Bus pass for a month in Florence

Nancy, I'll ask some of the others to confirm this (Roberto, are you out there??) but it looks like you shouldn't have a problem buying a monthly pass for September. At least the website doesn't state that you have to be a resident.

http://www.ataf.net/en/fares/season-tickets.aspx?idC=83&LN=en-US

The chart below shows where adult monthly (mensile ordinario) passes are sold:

http://www.ataf.net/it/servizio-clienti/informazioni-alla-clientela/dove-acquistare-i-titoli-di-viaggio.aspx?idC=711&idC_L=748&LN=it-IT

To add, running the Italian text for this pass through (trusty) google translate:

http://www.ataf.net/it/biglietti-e-abbonamenti/abbonamenti/mensile-ordinario.aspx?idC=83&IdCat=5815&idO=5853&LN=it-IT

"How to use:
- Ordinary Monthly Subscription is valid from validation until 24:00 on the last day of the reference month (which must be the same as the validation month).
- On subscription, at the time of validation, they must be returned with indelible pen: Name, Surname, Month and Year of use.
- For information on the validity of travel certificates and usability services: CLICK HERE

Other information:
- Subscription is personal and non-transferable. At the request of the company staff must be exhibited with a document of identity. You do not need a personal accompaniment card.
- The traveler is required to check that validation has taken place correctly. If the abrasive machine is not working, the customer must check the operation of the other validation devices that may be placed in the car: any failure of the validation equipment must be reported to the driver."

Nope, nothing about having to be a resident.

Thanks so much! I am trying to avoid having to validate bus tickets on two buses a day for a month since I am exactly the person who will screw that up somehow ONE time and then get clobbered by the bus inspectors. I hope that an American drivers license is enough of an ID so I don't have to carry my passport around for a month.

hope that an American drivers license is enough of an ID

It isn't, as a non EU citizen by law you must alway carry your passport. It doesn't matter if you are on a bus or just walking around: you aren't a citizen, so you must prove you are staying legally in the country.

Cops & conductors don't know how a real US driving license is. Just like they don't know one from Kazakhstan or Chile or Saudi Arabia.

On the other hand, nothing really bad will happen if you go around without a passport. A grumpy conductor will fine you if the montlhy pass requires to be used with a valid ID; a grumpy cop will ask you to wait at the police station for somebody to bring there your passport. You won't be arrested or deported and grumpy cops are the exception, not the rule.

Sure hope it works for you, Nancy!

There's an ongoing debate about carrying a passport as all the time as I guess by law, non-EU citizens are always supposed to have them on their person. I'll just leave it there, and go with Dario's advice as a resident. :O)

And as long as we have the resident amongst us, Dario, do you see any issues with Nancy being able to get a month-long transport pass? I don't but I may have missed something in translation.

You know what sort of stinks, Nancy? That they severely shortened the list of museums on the Amici degli Uffizi pass awhile back. That pass would have been a terrific buy for you as it was good for unlimited visits to the museums covered for the entire calendar year purchased. The single family pass was a better deal for the two of us than two Firenze Cards (we were visiting for the better part of a week) and I'd fully intended to get it again next time.

It's only good for the Uffizi and the Pitti complex now. Rats.

do you see any issues with Nancy being able to get a month-long transport pass?

No, I don't.

do you see any issues with Nancy being able to get a month-long transport pass?

No, I don't.

ATAF Supervisor' son here.

You don't need to be a resident. But the monthly pass is personal and in your name (it has first and last name written on it, in addition to month and year), therefore you may be asked for ID. An American DL doesn't qualify for official ID, but considering what inspectors have to go through (my father had many war stories of when he was an inspector), I'm sure most will let it go if you act nicely enough and you don't have an attitude with him/her.

Note that due to recent unpleasant incidents, at certain times of the day they are accompanied by police.

Has anyone ever had the experience of the DL or passport copy not being accepted? I'd love to hear the story. I had a monthly passed many years ago and my DL worked just fine on the two occasions I was checked. The key was that it had a photo to confirm it was my pass. These days, I would use my passport card. Losing a passport is big hairy PITA; having it safe in the hotel safe or apartment has always worked for me so far. Bus inspectors are not the secret police whose job it is to see if you are legally in the country. If I have to prove I am legally in the country I will arrange to get my passport; since being braced for our papers is mostly out of the movies, I bet if I actually have to do that I have bigger problems than where my passport is.

How about my getting an international drivers permit to show for my ID? My husband has one and it has his photo on it.

Thanks again for all the helpful replies! This will be my 8th visit to Italy, 3rd to Florence, but these daily bus rides and possible encounters with authorities without my Italian-speaking husband make me a bit nervous for the first time.

DL + passport photocopy works. I always leave both my passports in the hotel safe. You won't get arrested or fined for that reason only. Italian law simply says that if the police cannot verify your identity they can take you to the police station for further inquiry till they do verify your identity and possibly your immigration status. That chance for an American tourist would be as close to zero as it can get. If you were someone with a DL from Afghanistan or Somalia, then it would be another story.

Well there ya go, Nancy! Sounds like you're all set!