Here's a warning to students who plan to study abroad in Rome in the future: beware of the public transportation system.
Anyone who has been to Rome before knows the troubles with ATAC, the system of buses, trams and metros that run throughout the city. Bus drivers don't have contracts, so there are transportation strikes at least a few times a month. In fact, as I write, the entire transportation system, plus trains in Italy, are shut down for the next 24 hours.
While this can be an annoyance, it doesn't take long for someone to get accustomed to walking a few extra blocks to get to a destination. And to be fair to ATAC, the bus routes are simple to understand and run efficiently when they are actually in service.
Besides cautioning future Rome students about the inconsistency of the transportation system, I must also warn of the ticketing system.
Unlike D.C., public transportation riders do not purchase a ticket when boarding a bus or metro. Instead, tickets are sold at a shop called a tabacchi. These stores are found every few blocks, so it's never difficult to locate one. Once the ticket is bought and the bus or metro is boarded, the driver does not check these tickets. Instead, passengers are expected to validate their tickets in little yellow machines located throughout the bus.
Every so often, ATAC sends officials around to check random passengers' tickets. If the passenger doesn't have a ticket or it isn't validated, he or she faces an immediate 50-euro fine on the spot. If the passenger does not have 50 euro, he or she is taken to jail.
Last weekend I fell victim to this system. On my way to the Colosseum, I bought a bus ticket and boarded the bus. I took my seat, not bothering to validate my ticket right away. I had never seen one of these elusive ATAC officials, so I wasn't nervous.
As the bus pulled up to the next stop, two officials were standing at the stop, waiting to get on the bus. I quickly validated my ticket before they boarded, thinking myself to be free of any trouble.
This didn't happen. Immediately, they approached me and my friend and demanded to see our tickets. Although our tickets were validated, the officials wrote us tickets anyways. They explained to us that since our tickets were validated at the same time they boarded the bus, they were going to fine us.
At first I decided to play dumb American and pretend not to understand them, but that of course did not work. Next, I told them I had no money, hoping they would send me and my friend away with a warning. Instead of expressing any sympathy toward us, the officials told us we would be taken to jail. I didn't want to risk going to jail over something as trivial as a bus ticket, so I angrily handed over 50 euro.
Let this story be a lesson to anyone planning on studying abroad or even traveling to Rome. Rather than attempting to dodge ATAC officials, pay one euro for a ticket. The fine just isn't worth it.
