ATAC reactivates ticket checks on Rome's public transport network.

Ticket inspectors are back at work on Rome buses after a break of more than a year due to the coronavirus crisis.

The decision to restart ticket checks was taken in line with covid protocols, to ensure the safety of both employees and passengers, reports news agency ANSA.

The move is also "an act of respect towards all those customers who have continued to pay for the ticket in this pandemic year," said Giovanni Mottura, the head of Rome public transport body ATAC.

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Mottura said the reactivation of the service will continue the fight against ticket evasion and those who engage in the "unacceptable, even immoral" practice of fare-dodging.

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In 2019, the total number of penalties for those caught travelling without tickets on Rome public transport reached almost 230,000 - reports newspaper La Repubblica - a rise of 34 per cent compared to 2018 and 55 per cent compared to 2017.

Photo ANSA