Besides the land network, a river boat line called BATTELLI DI ROMA has been recently opened, and is active as of April 2003. It is not a fast service, but it is undoubtly more charming that a bus or a subway, particularly suitable for those who, besides the ride, also want to enjoy the environment.

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Buses, tramways, subways and trains throughoutly cover Rome's central districts, as well as the outskirts, also providing a connection with national and international railway lines.

It is impossible to show in a small map all of Rome's 200+ bus lines, although a full plan of the network can be bought at most newspaper kiosks, and detailed diagrams and timetables are published in ATAC company's webpage (a section in English is now available).

	map of Rome's subway and railway transport (in full)

THE SUBWAY: METROPOLITANA (or METRO)

Due to Rome's chronic traffic, the fastest way of reaching places is by subway.
Rome's subway (run by CO.TRA.L. company) has two lines, indicated as "A" (red-orange colour) and "B" (blue colour), and they cross the city in an X-shaped direction, with only one connection by the central train station, TERMINI stop.
By means of this route, the majority of spots and areas of general interest are close enough to a subway station to be reached on foot within a few minutes' walk.

The stations are indicated by a red square sign with a white "M". One of the busiest subway stations in the centre of Rome, SPAGNA (next to the Spanish Steps), is linked to another famous spot, via Veneto, by a long underground passage below the Pincio hill. map of Spagna subway passage Both subway lines are open daily from 5:30 AM to 11:30 PM (to 0:30 AM on Saturdays). One-way tickets have to be stamped by the barriers leading to the platforms, while other tickets and cards have to be shown.

Lepanto subway station

When planning a route, or when asking for an information, keep in mind that the direction of trains is usually indicated as the last stop of the line. However, by the platforms there are notice boards, clearly stating in which direction trains are bound, and which stops can be reached.
In most cases also trains state their direction by means of a display above the conductor's cabin.

a subway station of line A

Sometimes inspectors ask travellers to produce their ticket once more, so have it at hand until you exit the subway, though remember that the same ticket may still be valid for catching a bus. Trains are frequent, usually one every 2 minutes in peak hours, with an average wait of 4-5 minutes during most parts of the day. Even after shop closing time and on Sundays, waits barely exceed 8-10 minutes. Trains on line A tend to be slightly more frequent than those on line B.

In some trains the doors open automatically at all stops, while newer ones have a large button inside and outside the doors which has to be pressed for operating them when reaching a stop. The only connection between line A and line B is at TERMINI stop, below the central train station. To change line, passengers should follow the notices A or B (in red or blue), according to their needs. In changing line, passengers should take care not to pass the exit barriers, otherwise the admission with the same ticket might be refused. Escalators are available in all stations, except COLOSSEO, CIRCO MASSIMO and CAVOUR (all belonging to line B).

BUSES

A complex network of over 200 bus lines covers the whole urban and suburban areas, although the effectiveness of the service is heavily affected by the city's traffic, especially in central districts. The stops are marked by large rectangular notices with either a yellow or a white background. All bus lines are indicated by numbers. In recent years, a colour code system has been introduced to describe their features, and ordinary lines are now being changed accordingly.

THE LINE COLOUR CODE

RED (old ordinary line) - they are being gradually turned into blue or maroon lines. BLUE (linea urbana, "urban line") - they are the standard urban and suburban lines, whose stops do not have a time schedule. DEEP GREEN (linea espressa, "express line") - they run a particularly fast service between crucial or distant spots of the city, by making only a few stops and by using jumbo-buses (see further down in the page).

• MAROON (linea esatta, "exact line") - they are the only urban daytime lines whose time schedule is shown below the bus stop notice. They are still few, compared to ordinary lines.
  
  
• BLACK (bus notturno, "night bus", marked with a small owl, sometimes also featured on top of the bus stop board) - all night lines are subject to a time schedule, shown below the bus stop.

HOW TO READ THE BUS STOP BOARD Each line is marked with an oval of the relevant colour, showing the number in white. Above the oval, an indicator is present for urban, express, exact (scheduled) and night lines, while ordinary ones (red) have no indicator. All the spots reached by the line are listed below the oval, in a column; connections with subway stations are also indicated. The time of the first and last rides of the day is usually stated at the bottom of each column. The picture on the right shows a standard board. Except exact and night lines, all the others do not show their time schedule: they do set off at given hours, but the heavy traffic would make it very difficult to reach every stop at the right time. However, a great majority of lines have rides ranging from one every 5 mins. to one every 25-30 mins., according to the time (higher frequency at peak hours) and to the districts covered by the line (central neighborhoods, or areas not directly reached by subways are usually better served). Furthermore, often two or more different lines may be taken from the same stop to reach a given spot, so the wait for a bus is never too long. On Sundays buses are scarcer than during the rest of the week.

The daytime bus service starts around 5:00 or 5:30 AM, depending on the different lines, and ends around 11:30 PM-0:00, when it switches over to the night service. The hour of the last ordinary ride is usually stated on the board (see the previous paragraph). Night service lines have a scheduled timetable, shown on the sign's board. Night rides are less frequent than during daytime, about one every 30 minutes. Eventual long waits during the day are due to heavy traffic.

an old daytime bus stop and a night line stop (notice the owl)

a modern bus

Tickets are not sold on board, so they have to be purchased before catching the bus (see the tickets section for details). Only on night service buses the driver is entitled to sell tickets, but the exact fare has to be handed. Small children (less than 1 metre high) are exempted from paying if they are accompanied by an adult, while an extra ticket is required for very bulky luggage, although this rule is often disattended. Most vehicles are orange, although a few of them are now completely covered by publicity advertisements. A few buses, instead, are pale blue: these ones have been recently hired from a different company, to increase the number of available vehicles, and therefore bear the text IL BUS FA IL BIS (roughly: "the bus doubles") in a large square logo clearly visible on each side.

Buses generally have three doors; they should be accessed from the rear door or from the front door, while the central one is only for getting off.
A limited number of lines serving central districts use small electric vans: they have only two doors, and should be entered from the rear one.

By the doors, old vehicles have two steep steps, while new ones (see picture above) no longer have them: they can be easily accessed by the disabled, and also by a wheelchair, for which a small area next to the central door is reserved. Old vehicles are being gradually substituted by new ones. On board, passengers can stand where they want, but care should be taken not to obstruct the doors: this is often frowned upon. Bulky backpacks should be carried by hand, especially if the bus is crowded.

an electric bus

Stamping machines for tickets are located in the rear part of the bus; now most vehicles also have them in the front part (as seen in the next picture). There is no ticket inspection on board, although inspectors may enter the vehicle at random and check travellers one by one.

empty buses are unusual

On both sides of the central doors, and often on the handrails, there are buttons for requesting stops; in fact, no stop is compulsory, and the driver might even carry on if nobody rings the bell or nobody is waiting by the bus sign, although this happens very seldom. Roman buses are often crowded, at times they are actually overloaded; passengers are taken on board as long as the doors are able to open and close. In the latter case, it can be a physical struggle to get in, but it can also be a problem to get off at the right stop. When buses are very crowded, people will usually enter and exit the vehicle from any of the doors.

JUMBO BUSES Although express lines are few, they are served by special jumbo-buses, green in colour and about twice the length of an ordinary bus (i.e. like two vehicles connected by a pivoting joint). The first one to be opened was line no.40, planned especially for tourists, since it runs from the central train station (Termini) to S.Angelo Castle, passing by the Vatican, and making only very few stops along the way.

a jumbo bus

The express lines presently available are the following ones:

20 - Anagnina (terminal subway A) - via Cambellotti (eastern suburbs)

30 - piazzale Clodio (north-western districts) - Laurentina (terminal subway B)

40 - piazza dei Cinquecento (Termini Station) - piazza Pia (S.Angelo Castle)

60 - piazzale dei Partigiani (Ostiense Station) - largo Pugliese (northern suburbs)

80 - piazza Vimercati (northern suburbs) - piazza S.Silvestro (city center)

90 - largo Labia (north-eastern suburbs) - piazza dei 500 (Termini Station)

TRAMWAYS

Tramway lines are very few, no more than five or six. Their stop signs are the same ones as for buses, or rather similar.

a new tramway	The old vehicles (right) are orange, and have three doors: the entrance is at the back and at the front, and the exit is central. The new vehicles are mostly green (but sometimes completely covered with advertisements, that make them look somewhat different). an old tramway

They are also quite longer than the old ones, and have several doors for entering and exiting, in alternate order.
The old vehicles are being gradually substituted.

TOURISTIC LINE Bus line no.110 is specifically dedicated to tourists. It starts from piazza dei Cinquecento (Termini central train station), and it reaches about 40 among the most important roman spots and highlights, roughly following this route:

	piazza Barberini piazza del Popolo piazza Augusto Imperatore piazza San Pietro piazza Venezia piazzale Ugo La Malfa Colosseum A multilanguage hostess on board describes the spots touched by the tour. For prices and timetables, see the tickets section.

ARCHEOBUS

Also this special line is dedicated to tourists. It starts from and ends in piazza San Marco (adjacent piazza Venezia, in front of San Marco's basilica), and touches the following spots of archaeological interest:

the Mouth of Truth Circus Maximus Baths of Caracalla San Sebastiano Gate Old Appian way park the Caffarella valley Catacombs of San Callisto

Catacombs of San Sebastiano Circus of Maxentius, Tomb of Cecilia Metella Sant'Urbano Villa of the Quintili Casal Rotondo Villa of the Quintili Roman aqueducts

The rides start at every hour, from 9 am to 7 pm. A hostess on board describes the main features of each stop. This is a "stop'n'go" line, which means that the ticket holder is allowed to break the journey, visit a site, and catch any of the following buses to finish the tour. The ticket can be purchased on board, but it does not include the admission to the archaeological sites.

The vehicle is comfortable despite its small size (only 16 seats, see picture). It is easily recognizable as it has the map of the tour painted on its sides.
For inquiries and reservations the following telephone numbers may be called:
06 46952343, 06 46952252 or 06 46954695.

SUBURBAN AND REGIONAL RAILWAYS

Roma Balduina station

Several train lines cross the city. The urban trains are independent from the national railway network; they include the ROMA NORD, that leaves from Roma Flaminio station running northbound towards Viterbo, the ROMA-PANTANO line, that leaves from Ferrovie Laziali station (on one side of the large Termini Station) and goes towards south-east, and the ROMA-OSTIA line, that leaves from Roma Ostiense station, and goes to the south-west, towards the coast. Some of these vehicles look more like large tramways or subways, rather than trains. In some cases the ticket stamping machines are on board.

Instead the other lines are called Ferrovie Regionali (Regional Railways, indicated as FR), numbered from 1 to 8. Originally, they were called FM, as sometimes stated in old charts and noticeboards. They are connected to the national and international network, but each of them has many stops within the urban area (see the railway transport map). The vehicles are actual trains; tickets must be stamped in the station, before boarding the train, or cancelled by writing date and expiry time (no stamping machines are found on board). One line, the FR 1, connects Rome with the international aiport in Fiumicino, which can also be reached by catching a special line that leaves from Roma Termini.

aboard of the old Roma - Pantano urban train

the more modern trains of the FR lines

The following table shows the routes and their numbers. A full diagram of the urban stops is included in the subway's map.  FR 1  FIUMICINO - ROMA - ORTE  FR 2  ROMA TIBURTINA - TIVOLI  FR 3  ROMA OSTIENSE - VITERBO / BRACCIANO  FR 4  ROMA TERMINI- VELLETRI / ALBANO / FRASCATI  FR 5  ROMA TERMINI - CIVITAVECCHIA  FR 6  ROMA TERMINI - FROSINONE  FR 7  ROMA TERMINI - LATINA  FR 8  ROMA TERMINI - NETTUNO

The wait between an FR train and the following one, in most cases, ranges from 15 to 45 minutes.

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A series of projects whose purpose was to clear the Tiber's banks from heaps of trash, and depurate the water, took a long time to be carried out, but finally enabled the opening of Rome's first public river boat service, thus restoring the Tiber's bimillenary function of acting as one of the city's means of communication, what during the last decades had become impossible due to the river's pollution.

the stop by Cavour Bridge

The only type of river transport service known to have existed before the present one was represented by boats that ferried people from one bank to the other, for a modest fee, in times prior to the making of the tall river walls (early 1900s), when bridges were not as many as they are nowadays.

All together there are eight stops, mostly named after the closest bridge: (from north to south) Ponte Duca d'Aosta, Ponte Risorgimento, Ponte Cavour, Ponte Sant'Angelo, Ponte Sisto, alzata degli Anguillara, Ripa Grande, Ponte Marconi.

Although the line is one, it is made of two separate parts: the longest stretch goes from Duca d'Aosta Bridge (by the Foro Italico complex) to Calata Anguillara (by the Tiber Island), while the other one goes from Ripa Grande (by San Michele and Porta Portese) to Marconi Bridge. The reason of the broken line is a drop by the Tiber Island, small yet enough to make the navigation impossible. The line uses small-sized boats, that minimize the environmental impact. the small drop The service is available from 7:30 AM, or 8:00 AM during the summer, to 8:00 PM (the last ride leaves earlier, see the timetable below), with a break during the early hours of the afternoon, similar to the shops' closing time. Initially, the company had announced an extension of the summertime service until midnight but, as far as now, this change has not been introduced.

Each boat can take on board a certain number of passengers. Obviously, unlike buses and subways, for safety reasons this limit cannot be exceeded, therefore the risk of not being able to board the first boat having to wait for the next one should be taken into consideration, especially towards the end of the line.

Due to the very reasonable price of the ticket, this service is not merely a tourist facility, and the slowness of the ride is compensated by the complete absence of traffic, a chronic problem for the throughway roads that follow the river banks.
SUMMER TIMETABLE (FROM JUNE TO THE END OF SEPTEMBER)

WINTER TIMETABLE (FROM OCTOBER TO THE END OF MAY)

NETWORK	TICKETS	LINKS	TAXI CABS	GLOSSARY

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