Lazio transport: COTRAL bus services around Rome

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Various private companies run bus services from Rome to other regions of Italy; one of the main departure points is Stazione Tiburtina, where you can catch services to the Abruzzo, and the Amalfi Coast.

Closer to Rome, services are run by a company called COTRAL, whose blue buses run from several terminals in Rome out into the surrounding countryside. Some of their vehicles are modern, comfortable and air-conditioned; some are not.

Services are cheap and fairly punctual, although at busy times road congestion can cause delays. At each terminal there are ticket desks where you can buy your tickets (one way only, so buy double the quantity you need, and use the spares for the return journey). Don’t forget to validate the tickets in the machine onboard the bus.

Drivers don’t generally announce the stops; you may want to ask your driver (or a fellow passenger) to tell you where to alight. Since stops in smaller towns aren’t always indicated, it might be a good idea to check where the bus stop is in the return direction. Where there is no office, a nearby news kiosk or bar will usually sell tickets and may be able to advise on timetables. Fellow-travellers or passers-by are another useful source of information, particularly in more remote destinations.

Cotral’s official website is at www.cotralspa.it. Timetables for bus services in the whole of Lazio can be viewed in pdf format – a useful tool for those travelling around the region, although you may need spend some time establishing which timetables are relevant to you (especially as some rural services duplicate stretches of route).

Note that feriale is Monday-Saturday, and festivi is Sundays and bank holidays, when services are often reduced significantly. There may be other variations e.g. NS (not Saturdays).

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