Bus travel in Italy

We used a couple of different bus lines in Italy this Past summer. Some were nicer than others. We used Marozzi to travel from Sorrento to Rome and I believe Sita to travel from Florence to Lucca. Marozzi was nicer and a little more plush like a tour bus but both had airconditioning which was great since it was in the 90's. Both were reasonably priced. 15.50 euro Sorrento-Rome and just 4 euro Florence to Lucca.

It depends WHERE! In Florence, for example, there's pretty good bus service to places within Tuscany that many people want to visit. In some areas, there may be only one bus a day from one town to another, so it is not possible to go and come back. Where are you going?

The Italian rail system is so good and cheap that there few long distance bus services, except to places which have no railway or where the train service is indirect and slow. The buses complement the rail system rather than trying to compete with it. Last month, I used a bus from Napoli to Foggia, a cross-country journey with a limited rail service: the bus was comfortable and they run hourly, stopping outside the railway stations in both Napoli and Foggia. For short journeys in or near towns and cities, you normally have to buy a ticket before getting on the bus, and these are often sold by tobacconists; the buses drivers don't sell tickets and you can be fined if caught without a ticket which has been stamped in the machine on the bus.