ROME – The Capital is getting ready for the invasion of the pilgrims for the Jubilee. A city that has had to race against time in order to be ready: extraordinary road works, public transportation maintenance , mobility plans (whose details are still being studied), all obviously in concurrence with the security emergency being faced during the first months of Commissioner Tronca, who has had to substitute Mayor Marino.
The pilgrims arriving in Rome will find a city that, we must say, has always had public transportation as its Achilles’ heel. Three underground metro lines (of which not a single one covers the historic center) that are often slow or broke down is an every day occurrence, timetables are rarely respected, the traffic is dreadful and few lanes are reserved to buses that are often stuck in the traffic.
While waiting for the details of the mobility plan, here is some useful information for the pilgrims arriving in Rome.
How to get around. On the map found on this page we have tried to indicate the most important places of the Extraordinary Jubilee (such as the six holy doors that will be opened) and some information on the public transportation needed to reach these areas, by metro or bus, as well as the four pedestrian paths created for the pilgrims.
Tickets and season tickets. ATAC, the public transportation company has not provided any special tickets for the pilgrims arriving. The only novelty is the agreement with City SightSeeing, concentrated on the tourist offer. City SightSeeing is the company that manages the open top red tourist buses. Two integrated 24 and 48-hour tickets (to not be confused with the Roma 24H and Roma 48H tickets) will allow unlimited rides on the metro, buses and tourist buses at the price of 30 euro for 24 hours and 40 euro for 48 hours.
For those who are not interested in the tourist buses, it will be necessary to purchase normal tickets for transportation.
- BIT (Integrated Time Ticket) 1.50 euro. It is valid for 100 minutes from when first stamped and for only one ride on the metro, even on more than one line as long as you don’t leave through the turnstiles.
- ROMA 24H (magnetic paper ticket that costs € 7,00) valid 24 hours from when first stamped and for an unlimited number of rides.
- ROMA 48H (magnetic paper ticket that costs € 12,50) valid for 48 hours from when first stamped and for an unlimited number of rides.
- ROMA 72H (magnetic paper ticket that costs € 18,00) valid for 72 hours from when first stamped and for an unlimited number of rides.
- CIS (magnetic paper ticket that costs € 24,00) valid for 7 days from when first stamped and for an unlimited number of rides.
Arriving in Rome by train. More trains directed to Rome and six new national connections with a stop at Saint Peter’s will be made available. This is the extraordinary plan arranged by Trenitalia for the 2015 Jubilee of Mercy.
For the pilgrims arriving in the Capital by train, from December 8th, there will be 225 trains of which 165 Frecce, four at Fiumicino Airport. Six connections to Rome Saint Peter’s will be added to these: 2 Frecciabianca from and to Genoa, 2 Intercity trains Sestri Levante-Naples and 2 Intercity Night (Notte) trains from and to Turin.
Service towards other Italian religious places will also be increased: there will be 94 daily trains to Padova, of which 82 Frecce. There will be 44 trains to Foggia, of which 26 Frecce, from where San Giovanni Rotondo can be reached. Ancona will have 50 national connections, of which 28 Frecce. Finally, 6 new Intercity stops will be offered to Loreto.
As for the cost of the tickets, Trenitalia has launched a 20% discount for return tickets from December 8 until November 20, 2016 to the stations in Rome. Regional trains and the Executive area of Frecce are excluded.