Transportation guidelines for Rome ( A quick aside)

 After almost 3 days in Rome, I felt I should post a few notes to future travellers about transportation in Rome.

First of all - buses.

While Mussolini may have taken credit for getting the trains to run on time, he clearly abdicated any responsibility for buses. 

Other than being assured that they will depart and arrive on the same day, actual schedules are pure fiction. Buses on our route today ranged from 27 minutes early to 20 minutes late.( On routes claiming to offer service every half hour!)

Also, it appears buses have 3 speeds, 1 being dead stop, 2 being slightly faster than jogging speed and 3 being what happens when a driver sees a person waving their arms frantically while running for the bus- similar to Warp Speed on Star Trek, the bus simply disappears before your eyes!

 Secondly- Pedestrian Crosswalks. They only seem to function when police or military are near by. Otherwise users are just moving targets unless one masters the “Evil Stare” in an attempt to “out-macho” the approaching driver.

Thirdly- Cars. The most important accessory on the vehicle is the horn, which must be loud enough to drown out any approaching emergency vehicles. Secondly- windows that roll down fast, in order to enable the driver to deliver hand signals, in addition to the horn or in case of horn failure. 

 Other accessories such as turn signals and functioning brakes appear to be optional extras as most drivers use them rarely, if at all.

At certain times of the day one can literally use the Hop on Hop off bus, get off to visit a historic site for 10-15 minutes and still catch the same bus maybe 2 or 3 stops further on. E-bikes and scooters appear to be the transportation mode of the future as they can move at 4 to 5 times the speed of cars. Tomorrow we leave for Siena, which is more or less car free within the city walls. It will be a welcome change.