Bologna-Questions on public transport for getting around.

Travel within Bologna including the city center: your only public transit option is bus.

I didn't ride the bus during my visit, so I'm not able to answer your other questions.

If it's helpful, travel from the train station (Bologna Centrale):

1. To/from the airport, there is an airport monorail train (Marconi Express).*

2. To/from other cities and regions, there are intercity, regional and high-speed trains.

*There is also a separate shuttle service to the airport (Q Line).

Thanks for the advice. I'm not coming from the airport but the train station. But thanks anyway, it could help someone.

You're welcome.

The good news is that a new Bologna tram network is under construction. Its first line (Red) is expected to be operational by 2026 with three more interconnected lines (Green, Yellow and Blue) added by 2030.

Unless you're going to or coming from a further location I would be surprised if you even use the bus. Like many old Italian cities the centro streets are too small for buses so they basically run around the old core. If you stay anywhere near the core and don't head too far out I would just expect to walk almost everywhere.

The core feels much smaller in person than it looks on a map. On my first visit I was constantly surprised by how close everything was and was expecting to have to walk further than I ever did. And walking under the colonnades is part of the Bologna experience anyway.

The shake box tram runs from the train station to the airport (with one stop in between) and back. A taxi from the airport is 20-25e into the city depending on traffic and construction - there is always traffic and construction.

Here's a guide to the buses and other options: https://www.tastebologna.net/blog/bologna-public-transport

Enjoy Bologna,
=Tod

Just to give you some perspective. . . Last spring my sil and I spent a few days in Bologna. We’re both in our 80s and use canes. We mostly walked. I WAS tired, but I managed.

thank you all

Like many old Italian cities the centro streets are too small for buses so they basically run around the old core.

No wonder when i google map some distances, the bus route can take 30+ mins while the car was like 7 mins. And I was wondering why that was so

I'm thinking of staying in the Fiera district. While its walkable to the station and the city center, its still about a 30 mins walk each way. So wanted to find bus alternatives. By the sounds of it, a day pass is probably not going to be worth it, i may just get a carnet of 10 and use it when I need to.

As a side question, if I didn't want to venture out into the city center, is there anything to see or do in Fiera?

Do you mean out by the high rises and sports venues north east of the city? If that's what you mean, I would recommend staying in the city itself instead.

Unless you have some reason, business or event related, that is putting you out there I can't think of an advantage to staying there and several disadvantages.

My $.02,
=Tod

👍🏼 to Rosalyn's and hiredman's input about Bologna's walkability and the remote Fiera District.

What bus or metro? You don’t need either. The center of the city center is basically Piazza Maggiore. From there the entire historical center and its sights is within a 1/2 mile radius. So all you need is your feet and a good pair of comfortable shoes. If you intend to take day trips to other cities by train, maybe you might consider staying a bit north of Piazza Maggiore. The central station is 20 min walk north of piazza Maggiore at the northern edge of the historical center.

Don’t stay near the Fiera. It’s too far from everything. It’s too far from the city center. Even if you are there to attend some event at the Fiera, stay in the historical center and take a taxi or the bus #28 from Piazza dei Martiri to the Fiera, if you need to go there.

Don’t stay near the Fiera. It’s too far from everything

According to google maps it’s only a 15-20 min walk from the hotel in fiera to the station and can reach the city center in 30 mins, marginally quicker by bus. Is that really too far away? Some of the hotels in the city center are more than a 15 min walk to the station so I thought it was comparable.

The city center is too expensive and the cheaper hotels look very run down or has no lifts which I need for my suitcase. I figured I’ll probably be making a lot of day trips out so the train station is probably more important to me than the city center.

1. For the oldest part of the city yes: only buses. To reach suburbs and nearby towns and villages can be used even local trains.
2. No maximum cap: you pay every ticket
3. Yes, you must validate your ticket on every bus you take.
4. I don't know because I never used tat system! Here the official webpage: https://www.tper.it/go . It should be not necessary to tap the car when you leave the bus, but every time you board a bus. Within 75 minutes should be charged a new ticket.
5. Means that from the moment you validate the ticket you can take every bus (is valid for local trains too) you want within 75 minutes. Doesn't matter the direction. But, as told at point 3, remember to validate again the same ticket on every bus.
6. This is the official website. https://www.tper.it/biglietti-abbonamenti/tariffe If you arrive at the bus station you can find there a tickets office where to purchase tickets or Carnet.

BTW: from Piazza Maggiore to Bologna Centrale train station are about 1.5Km walking. To Porta Santo Stefano or Porta Saragozza the same distance. So more or less the radius from the center of the Middleage part of the city is more or less one mile.
Fiera district hotels could be a little difficult to be reached walking, because some ones are located in the middle of huge road crossing! But the most of hotel offer even shuttle services, so you can check if are free for the guests.

Thank you for that.

Within 75 minutes should be charged a new ticket.

Are you saying that if i use tap and go, i essentially new to pay for a new ticket everytime I transfer within 75 mins?

If i buy a ticket at the ticket machine, is that cheaper than if I use tap and go on the bus?

It does not look like they have tap-and-go available, only tickets. You can buy tickets from machines on the bus, but they cost more than tickets purchased from machines at the train station, 2,50 EUR vs 2.30 EUR.

Is getting the ten trip carnet the way to go and where can I get this? And what does it mean when it says valid 75 mins? As in I can take the bus as much as I want within the 75 mins using the same ticket? Does this include doing a return trip within 75 mins?

At the ticket machine at the train station.

Are you saying that if i use tap and go, i essentially new to pay for a new ticket everytime I transfer within 75 mins?

Sorry! I wrote exactly the opposite I was thinking!
If you tap on the first bus shouldn't be charged a new ticket. Is written in the FAQ: the duration of the ticket is the same than the paper one.
But II never used that system.
Maybe you can try on the first two buses the first time: if you find charged two tickets better purchase the paper one.

Remember: one credit card per person! You cannot tap twice for two people!

Two suggestions in response to your comment that the city center hotels looked too expensive:
{1) The prices seem to go up and the availability goes down when there are large trade fairs in town. If you have any flexibility in what days you are in Bologna, a shift of a few days seemed to me to make a difference.
(2) If you are open to smaller b&b type places (not airbnb), I found this site very helpful.

The decision on where to stay is ultimately yours, but the walk from the entrance to the Fiera on Piazza Costituzione to the station is at least 30 min. You can take a bus of course (I think the 35 goes to the station), but I wouldn't consider it a short walk. Walking to the center, let's say Piazza Maggiore (most sights are within 15 min walk from that Piazza), would be easily 45 min.

If your concern is a suitcase up the stairs, I'm sure someone in a hotel can help you with that, and carrying the suitcase is something you need to do only when you arrive and when you depart, while walking to places is something you will do more often. I don't know about walking from the Fiera, since I've gone there only by car, but for what I remember via Stalingrado is just a large boulevard with nothing really outstanding to see along the way.

I'm pretty sure you should be able to find something affordable closer to the center, maybe somewhere between the station and Piazza Maggiore, if you want to minimize the walk to the station for any possible day trips by train.

Thank you everyone.

@ CD in DC
In fact is often true that hotels in the center are more expensive than the ones in the suburb. Bologna is still mostly a business/industrial city in the middle of an important industrial area (Emilia), so a lot of travellers are coming to Bologna for business. They usually prefer hotels in the suburb because are easier to be reached by car and do the visits they need. During the week end that hotels are almost empty and you can save even 100€ per night with respect of an hotel close to the main square. The Sydney, Savoia Regency, UNA Fiera, Fiera Hotel are all wonderful hotels and even with very good restaurants inside. But as a leisure tourist you are in the middle of nowhere and need a long walk to reach the main square (or use taxi or public transport).
What you say about the events is true, but affect hugely even the hotel located outside the center. And in fact even hotels in nearby cities like Ferrara or Modena!
As example I checked the cost for the long week end of the 8th of December (double room for 2 nights). At Sydney 162€, at Metropolitan 550€! Drapperie 797€! Rates from the same website for the cheapest room.