Rome buses: tap to pay?

Yes. https://www.atac.roma.it/en/tickets-and-passes/tap-go

That's great! Thank you for your prompt reply and the excellent link--everything you need to know!

I seem to remember posts about not being able to validate bus tickets in Rome in the past, leading to people being ticketed. Do you think Tap and Pay will resolve this or is it possible the machines won't accept the tap? I've only walked or used Uber in Rome on previous trips, but will want to use buses/metro on my next trip since I'm staying in Testaccio so this is helpful information.

I've used the tap and pay on several different visits the past two years with no problems. Sometimes difficult to reach the machine due to the crowded bus but that has been the only difficulty.

Sometimes difficult to reach the machine due to the crowded bus but
that has been the only difficulty

Right; here's a previous thread where a poster (Nancys8) highlighted that particular issue. She also stated that every adult had to use their own phone/card; you couldn't tap multiple people on the same phone/card for the same ride. I don't know if that has changed (quick scan of ATAC link says that's still true) or if it would be an issue for you, Suzanne?

Editing to add: I'm curious how that system works with children too old to ride Rome public transit free (over age 9) but aren't carrying around a credit/debit card or a cell phone linked to one? I wouldn't think that would be an unusual situation. Buy them one-day or multi-day passes?

I would be using an actual credit card, and my husband would use his own card .

We are using the bus 2-3 times on the day we walk the Appian Way , mainly to make our way home with a stop at Baths of Caracalla.
We might like one on another day to get home from the Church of San Clemente vs. 40 minute walk.

We’ll do a combo metro/bus the day we day trip to Tivoli gardens (both coming and going) .

I am assuming these particular bus routes are not overly crowded—but I don’t really know? I’d really like to use the service if possible

This seems so convenient! I'll be arriving in Rome later this week and am thinking about using my credit card to tap to pay on buses and trams. I used to just buy the paper tickets and validate them once on board. With the tap and go however, can anyone speak to how safe/secure they felt using this on a crowded bus/tram (just worried about having my card out and reaching to tap)?

We just returned from Rome on the 18th. We traveled with our two boys (12 and 13). They do not have cellphones and so we just did the paper tickets. They are easy to buy and except for our arrival at Termini station there were never lines to purchase them. We always purchased at the subway as there are no kiosks at bus or tram stations.

We spent 4 nights in the Testaccio neighborhood. It was very easy to hop on the bus/tram/or metro as needed. We ended up with about 2 or 4 rides day. Usually we'd go out early, come back in the heat of the day to enjoy the air-conditioning and rest, and then head back out about 4:30. Often in the evenings we'd simply walk into Trestevere eat and then if we got too far get a ride home. We walked between 9 and 13 miles a day.

We usually got the 3 pass tickets...in hind sight we should have gotten the 10 ride ones. We didn't anticipate going 'home' for siesta but the heat was killer (80-85 and humid!) and being at the end of a 3 week trip the boys were loosing steam. Doing the math for us ( before the trip) a day use pass or multi day pass just didn't make sense. I haven't looked since if it would have been cost effective. Of course we have to multiply everything by 4. If it was just my husband and I, I would have gotten the multi-day pass for convenience.

It's quite simple to scan you ticket. There were one or 2 rides when it was Impossible to scan...and we just risked it. While not encouragement to not pay, I will say we did not see anyone checking bus or metro tickets the entire trip (7 days total).

Romewise as some great videos about tap and go. I highly suggest her YouTube channel if you have t already checked it out. Lots of factual recent videos about all the major sites. She also has a Testaccio food tour video. Make sure you go to the market!

I didn't tap and go, I bought paper tickets, but you can, provided each passenger uses his/her own card. Just make sure the payment goes through correctly (maybe get a notification on your bank app), to make sure you don't get a fine. Technology works beautifully... until it doesn't.