Rome is a beautiful city that offers many advantages to those who live here for a long or short period of time, but it is certainly not a city where it’s easy to move around. The often crazy traffic, the demonstrations or the parades in the centre, the rain that sometimes is enough to send everything haywire and a network of public transportation that is not exactly organized to perfection, can make the life of those Romans who have to travel every day around the capital very difficult.
And, if a Roman is stressed, imagine a tourist or a person who is staying in the eternal city on a study trip or for business reasons but comes from different realities. A basic prerequisite would definitely be, especially in some days, to arm oneself with patience and adaptability and to just breathe (not the smog though)!
Which solutions can be adopted to move around in Rome and make mobility less problematic (don’t worry, you can succeed and you will also be proud of yourself once you pass the test “moving around in Rome”)?
- Public transport: sour note, its the “cross” of every true Roman, although sometimes very useful and non optional, especially if you are moving around by car, for both convenience and lack of parking. The subway (in Rome there are presently two lines, A and B, (the latter of which branches into B1) is definitely the quickest and fastest means of transport if there are no break downs or strikes (sometimes it happens but not to be afraid of); waiting times are short and you can get from the centre to the outskirts very quickly. Buses and trams sometimes impose longer waiting periods and loads of patience to deal with the delays (but with a book and some music in your headphones everything goes faster and is better dealt with), but they link areas of the city that are not served by the subway. The ticket in both cases is 1.50 Euros.
- Scooter: it is probably the best means, if driven with attention and caution, to slip through traffic with agility, not to get stuck in long lines and to park easily without stressful searches. If you do not have one, there are several centres scattered around the city where you can rent a scooter for a day or for an extended period.
- Car 2 Go: the latest option, recently introduced in several Italian cities is growing rapidly and very useful. What is it? It’s the possibility to rent a car (often a small and practical Smart) parked in various points in the city and close to where you are at a given moment: It can be used for the needed amount of time and then parked again to make it available to other people. A practical, fast and cheap way to move by car around the city, convenient also if you do not have your own car in Rome. To use this service you simply need to register and you will receive a swipe card or otherwise use an app for smartphones.
With patience and adaptability even Rome can become an easy city to move around in… of course if it doesn’t rain!