but again only within city limits.
Does Rome’s public transport go to the airports?
Unfortunately the network does not extend to the main Fiumicino Airport. To get to FCO you must take a train or private transport. Read more here…
Ciampino Airport is in fact served by the public transport network, but it is a slow and tricky journey involving bus and Metro. Read more here…
How reliable is public transport in Rome?
It’s not always reliable, but public transport in Rome is cheap and there’s a lot of it. The bad news is it can be slow and subject to delays and strikes.
How do I use the metro in Rome?
Rome’s Metro is simple. It’s just a big X that meets in Termini. There are two fully viable lines: Linea A (red) and Linea B (blue). Linea B splits at Bologna and either goes to Rebbibia or Jonio. Both lines are rather superannuated. The third line, Linea C (green) is partially constructed.
Modern, efficient, clean driverless Linea C runs from Montecompatri way outside the city to join the rest of the network at San Giovanni where you currently have to leave one part of the station and enter another part (be reassured that your single-use metro ticket will allow you to do this) but will eventually cross the entire city.
Locals’ tip: the new part of San Giovanni station has a fantastic display of some of the thousands of artefacts that were dug out of the ground during its construction.
How early/late does Rome’s Metro run?
The first train from each end of the metro lines (see map) is 5.30am every day. The last train leaves from the ends of the metro at 11.30pm on weeknights, and 1.30am on a Friday and Saturday night. That means if you’re in the center and it’s just after 11.30/1.30 you may still be able to catch your metro.
What kind of ticket should I buy to use the Rome public transport system?
There are numerous kinds of ticket available:
- 100 minutes. Probably the best value for money for individual trips, this gives you just over 1 and a half hours to use ANY means of transport mentioned above (although it only allows one ride on the Metro), for the teensy price of €1.50. Note that these are the standard tickets available from the tabaccaio.
- Day ticket. Not recommended. It costs €7 and expires at midnight of the day you buy it. It’s only good value if you take at least five journeys more than 100 minutes apart, which is probably unlikely.
- 48 hour. €12.50. Also poor value: see ‘day ticket’ above.
- 72 hour. Again, a false economy. If you need transport for three days and are sightseeing too then it’s probably worth considering a Roma Pass instead.
- Weekly ticket. Bad value: the price of €24 means you need to make 16 journeys in seven days in order to break even. It expires at midnight on the seventh day, so unless you buy one early in the morning you are automatically cheated out of half a day.
In all of the above ‘daily’ cases, unless you’re going far and wide with many journeys, it’s probably far more cost-effective to fill your wallet with a small stack of 100-minute tickets since they don’t expire and can be rolled over to the next day.
- Monthly ticket. The tessera mensile is amazingly good value at only €35 for unlimited travel. If you’re staying for a while it’s definitely worth considering. However these cards only run from the first day of the calendar month to the last, so if you arrive mid-month you can still buy one, but should probably consider other options. Available from ticket offices in major stations.
- Roma Pass. If you’re touring Rome for three days or so, this is fairly good value. It provides public transport for two or three days (not 72 hours: it expires at midnight on the third day after you buy it), as well as free entrance to two museums, but not including the Vatican. Read more...
How do I validate my ticket?
When you board the Metro or commuter train, you pass through a turnstile that will automatically validate your ticket for you (it prints the expiry time and date on the back of the ticket using the word “scadenza”). However if you take a bus or a tram you have to do the validation yourself – if it is the first time you have used your ticket during its allotted time period. If you’ve already validated it once and it’s still valid, you don’t need to do this, and nor do you need to validate a travel pass such as the Roma Pass.
Note that travelling without a validated ticket can get you up to a €150 fine. Once you have figured out which bus or tram to take – try this website – board the bus and you will note a little blobby machine attached to a pillar at the front and back of the vehicle. Insert your ticket and it will be stamped with the expiry on the back, and you’re good to go. (If the bus is particularly crowded, and you wave your ticket and indicate the machine, the friendly Roman crowd will usually pass it to the machine for validation then pass it back to you!)How do I use the metro in Rome?
