Buying Bus Tickets In Trieste

Posted by David Whitley Jul 30, 2007

I was recently in Trieste, Italy (right at the bottom of that tiny Adriatic-hugging panhandle that borders Slovenia), and learned a valuable lesson about public transport in Italy.

Buy bus tickets in advance

In Trieste, as with just about every other Italian city from Sicily to Valle d’Aosta, bus tickets are not bought from the driver. The tickets are sold in kiosks, newsagents, shops and various other outlets, and need to be bought in advance and then validated on the bus.

Late night buses… or taxis

The problem with this system, naturally, comes later in the evening, when most of the kiosks, shops and newsagents in Italy are closed. If you don’t have a ticket then, there are three possible ways of dealing with it. The first is taking the risk and going on the bus without a ticket – which could lead to a nasty fine if caught.

The second is to go hunting for somewhere still open – which could be a long distance away – and risk missing any bus that comes past in the meantime.

The third is simply giving up and getting a taxi – which could prove rather costly.

Another solution

Having been in this rather irritating situation in Trieste, I can recommend a bit of pre-planning. When buying a bus ticket, get a handful at the same time. It’s highly unlikely that any visitor will use the bus just once during their stay – so it’s worth buying as many tickets as you think you’ll need for the whole stay. Then at least you have one to hand when you need it and the bus pulls up.