Transport in Rome is fairly straightforward. There are two Metro lines, Linea A (red) and Linea B (blue), which cross at Termini, the main railway station. There are also buses and trams. The stops for these are mostly well-labelled. You'll need to
check the route on the bus stop to plan your journey. Main stops are listed, with your present location highlighted, so you can make sure that you're going in the right direction. It's worth checking at the bottom of the list as well, some buses only run certain routes Mon-Sat (feriali) or Sundays and public holidays
(festivi).
Most buses and trams run until midnight (but check the bus stops). The Metro finishes
annoyingly early, at 11:30 every night except Saturdays, when it continues until 12:30. A relatively decent nightbus
services covers most parts of Rome, buses tending to converge at Termini on the hour and half-hour.
An invaluable resource is a public transport map. One is available free from the head office of ATAC, the transport authority,
at via Volturno,65 (close to Termini). Ask the security guard in a kiosk just inside the entrance for 'una mappa'.
BUY YOUR TICKET BEFORE YOUR JOURNEY. You can't buy tickets on public transport, and you're risking
a fine if you travel without a correctly validated ticket (checks are fairly frequent, and the inspectors
won't always let you off because you're foreign). You can buy individual tickets or travel cards at newspaper stands and
in bars. There are machines in the Metro stations, but at the time of writing (March) they haven't been able to
adapt to the euro, and are usually out of order. Think about how much travelling you plan to do, because
sometimes a travel card is an economical option (details below).
VALIDATE YOUR TICKET. Tickets must be stamped in the machines provided before getting on the Metro or mainline trains.
Buses and trams have machines on them - sometimes there are two kinds, so if one doesn't work, look for another - in which you can validate your ticket.
If you have a travel card, you should only need to stamp it the first time you use it (do make sure you have signed your card and filled in your details
if there is a space for this).
Tickets
BIT (Biglietto Integrato a Tempo): €0.77. Valid for 75 minutes, for unlimited travel on buses and trams, and one Metro ride. Validate it
the first time you use it, and then again as time is running out (as long as you commence your last journey within the 75 minutes, you're ok).
BIG (Biglietto Integrato Giornaliere): €3.10. This is valid until midnight, and you should validate it the first time you use it.
CIS (Carta Integrata Settimanale): €12.40. Valid for one week. Write the dates on it yourself.
Abbonamento Mensile:€25.80. Valid for one calendar month (e.g. February).