I was asked a question by Andrea in a private post and thought I would post the answer to the board as I’ve seen this request before and I’ve seen “different” responses.
Her question was whether she needed to buy bus tickets and/or Roma Passes for her children. I’ve bought them for friends but never for children so I was curious.
Today when I dropped off my rental car, I walked over to the ATAC information desk in front of Termini and spoke with Andre’, an ATAC customer service rep. He said that if you are OLDER than 10 you must have a pass on the bus/metro/etc. In addition he said this also applies to using the Roma Pass on the busses, metro, rail, etc.
He also clarified that the ATAC age requirements (10+) DO NOT necessarily apply to the museum/attraction side of the pass as EVERY attraction has its own rules. He suggested that you research each individual attraction for their requirements. (Using the Roma Pass, 2 entries are FREE for the pass holder and other participating attractions are discounted. Some "sites" are under 4, half price 4-12, etc.)
Long story short – To ride any ATAC “transport,” if you’re over 10 you must be an adult pass – there are no children fare rates. (Andre’ apologized for this but said, “That’s the way it is!”).
This was a different answer than I had seen posted on other sites ... I mentioned this "confusion" to Andre' who just shrugged and said, "That's our policy"... I hope this clears up some confusion.
Ciao,
Ron