Buses in Rome

I counted stops all the time. I sat up front on the right side of the bus so I could see all the stops even though the driver may not have stopped at a stop, and that worked good. Each stop had a sign with the name of the stop.
If I ever got thrown off, i would say my stop out loud as a question, and the other passengers would help me.

The only time counting stops did not work for me at all was when the bus detoured. Then I asked fellow passengers to show me where to get off. Usually they got it right, but a few times they didn't. I just waited for the next bus and asked again for help.

Very few buses in Rome have those signs notifying passengers of stops. Then you have to learn to match the sign with the stop. That took practice.

As you ride around you will eventually be able to identify your stop in time to ring the bell, and then you won't have to count anymore.
I did a lot of trial runs. I took different buses and never got off. By traveling the whole route at least once, i knew where to get off for trips thereafter. And I got a whole lot of sightseeing done at the same time!

Remember you already know what most sites look like. For example, you will know when the Colosseo is coming up! Cinquecento lists which buses go where, and there are so many staff around the Piazza to ask for help. And other passengers are pretty informative.

You can also ask the driver to let you know when you get to your stop. Just stay near the front of the bus. I've done that on occasion and have never had an issue.

donna

I didn't have any issues on the bus in Rome. We found our stops with the signs outside and I had a bus map so I had a general idea of the route and when we get off. We also asked a local on the bus for one of our stops up by the Stadio and they kindly told us when to get off.

Ron in Rome has a great article about the buses and a section on the bus signs on the street that you'll see. http://www.roninrome.com/%20transportation/bus

Thank you to all for your replies. I feel much more confident now. Have gone to google images and see that the name of the stop is printed clearly (and I hope large enough) on the stop signs for me to be able to read them. And "asking" is always a good idea! Again thank you for your help.

Ask the driver or the people on board. They'll tell you when is time to get off

All of the above strategies have worked for me, as well as allowing myself to make some mistakes.

@laura: mistakes in Rome? Some of my best and fondest adventures in Rome started as a mistake! I love it when you go "I wonder where I went wrong" and then all of a sudden this loud "WOW!!! Comes roaring out of your mouth. And there is usually another 'lost' tourist nearby who says " yep, my feelings exactly! "

We don't count stops but focus on the prior or the prior two stops. If going to F, we will look for D and E stop so we know we are getting off at the next stop. Sometimes we didn't see the name of the stop until we pull away. We find this more useful on a subway with many stops but works for the buses as well.

go to Ron in Rome website, he has a very good guide to the buses in Rome (circa 2012).
I looked where I was going, got up and stood perhaps two stops before, especially if it was a bit crowded.
I also found it helpful to have a bus map, you can download a pdf version off the rome bus website.
Important for those counting stops, bus numbers ending in zero are express buses on the same route.