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Paris Toolkit Florence public transport: maps, fares and airport
Details of using the Florence City bus network including fares & maps
About Florence public transport
Public transport in Florence was historically dominated by the bus network, but in recent years the tram network has opened up more fully and is still being added to.
In 2019 Florence opened another tram line: T2 line which goes from the SMN train station to the airport, making it the easiest and cheapest way to travel from the airport to the center of Florence.
For the visitor to Florence the city is very compact, the historic city centre has nearly all the attractions most first-time visitors want to see. Florence is full of narrow alleys and lanes far too narrow for buses, so these have limited access to the sights.
Florence bus - Autolinee Toscane Florence tramline Florence airport buses
You can walk from one end to the other of the historic city centre in about 15 minutes or less. Walking is by far the best way to explore Florence once you are in the centre.
Since 2021 the bus company, Autolinee Toscane, runs all bus and tram services in Florence and the rest of Tuscany. Buses radiate out from the periphery of the historic centre to all of the suburbs. You can use the same tickets for buses and trams.
There is no central bus station for all of these routes. Bus stops and the terminus for each route are dispersed over quite a wide area.
If you are staying in accommodation outside the historic centre it will be one of these buses you use.
Autolinee Toscane (formerly ATAF)
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On October 31, 2021, Florence’s bus service changed name from ATAF to Autolinee Toscane, a new company that is in charge of bus service throughout all of Tuscany and its major cities for both urban and rural transport.
Tickets you buy to use in Florence are also valid in Lucca, Pisa, Siena, Arezzo, and all of the main cities in each province. Smaller towns have their own bus tickets.
Where to purchase Florance bus tickets from
City buses (orange buses, with newer models either a deep purple and white color or blue) are now run by Autolinee Toscane.
Ordinary (a single use 90 minute ticket) and multiple-ride tickets (four 90 minute rides on one single ticket) can be purchased from authorized sales points (coffee shops, called "bar", tobacconists and newsagents: anyone with the new "Autolinee Toscane" stickers on their shop windows) and from the bus ticket booth within the SMN train station.
Technically you should be able to buy a ticket from the bus driver, but in reality they often don't have any available plus you pay a substantial premium, nearly double the price of buying your ticket in advance. In order not to risk getting a fine it is imperative that you buy in advance.
How to use the buses
You really should buy your tickets in advance, you can buy from the driver but there is a big price penalty for doing so and they are not obligated to give you change.
After you get on, make your way to the nearby ticket validating machine and put your ticket in. The date and time is then printed on the ticket, starting the time validity of your ticket.
You basically have 90 minutes on your ticket, so you could get on and off onto different buses using the same ticket.
Florence Tramline - cheapest way of travelling from the airport to the centre of Florence
In 2010, Florence got its first tram line, the T1, that runs from Scandicci to SMN train station.
The line has now been extended to reach the Careggi teaching hospital in the north-western part of the city.
The T2 line to Florence Airport opened in February 2019 and goes from the SMN train station to the airport, making it the easiest and cheapest way to travel from the airport to the center of Florence.
Extensions of the tram service are planned over the next 5 years to reach Piazza della Libertà as well as Bagno a Ripoli.
The same tickets for Autolinee Toscane will continue to work on the tram. You can buy tickets for the tram at the ticket machines available at all tram stops - buy your ticket before you get on, stamp your ticket when you get on and from that moment, your 90 minutes begin.
Florence Airport buses
Although Florence has its own airport quite close to the city of Florence, it is not used that widely by airlines, although national carriers like Lufthansa do have schedules.
Although Pisa Airport is 85km (50miles) from Florence, it is more widely used by airlines, including the low cost budget airlines like Ryanair and easyJet as well as traditional national carriers like British Airways.
So if Florence is your first city in Italy and you're flying into Italy, there is a good probability you'll be flying into Pisa Airport, not Florence Airport.
Florence Airport, is called Amerigo Vespucci and situated on the north-west outskirts of Florence, just 4km from the city centre.
A bus shuttle called Volainbus runs about every 30 minutes between Florence Airport and a bus station close to Santa Maria Novella train station on the edge of the historic centre of Florence.
Airport transfers between Florence & Pisa Airports and Florence City Centre - full details
