By: Lia Contesso
Submitted: 2010-02-26 09:30:24 | Word Count: 598
However, you can easily move around in Rome even if you don’t have your own car: you can use the public means of transport (underground, bus, tram), take a taxi or a boat, rent a bike or a scooter or, if you want all the comfort, you can choose the chauffeur service.
The fastest means of transport to move around in Rome is probably the underground. Unlike many other capital cities, the underground of Rome only has two lines. To take the underground you need to buy a ticket that costs 1 euro, or you can purchase a daily, 3-days or weekly ticket, which can be used also for all the other public means of transport. The underground might be overcrowded, especially at certain times of the day, and does not run at night. A good alternative to the underground is the bus service, which is active also at night, although there are fewer buses that run at night than during the day. Travelling by bus also has another advantage: it does not block the view of the streets and the monuments that you might see from the window, and in order to enjoy the beauties of the city, especially if you do not have much time, you can get on a tour bus, which makes tourist discover some of the most famous sites of the capital city. Apart from buses and underground, Rome can also count on trams, which require the same ticket that you purchase for all the other public means of transport.
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The city is well served also by the Rome taxi service. On the one hand it can be difficult to hail a taxi on the street, but on the other hand you can find it on the taxi stand, or call one of the companies that offer this service and book a ride. Particular attention must be paid to unlicensed taxi drivers: take only the white taxis, with meter, which usually wait on the taxi stand.
An alternative to public transportation is renting a bike or a scooter, which allow you to move around the city autonomously and to enjoy the view of the monuments of the city, with the advantage of not having to wait for the bus or to stand in the underground crammed with people in the rush hours. Certainly you cannot take very long trips by bike, but for certain tracks it is not only a very useful, but also a healthy and ecologic means of transport. Another pleasant and original alternative to move around in the city is the boat on the Tiber, perfect for a romantic cruise.
At the end of your stay in Rome, unfortunately, you have to go back home: if you arrived by train or by plane, you can use the public means of transports or a taxi to go to the station or to the airport. There are various types of Rome airport transfers to Fiumicino and Ciampino, the airports of the eternal city: if you want all the comfort and you can spend a little more you can book a taxi, but if you would like to spare you can choose the bus or the underground (Fuimicino is served by Line A, Ciampino by line B). There are also shuttle services that connect the airports to the city centre, like the “Leonardo Express”, which connects Fiumicino to Termini Railway Station.
