| Re: Barriers to bus and tram travel - lessons from Florence Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 22:31, 1st March 2026 |     |
It's good to research local transport in advance of your trip
...
In the UK, do you just tap your debit card when you get on or do you have to state your destination? Depends on the town / city / bus company.
It's not just tourists that get confused.
...
In the UK, do you just tap your debit card when you get on or do you have to state your destination? Depends on the town / city / bus company.
It's not just tourists that get confused.
I do empathize with that.
As a senior citizen resident in North Somerset, I recently registered for a bus pass, with an online photograph for validation. When the card arrived, I looked more like Alec Guiness as Obi Wan Kenobi than me.
I then had to seek guidance from my daughter as to when and how I could use it from Nailsea, and from grahame as to when and how I could use it from Melksham. The whole 'tapping it in and out' requirement remains a mystery to me.
| Re: Barriers to bus and tram travel - lessons from Florence Posted by Surrey 455 at 22:15, 1st March 2026 | |
It's good to research local transport in advance of your trip
In many (maybe all) German cities if you buy a one day ticket it needs to be validated before travel on the train (or once you get on the bus) and you may be able to use any door on the bus without showing your ticket to the driver.
In the UK, do you just tap your debit card when you get on or do you have to state your destination? Depends on the town / city / bus company.
It's not just tourists that get confused.
| Barriers to bus and tram travel - lessons from Florence Posted by grahame at 10:28, 1st March 2026 | |
Barriers to bus and tram travel - lessons from Florence, from Facebook
Taking the Bus or Tram in Florence? Please Don't Make These Mistakes.
Florence's public transport is run by Autolinee Toscane (AT). Buses and trams. One company, one system.
It's cheap, it works, and it can save you hours of walking in the heat. But every week, tourists get fined, miss their stop, or waste money — because nobody explained the rules before they got on.
I'm Italian. I've watched people argue with inspectors, buy the wrong ticket, and stand at bus stops without signaling — wondering why the bus drove past them.
Florence's public transport is run by Autolinee Toscane (AT). Buses and trams. One company, one system.
It's cheap, it works, and it can save you hours of walking in the heat. But every week, tourists get fined, miss their stop, or waste money — because nobody explained the rules before they got on.
I'm Italian. I've watched people argue with inspectors, buy the wrong ticket, and stand at bus stops without signaling — wondering why the bus drove past them.
The whole post goes into details of each point - here is a management summary - the headlines
1. Not Buying Your Ticket BEFORE You Get On
2. Forgetting to Validate Your Ticket
3. Not Knowing How Long Your Ticket Lasts
4. Not Signaling the Bus to Stop
5. Boarding from the Wrong Door
6. Thinking the Tram and the Bus Are Different Systems
7. Carrying Too Much Luggage
8. Assuming Children Always Ride Free
9. Ignoring Inspectors or Not Keeping Your Ticket
10. Not Using the Bus to Reach Places Tourists Walk To
Lots of lessons here ... helping overcome misunderstandings and making public transport easier to use - for tourists and locals alike!
Image is in Public Domain (?) - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Florence_-_Bus_line_D_of_ATAF_%28Breda,_no._1505%29.jpg
