Florence Buses Accept Credit Cards

Gone are the days of fumbling at the bottom of your purse or pockets for loose change, buses in Florence now accept contactless card payment. 

From July 18, 2019 onwards, on all 355 Ataf buses and the 15 Busitalia buses (‘Volainbus’ to the airport and ‘The Mall’ to the outlet), people can board with the swift tap of a contactless credit card instead of paying for a ticket by cash or sms (text message) payment, at no increased bus fare. Ataf is the first transport company in the country to introduce this initiative across all of their services, paving the way to a cashless future. Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence, stated that this transition represents ‘’A small, great revolution. It’s a very practical, simple, trackable way of paying for a ticket. As with sms (text) payment, we are proud to be the first in Italy.’’ 

From August, card payments will be fully up and running, and until then this service is available to those with a contactless Mastercard, Maestro, Visa and V Pay. The Mayor of Florence, CEO of Ataf Gestioni, Stefano Rossi, and managing director, Stefano Bonora, were just some of the names who gathered to present the ‘Florence cashless experience’ project on July 18 at the Museo Novecento of 20th Century Art in piazza Santa Maria Novella.

‘In Florence – says Rossi – we are putting in place that which was only a suggestion until a few months ago: being able to purchase a ticket on board with a simple ‘tap,’ leaving behind the need for paper tickets.’ Bonara adds that ‘the ‘Florence cashless experience’ is a highly innovative project from a technological perspective that is becoming a reality aboard Ataf transport.’

Contactless payment on buses: One small step for Ataf, one giant leap for the city of Florence in its journey towards a more efficient future.  (saskia brown)