SITA buses still running?
 

Are the SITA buses no longer running, or is the site just down for a while? Anybody know? I've been trying www.sitabus.it for a couple of days now, to no avail.

I saw them a couple of days ago in Sorrento.

I get a timetable at amalficoasts.com/orari_sita_bus_timetables.html

It's working for me now.

Are you able to get to the schedules, Alec? I'm not getting anywhere still.

What schedule do you want?

Florence/Siena and back

The Florence/Siena bus runs pretty much hourly with some buses rapid/direct and others making a few more stops. Bus 131 O/R is the slower bus (about 20 minutes slower) and bus 131 R/A is the rapid bus. There used to be a bit of a gap in buses on Sunday afternoons.

http://www.trainspa.it/train04/extraurbano.pdf

It's also easier to take the train now as there's a series of escalators (about 10) from the mall across the street from the train station up to the hill town.

This is a bus map for the area.

http://www.sienamobilita.it/mappe/Mappa_EXT.pdf

Is there a map that shows where the escalators come out up on the hill? The last time I was in Siena was 2009, but I don't recall seeing any kind of mall across the street from the train station, although I wasn't looking for one then. Is this a new(er) structure?

The mall was there in 2009, but the escalators weren't. They've been remodeling a bit at the train station (mostly underground connections as you also catch the bus up to the hill town in the underground parking of the mall), but just walk outside the train station, into the mall directly across and find the escalators. There's a big supermarket in the mall if you need anything while there. They show it on this video of the escalators.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNKWTkjj2RQ

Thanks

Well, here we are 2 months later, and I still cannot bring up the Sita bus schedules from Siena to Florence. If anyone can find them, please post the link here.

http://www3.unisi.it/lawandeconomics...-timetable.pdf

http://www.busfox.com/timetable/

This seems to work better than the previous Busfox:
http://www.busfox.com/timetable/acce..._timetable.php

This seems to have a schedule too:
http://www.amoitaly.com/siena/access.html

That first link looks like it's current, based on the fare price. Thanks.

The link I gave with the pdf for trainspa is the actual schedule. Did you click on it and look at the bus number I provided? Siena Mobilita and TRA-IN SPA (that is the bus company) are the providers for the region. Pages 61-70 of the pdf are the Siena/Firenze routes.

http://www.trainspa.it/train04/extraurbano.pdf

Both the Tra-in website and Siena Mobilita will take you to the same pdf of schedules for the region.
http://www.trainspa.it/en/home.html
http://www.sienamobilita.it/orari.html

It's also easier to take the train>

but the train takes longer, don't it as it plies a round about right angle type course via Empoli - buses go direct and you also see some of Chianti countryside you do not from the train.

kyb - your link doesn’t show it leaving from Pza. Gramsci, and I don’t know where V. Tozzi is. It also did not occur to me to scroll through the 159 pages of the pdf to find the Siena/Florence page. I thought the buses I’ve taken in past years were SITA buses and, hence, I was looking for the SITA schedules.

Pal - the train is a longer ride, and it requires a taxi ride down the hill to the stazzione. I am way too cheap to pay for that if I can catch a bus at Pza. Gramsci.

Yes IMO the bus is the easiest and cheapest - I thought SITA buses left from the huge bus station in Florence right next to the Florence Santa Maria Novella train station - I would certainly board where the buses originate to get a choice seat rather than joining it en route.

What??? I'll be catching it in Siena. SITA or otherwise.

Via Tozzi and Piazza Gramsci are the same thing, as far as bus stops are concerned.
Via Tozzi is the street that runs alongside Pz. Gramsci.

The first train to Siena is earlier than the first bus, and the last train to Florence is later than the last bus.

I wouldn't assume the bus is always faster. Maybe we've just been unlucky, but we've experienced delays on the bus. We were once almost 30 minutes late arriving in Siena due to a traffic accident just outside the city. We were also slowed by heavy traffic on the return to Florence on a Sunday. The trains aren't Swiss, but they usually run on time.

Yes, Piazza Gramsci (essentially a bus parking lot) is on Via Tozzi.

>>>It also did not occur to me to scroll through the 159 pages of the pdf to find the Siena/Florence page.<<<

You only had to click through to the bus # I listed. At the top of each page is the bus number.

Sita buses are all over Italy, but the transport hubs that operate them vary for each region. Siena Mobilita covers most of the Seina province along with some of Florence (as does Tra-in), Rama Mobilita covers more of the coast and further south from Siena, etc. or for the region Tiemme (Toscana Mobilita). In Campania, the Sita buses for all along the coast would be Unico Costieria website. Umbria, Etruria Mobilita, etc.

SITA = BuSITAlia

>>>Pal - the train is a longer ride, and it requires a taxi ride down the hill to the stazzione. I am way too cheap to pay for that if I can catch a bus at Pza. Gramsc<<<

The train ride is longer than the rapid bus, but you don't have to take a taxi. You can catch a bus from the train station to Piazza Gramsci in the underground parking lot of the mall across the street. There are stairs to enter from the outside (they were working on an underground connection from the train station to the bus area)or an elevator. Ticket machine underground (1€ last time I used it). Buses are frequent and travel time is maybe 10-15 minutes. Otherwise you can take the escalators up, but they won't put you at Piazza Gramsci if that's where you need to be. The escalators do you take up to the hill town, but a different part.

Bus 3 or 10 from the train station to Gramci. Here's the Siena local bus map. They can also get you to the hospital. :)

http://www.sienamobilita.it/mappe/Mappa_URB.pdf

>>>Yes IMO the bus is the easiest and cheapest <<<

They charged the same price at one point. If there is any difference it's less than 1€.

>>>The first train to Siena is earlier than the first bus, and the last train to Florence is later than the last bus.<<<

Yes, the first train leaves 35 minutes earlier, but they arrive about the same time.

Train:
Departs Siena 05:43 Firenze S. M. Novella arrive 07:21 01:38

Bus
Departs Siena 6:20 Firenze arrives 7:35 1:15