Rome bus, tram and subway ticket price set to rise to €2 this summer.

Rome's mayor on Monday said that the cost of travelling on the city's public transport network is set to increase from 1 July but stressed that the Lazio region will have the final say in the matter.

Roberto Gualtieri was speaking at the foreign press office in Rome where he outlined the progress of preparations ahead of Jubilee Year 2025 when the capital expects an influx of extra millions of pilgrims and tourists.

The mayor described the widely anticipated hike in the price of public transport tickets as "necessary" but said it would be offset by a reduction in the cost of yearly travel passes.

Ticket prices

Under the new pricing plan, first reported last week by Il Messaggero, the 100-minute ticket is set to rise to €2, up from €1.50, with the daily ticket increasing from €7 to €9.30 and the two-day ticket from €12.50 to €16.70.

The 72-hour ticket will rise from €18 to €24 and the weekly one goes from €24 to €32.

The €35 monthly pass remains unchanged while there is a €10 discount on the yearly pass which drops to €240.

''For some time we have been asking for more national resources for local public transport, then the [Lazio] region determines the fares on the basis of existing resources" - Gualtieri said - "If this intervention is confirmed as it seems, there will be maximum attention to accompany it with a reduction in season tickets."

In recent years the Lazio region postponed the looming fare hikes several times by injecting regional funds, a move seen as unlikely to be repeated this time round.

Earlier this year the Italian government rejected an appeal from Rome to pump an additional €100 million into the city's public transport system.

The last time Rome increased bus and metro tickets was in 2012 when the price rose from €1 for 75 minutes to the current €1.50 for 100 minutes.

More taxis

Gualtieri also said that the city "will have a thousand new permanent taxi licences" before the start of the Jubilee, adding that the public tender would be announced shortly.

The move follows repeated calls by Italy's antitrust regulator for more taxis to be introduced in Rome and other Italian cities, to address a chronic shortage, as provided for under the government's Asset decree.

Public works

In relation to the slew of public works projects either underway or planned ahead of Jubilee 2025, Gualtieri said that 27 per cent of the construction sites are already active.

This will rise to 50 per cent by May with the others "following very quickly", the mayor said.

With just eight months to go before 2025, this means that currently more than 70 per cent of the planned Jubilee projects have yet to start.

One of the biggest Jubilee infrastructure schemes currently underway in the city - the underpass at Piazza Pia near the Vatican - is on track for completion by "the opening of the Holy Door" on 8 December this year.

Gualtieri said the project would "heal a wound" by chanelling the busy road underground between Castel S. Angelo and Via della Conciliazione.

The mayor also ruled out any talk of Rome introducing a Venice-style entry fee for day-trippers - at least during Jubilee Year - but pointed out the capital recently increased its tourist tax.

Photo credit: cinemavision / Shutterstock.com.