Hello all, I wonder if I could get some general help on this issue from some locals. I've not had very good luck whilst in Rome, and on my first bus journey, got a fine for an invalidated ticket. One thing I was really annoyed at was that there were other tourists on board who had also not validated their tickets, but they were completely ignored, and of course only I was fined. I didn't have €50 on me to pay then, so was told I would have to pay €100 later (the price increase seems unreasonable), and that I had 60 days to pay that. At the time I didn't have any UK IDs, but a Hong Kong ID left over from when I worked there for a couple of months. Not really something I use any more, and I don't travel back there. They noted this ID off me and took an approximate address of where I was staying in Rome (as I didn't remember the number). No UK address, no UK ID. More problems have now come in the form that I can't find the original fine invoice they gave me on the bus, so there's nothing I physically have right now saying I had been fined. I imagine this would be a problem if I just turned up at a post office to pay said fine. My landlady has advised that I won't be chased for this fine as they don't have a firm address, but I don't know what would happen if I avoid it, and I don't want to make things worse, but then I'm not in Rome for much longer.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Our experience in riding public buses in Italy was in Florence. We quickly found out that the little yellow boxes that you find in the train stations was on the buses as well. Like the Regionale trains, you have to validate your ticket. When we rode our first bus, we bought the ticket from the driver. Not knowing, we walked past the yellow box. Passengers on the bus, as well as the bus driver, pointed us to the yellow validation box. It was fine beyond that.