Rome bus riding

First, remember it is Rome, Second it is Italy and thirds time schedules for buses and stop lights are only a suggestion of what they would like to occur. Seriously, the traffic is such that it is very difficult for buses to maintain schedules. Think of Michigan Ave at rush hour and double it. The buses will come when they come. We very seldom use the metro because it does go many places, it can be overly crowded, and it is just not as convenient as the buses and trams. The main tourist attraction area is very compact and walking is probably the fastest and the best. We often stay in the Termini area and take a bus to the Vatican and work our way back by walking. Don't remember stop announcements but they will be in Italian and just as difficult to understand as the Chicago buses. Most buses have an LED sign for stops. It is not that difficult to follow your bus route. Most the time we will focus on the stop before we want to get off landmarks, streets, etc. That way we know that we get off at the next stop. Even if you miss a stop it is only a couple blocks back. We never worry about transit time we are on vacation (and Italian time) and never have that tight a schedule where a half hour one way or the other would make any difference.

That is a great question Debbie, I will be curious to see what is posted here as a response. Ron in Rome has some great advice too so maybe he will post here. I too, have read the same thing as you have and we will also be in Rome next June.

Thanks for your advice Frank. We would be coming from the Borghese Gallery, going on to a tour with Through Eternity at the Vatican so we would have to arrive on time for our tour. I was in Rome previously and rode the Metro, but not the buses so we didn't have to deal with traffic jams. Maybe we should walk to the Metro instead of trying the bus.

Teresa, Ron in Rome suggests printing out Google street maps to see the landmarks near the bus stop. This is a good suggestion but if the bus is very crowded it may be difficult to see the buildings and I think being unfamiliar with the city it would still be difficult to match up buildings while traveling on the bus. We will have a GPS with us since we are driving in Tuscany & Umbria. Maybe I can program our bus stops in there so we know when the stop is approaching. We will definitely stand out as tourists -- probably give the locals a good laugh.

If time is critical, then use a taxi. For that short a ride, it will not break the bank. But it is also very walkable and potentially quicker than the metro. The Ottaviano stop on the metro is a half mile north of the Vatican. The gardens are only a half mile from the Tiber river and then about three quarters of a mile to the Vatican. Walking that three quarters should be quicker than entering/existing the metro, waiting, etc.

Thanks Frank. I'll check out the walking directions. For some reason I thought I did so already and it was remarkably a longer distance. Perhaps I entered the wrong information.

If you're just planning to hit the major tourist sites, a good option is the "110 Open" bus, which is a hop-on, hop-off bus with a guide on board. Your ticket is good for the whole day. Not to be an alarmist, but just to give you a heads-up: the Rome city buses are prime pickpocket locations. Watch your stuff carefully, especially when you're caught in the crowd jostling toward the exit doors.

Yes I know about the pickpockets. I was on a RS tour last year and a young gypsy boy tried to pickpocket our tour guide on the Metro. We plan to wear money belts but thanks for the heads up.

We were just in Rome and used the busses quite a bit. They're very convenient. I must say, I had a problem with figuring out the bus stops because there were no announcements and there were no flashing signs in the bus to indicate what stop was coming up. Also, there wasn't a map in the bus itself that showed you the stops. See if you can get a good bus map that shows you the routes and the stops. We didn't have one. Fortunately, the bus stop sign lists all the stops so I memorized the stops before I got on the actual bus so I know when to hit the button as soon as we passed the stop before mine. Also, the busses don't stop at each stop so you can't really rely on counting the number of stops. Sometimes, I just asked a local on the bus, that worked also. I didn't try asking the driver, I didn't know about that tip. It's tough to calculate the travel time because of traffic but the busses come frequently. There are certain parts of Rome not covered by the metro so you need to either use the bus, walk, or take a cab.

Debbie, One further comment about Rome Buses and Pickpockets. The No. 64 Bus has somewhat of a "reputation" for thievery. It's often VERY crowded (seems to be the case whenever I see one driving by) so passengers are tightly packed together, making for a good environment for Pickpockets. Some of the Pickpockets are dressed as tourists (with Cameras) or business men, so they won't be as identifiable as the child you encountered previously. Cheers!

When we were in Rome a couple of years ago, we took a bus from Trastevere to the Piramide metro. The bus had a TV screen or something similar that showed the upcoming stops and which one you were approaching. Nearly had a heart attack when our stop "disappeared" from the screen for a minute, but then it came back and all was well. Unfortunately, I don't think all of the buses have them, but it was a nice feature. The Google Maps suggestion is a good one. At least that way you have some idea of where you are and where your stop should be.

Ciao Debbie! Frank is correct - I never counted on a bus schedule in Rome... as my Italian friends say to me ... "They come when they come!" You can certainly count on the drivers taking their breaks though. And on Sundays or holidays, the buses on festival schedule take forever it seems - a good day to walk! As far as asking the driver - it's a mixed bag. Some will just ignore you, but if you know a little Italian - like please, thank you, where is...? - they are often responsive. Of course, it works better if the bus is emptier. When we first moved to Rome, we rarely got ANY assistance from other riders on the bus. Quite a contrast to Copenhagen where everyone realizes you're a tourist and has LOTS of suggestions. The times we DID get help in Rome - before we learned the system - were usually from a passenger AFTER we had been rebuffed by a driver. And often there are other tourists or expats on the bus. If you look that lost, they'll probably help you. Using landmarks - i.e. Google Maps - may be the easiest way to acclimate. It's what we do when we travel to other cities in Europe. We did Berlin a few weeks ago with no maps or GPS and had a wonderful time (Okay we were lost once or twice!) As long as you know what buses, tram, or metro stop near your hotel/B&B/apartment, you can always get home! Just write down the numbers of all the buses at the closest bus stop, walk across the street and get the info on buses from the other direction - and if you see one of those buses in town, jump on it! You'll have a great time in Rome - Good Luck!! For those of you who need a little more insight into the bus system, check out these links **** http://tinyurl.com/rome-bus ***** http://tinyurl.com/rome-tickets **** http://tinyurl.com/bus-kiosk **** http://tinyurl.com/rome-metro ****

Thanks everyone for the insightful replies. I am going to use your suggestions of the Google maps, etc. We will be walking quite a bit also so I'm anticipating limited time spent bus riding. Happy Travels!

I found the locals in both Siena and Rome to be very helpful with bus information. I always asked in Italian, "Scusi, quale fermata per X," (Excuse me, which stop for X), where X is my desired destination. Often the person I asked knew enough English to help me and would also consult other passengers in Italian to get their input and relate it to me. Sometimes the person said to follow him or her because that's where they were going. (My Italian is extremely limited, but even a little effort goes a long way, especially when you are in a rural area and no one speaks English. Rick's phrase book has some nice key phrases for when you are in a pinch.) It is hard to know how long the trip is. You can ask others at the stop, or in your hotel or B&B for advice, of course. As someone mentioned above, if time is critical, take a cab. Or walk. We walked a LOT and often thought we made at least as good a time as the bus would. Ron in Rome's website referenced above has a great tutorial on reading the bus stop signs. (Thanks Ron! It really helped!) The one time I had a big problem was when the returning bus was not across the street from where the outbound bus dropped us. After about 20 minutes of searching, we figured out it was on a perpendicular street. No one we asked seemed to have a clue, but everyone was very kind to me. So maintain your sense of adventure and composure! Whenever we got "lost" we looked at each other and said "part of the the adventure."

Debbie,
This really worked for me. I went to Google maps "streetview" to discover the name of the cross street before the stop for my hotel in Rome. I also did this for my stop in Florence. Happy bussing.