Chaos for Rome commuters as Atac fleet reduced by 200 buses.

Commuters in Rome grappled with 200 less buses than normal on Monday 5 September, resulting in the cancellation of around 3,000 bus journeys, on the day many Romans returned to work after their summer holidays.

The data was released by the city's transport councillor Linda Meleo as part of her administration's "operazione verità", a campaign to reveal the truth about what is really going on with Rome's troubled public transport system.

The initiative got off to a bad start however once commuters realised the extent of the problem, leading the city's mobility website as well as the Atac information app to crash.

Atac has said that it is currently reorganising its network of bus routes and upgrading its information system providing real-time waiting times, while its fleet is undergoing maintenance "to gradually increase the amount of buses and trams available."

The growing difficulty for Rome's commuters coincides with the appointment of Manuel Fantasia as head of Atac, following the resignation of the company's former top managers in recent days.

Photo Corriere della Sera