From January bus, tram and metro tickets can be bought by sms

Rome commuters will be able to purchase bus, tram and metro tickets via their mobile phones from the start of 2014.

The initiative was announced by the mayor of Rome Ignazio Marino during a tourism conference on 2 December. The "Mobile ticketing" system is already in place in other Italian cities such as Florence, Genova, Padova and Vicenza.

The procedure is simple. Commuters on board the city's buses, trams and metro text a designated telephone number and will recieve an instant reply via sms, paid for out of their phone credit. The response they receive is equivalent to a ticket and can be shown to ticket inspectors.