We just returned to New York from Rome. And, as per prior experience, we found it an enchanting city with marvelous historical sites and great, great restaurants. However, it seems that the thieves in Rome are not just the pickpockets. Unfortunately, we witnessed a shameful scene where the representatives of the Metrebus Roma, the transit police, charged, assessed fines and collected 40 Euro each for not having validated a 1 trip ticket. This occurred on metrobus #64 at 10:30AM June 19 2024. We boarded the bus at the Via Nazionale/ Via Milano stop headed toward St. Peter’s Basilica. The bus was so overcrowded that there was no opportunity to approach the date stamp at the rear of the bus. At a given stop ( I do not recall which), many local people exited, mostly tourists remained. Before the bus proceeded a policeman boarded the bus at the middle door and two female offices, who had been secluded in the rear most seat popped up. All of them proceeded to fine as many unsuspecting, naïve tourists as possible forcing them to use their credit cards for payment.
This sort of entrapment and selective enforcement was unbefitting a magnificent city such as Rome. These cops knew that the remaining passengers were tourists and, my guess, is that they spring this trap everyday. None of these people were fare evaders, they were just caught unawares. And, none of them were told that they had the opportunity to apply for a refund. In my opinion, these cops were given a high Euro quota that they were required to fulfill. Tourists were just an easy target.
The lesson to be learned there is when in Rome…take a taxi!