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Rome Italy: Tap and Go with Credit Card at Rome Metro Stations

Posted by (Huntsville, TX, USA) on

I recently read that the Rome metro stations have installed a "tap and go" system that can be used to purchase entry into metro stations in lieu of buying paper tickets at ticket machines or ticket counters. I have tried to research this service, but still have some questions about this process. If anyone has used this process recently, I would appreciate your reply to my questions below.

  1. I understand that when entering the turnstile at the metro station you need to have a contactless credit card (one that has the "wifi" symbol on the card) and you only need to tap your credit card one time to purchase entry into the metro station. The cost is €1.5 for 100 minutes of transportation. Is this correct, and is this service available at all metro stations within Rome?

  2. Do you need to pre-register somehow with your credit card to be able to use the service?

  3. From what I read, you can only use a credit card for one person to enter the turnstile. The information that I read said you must use a second credit card for another traveler going through the turnstile with you. My question is, if my wife and I are using the same credit card with the same credit card number, but with our individual names on each card, will the system allow both of us to use that card to pass through the turnstile? Or do we have to use a second credit card with a different credit card number for each of us?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

George

Posted by
8304 posts

I will preface this by saying that I have not used Rome's Tap system, but have on several other metro type lines, and have looked at the Rome system on the ATAC site.

I understand that when entering the turnstile at the metro station you need to have a contactless credit card (one that has the "wifi" symbol on the card) and you only need to tap your credit card one time to purchase entry into the metro station. The cost is €1.5 for 100 minutes of transportation. Is this correct, and is this service available at all metro stations within Rome?

Yes, all stations have this, as do the buses and trams, which frankly, I usually find more useful than the Metro.

Do you need to pre-register somehow with your credit card to be able to use the service?

No, no need to preregister. You may, just like you might download the app, there are some capabilities to track your charges, but for a short trip, I wouldn't bother.

From what I read, you can only use a credit card for one person to enter the turnstile. The information that I read said you must use a second credit card for another traveler going through the turnstile with you. My question is, if my wife and I are using the same credit card with the same credit card number, but with our individual names on each card, will the system allow both of us to use that card to pass through the turnstile? Or do we have to use a second credit card with a different credit card number for each of us?

Since I have not tried this on the Rome system, can't say 100%, but feel confident enough to say it will work fine for each of you to use your own card on the same account. This is the way it works on every system I have seen. Even using a different device (phone or watch) will be read as a different account.

Posted by
912 posts

We used tap and go on the buses in Edinburgh in Jun and they were so easy to use. There the system keeps track of how many trips you've taken that day and caps your charges at the all day rate - seems like 3 bus rides was the max you'd get charged for. Worked wonderfully. This might be one reason some systems would force you to use different cards.

I will say if your wife and you have such closely linked cards and no others with you that might be a problem. When my BIL had his wallet lifted in Paris they had to cancel his card which also canceled her's - at the start of a two week trip to Europe. My husband and I have different cards/accts at different banking. The only joint acct we have provides different acct numbers on the card for each of us so one card canceled doesn't impact the other.

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