From what I have read the one day pass only allows one ride on the metro and unlimted rides on bus. Does anyone have any recent info on this?

Just got back from Rome. A single journey - €1 gives you 75 mins on the metro or buses from the start of your journey & a day pass (€4) gives you unlimited travel on both all day. A Week ticket is €16.

Just went to Rome In July. If you ride the bus dont forget to validate the ticket on the bus. Usually on the back of the bus is a box which you have to have your ticket stamped. If they check and you dont have it stamped, they could charge you up to 35Euros.

Be careful using the day pass. It is not for 24 hours last time I was there. It is only good for the date on which it was validated in the machine. So, start using them first thing in the morning to make it worthwhile. And you'll need to use it for four bus/subway rides for it to pay off.

Another point. If you're traveling by bus you might want to make sure you have a pen (not a pencil) with you. I got on several busses where neither the front or the back validation machine worked. I was told by a local to write in the time and date on the ticket, and I did, but had to borrow a pen to do so.

The only people I ever saw actually buying or validating tickets in Rome for the Bus and the Metro were tourists. I don't think the locals even buy tickets and I was tempted to try it myself but I knew I would get caught.

cf: The locals probably had a pass or a ticket already validated on another bus or metro (they're valid for 75 min).
I buy a weekly pass so no one would see me validating all week either except for the 1st time.
I believe the fine is just over 50 euro. Regards, Walter

We only rode busses a few times but actually saw officers checking tickets on two of them! Yes, although most locals didn't validate tickets they all produced passes when asked. That's why I got very nervous trying and trying to validate my ticket without success until a local showed me what to do.

Maybe it was just my luck this trip. It was also the first time I've ever been on a vaparetto in Venice when officers checked tickets there -- and it happened twice on this trip, including our first ride from the train station.

We are going to be in Rome for 5 days. I was wondering about buying the weekly pass Walter mentions.

When we were in Paris for a week, we found the Carte Orange so convenient because we never had to wait to buy tickets, and could hop the Metro any time. But the Paris Metro goes everywhere and the trains run every few minutes.

How do people who have been in Rome feel about taking the Metro and buses there? I know the Metro doesn't go most places, but our hotel is near a Metro stop so I thought we might want to travel that way some of the time.

The issue of pickpockets aside, how often do the Metro and buses generally run? Is it reasonably easy to get around that way if you have a good transit map, or are there a lot of hassles involved?

Get the week pass.
We sometimes found ourselves just taking buses that were heading our way.
It won't be hard to figure the stops. I don't remember waiting long, but it depends on the route and time of day.

Nonnafelice, the bus network is much more extensive than the metro system in Rome. We found the busses easy to use, once we got the knack of it. The stops are all listed on signs at each stop. Most busses seem to come frequently. Everything becomes extremely crowded at rush hour, however.

We bought bus and metro tickets at tabacchi shops. We didn't get a pass and probably would not have gotten our money's worth out of one. Sometimes we walked, sometimes we took cabs, so we only took a couple of bus or metro rides a day.

I am used to having an unlimited pass in New York and didn't think twice about getting the weekly pass. I found it was worth it since I used the bus many times a day.

The bus is tricky in that if a bus uses a route one way, it doesn't necessarily return the same way due to one-way street and the non-grid layout of the streets. Although guides recommended buying the map, the map is huge and intractable and the bare minimum map in my guidebook was fine.
It's also interesting taking the many different types of buses, trams and mini-buses.

Taxis are convenient, but you get more of a flavor for the people on public transportation. I usually use taxis late at night, when I achingly long for my hotel bed.

When in Rome, I always use buses and subways to get places (besides my own two feet). I even used the infamous-pickpocket-prone Bus 64 from the Termini to Piazza San Pietro. Just keep your essential items like money and credit card in a place where nobody could get to them. The only thing I ever kept in my jacket or pants pocket was a map and maybe a few coins.