Riding the Metro

What do you expect from a Metro in Rome? Actually I didn’t have any wild expectations unless than it probably wouldn’t work perfectly. Well arriving a day where there is a strike did only confirm my expectations.

Today there are 2 Metro lines running in Rome but some construction work in different streets indicated that they were working on a line C as supplement to the two current A and B. Linea A runs from Battistini to Anagnina and in general I found this line much cleaner than the other one. On top of this these trains were not totally filled with graffiti. Linea B runs from Rebibbia to Laurentina.

I found the ticket prices fair compared to other cities. We both bought a week card for 16€ that worked on all busses as well. We found this very practical and I was nice not having to think about tickets more on our visit. Tickets can be bought in machines on the station and this system works rather well.

I was in general pleased with the service that was provided.

When traveling to Rome, arrange to arrival time be be during daylight hours..
Also use the Train to travel into Rome from the Airport it is a lot cheaper..
When booking accomadation, make sure thats it's within 10 to 20 mts walk from the Railway station.. this way you will save a lot of money..
The Rome Railway Station is multi-level and can go down alot of stairs to different levels-- so always wear comfortable foot ware-- NO HIGH HEELS--
I also found that there was a lot of cheap places to eat in Vactian City
with great food.. for 10 Euro -- you get a - salad - pasta or pizza - a beer,cool drink- water -- sweets & bread--

AN IMPORTANT NOTE's FOR AL TRAVELLER'S-- ALWAY'S CARRY YOUR MONEY IN YOUR FRONT POCKETS--- and DON'T CARRY MORE CASH THAN YOU THINK YOU NEED !!

ALSO WEAR VERY LITTLE JEWELLERY --- BUY A CHEAP $20 WATCH- to use on your travels & DON't DRAW ATTENTION TO YOUR SELF BUY WEARING ---expensive designer clothes...

DON'T FORGET SUNDAY IS A HOLY DAY IN ITALY-- if you must travel on Sunday -- double check your -- TRAVEL TIMES --

You're right ~ nobody, but nobody pays for the bus or Metro in Italy.  I bought one ticket each for my son and I.  His 'game' for the vacation was to see how many times he could punch the ticket! 

One of the things that was pretty confusing when I first arrived in Rome was figuring out how to buy a ticket for the metro. In theory you can buy tickets from the machines or attendants in the station, but in practice the machines are always broken and the attendants are always on siesta. Your best bet is to purchase a stack of tickets from a "Tabacchi" store. Tabacchi's are little stores that sell miscellaneous small goods and can be identified by a "T" sign. They are pretty common and practically on every corner in Rome.

Your ticket is good for the bus or metro. If you are riding the metro, you have to validate your ticket before getting on. If you are riding the bus, there are small machines at the front or the back of the bus for you to validate your ticket at after you get on.

The real question is, do you even need to buy a ticket at all? After riding the metro and bus over 100 times, I never was asked to show my ticket. In fact, not once did I even see an inspector. My guess is that they only check the super touristy bus lines, like the ones that go to St. Peter's. It is also my theory that 90% of the people who live in Rome have never bought a metro ticket and that their public transportation system is almost entirely funded by gullible tourists.