Cruise passengers (and there’re lots of you), rejoice and be moved.
Jun 9, 2010 ACTV, vaporetto, & city transit, Instructions for Use
The Peoplemover tram, inaugurated in late April to great fanfare, transfers passengers comfortably and sustainably in three minutes between Piazzale Roma and the Tronchetto parking facility. It is a welcome transit option for the masses of travelers and workers alike who come and go by car daily from the mainland. At its opening though, the Peoplemover was missing only one thing: the intermediate stop that services the Marittima cruise terminal. (Actually, the stop itself had been completed…but the tram just cruised on by.)
Never fear. As of now all tram stops are fully functional, meaning Marittima cruise passengers too can now reach Piazzale Roma quickly, comfortably, and economically.
Passengers just follow the sidewalk from the terminal parking lot to the tram stop; about a two-minute walk. Tickets are vended (€1 each, machines take euro coins or cash) from the machine on ground level. There’s an escalator or elevator provided to reach the tram platform, where every eight minutes (time to arrival is displayed on an overhead LED) a quiet, climate-controlled tram will arrive to ease passengers either to Tronchetto or (more likely) Piazzale Roma. There they can pick up VeniceConnected passes, purchase vaporetto tickets, hire a taxi, or walk to the city center.
The buck now stops here….and it’s a very convenient buck, too.
______
The Peoplemover is operational during the following hours:
Mon – Sat:
7a – 11p
Sun and holidays
8a – 10p (summer)
8:30a – 9p (winter)
Tags: peoplemover, Tronchetto, vaporetto, Venice arrival
People Mover moves out (sort of).
Apr 22, 2010 ACTV, vaporetto, & city transit, Instructions for Use
The long-heralded People Mover was inaugurated on Monday, amidst considerable fanfare. Here, at last, was a convenient, comfortable tram that would connect Tronchetto, the Isle of Parking, with Piazzale Roma, the last stop for wheeled motor traffic before entering Venice proper.
Until Monday, the means to get from one place to the other was limited to bus number 6/ (every twenty minutes), a water or land taxi, vaporetto Line 2, or on foot (for the truly fit, especially with luggage). And the Marittima port? The 6/ stops there (or, in front of the entrance to it), and there are secret, private motor coaches run by the various cruise companies, about which there is so little information that most cruise passengers don’t even know they exist.
It would be People Mover to the rescue however, regularly easing thousands of travelers comfortably into the Piazzale three car-fulls at a time, where they could then pick up the vaporetto, taxi or bridge or their choosing. Or, that’s what we assumed.
It’s true, the tram is running, and its spacious, climate-controlled, silent electronic cars loft frequently over the Santa Marta canal and wholesale fish market on their pilgrimage to Tronchetto and back — sliding right by the Marittima port stop. For reasons unknown to us all, the port doesn’t seem to be in any rush to make the second stop on the People Mover tram accessible to their passengers. Peering down from the tram stop (with its pristine platforms, elevators, and escalators to nowhere) as the train floats by, you can spy some activity among workmen below, but it’s clear that the wasteland between the port entrance and the tram itself will take some time to tame. And when it is finally complete, it won’t be, shall we say, exceptionally handy.
“Six months,” said one operator when asked how long til completion, which means nine, months minimum…well after a whole season of cruise travelers will have come and gone. For whatever reason, the port was unable to coordinate the landscaping of the tram access to the time of its opening. Not enough advance notice? Lack of permessi? Lack of (fill in the blank)? With as much power as the port wields in the tiny, infinitely famous town, that doesn’t seem logical. Add one more item to list of Things We Don’t Quite Comprehend About Venice.
The People Mover should prove some relief to pendolari who travel regularly to and from Venice by car, who’ll also be able to purchase monthly passes. To get to or from Tronchetto yourself, you can catch the tram after purchasing a 1€ ticket from the machine at the entrances, either on the Tronchetto end or at the Piazzale Roma entrance, located in the corner right next to the Baggage Deposit and the Pullman Bar (see the turquoise marker in the lower-left corner).
In the meantime, for you cruise passengers: arrangiatevi: you’ll just have to make do with current options.
View Piazzale Roma, Venice in a larger map
New Eco-vaporetto makes fewer waves
Mar 19, 2010 ACTV, vaporetto, & city transit
Just in time for Easter, the ACTV announces the arrival of ten new eco-sustainable vaporetti (water buses). As you can see in the photo, they don’t look much different than the models they’ll be replacing; in fact, they’ll carry the same number of passengers.
The improvements, according to the Ufficio Stampa (Venice press office) are on the inside. They promise added comfort in the form of heating and air-conditioning, and the number of wheelchair spaces has been increased from two to four.
The most welcome news, though, is their eco-friendliness: they implement a new generation of engines that reduce harmful emissions by 30%. The engines are also quieter; the boats are designed to make fewer waves. And according to the announcement, these new vaps cost less to produce than the last generation, always a positive note.
Little by little, the new shiny vaporetti will enter service for Lines 1 and 2 that travel up and down the Grand and Giudecca canals; the first immediately, three in May, three more in September, and the last three in November.
An eco-friendly, air-conditioned vaporetto. Pensa. (Think of that.)
Spring ACTV vaporetto schedule updates
Apr 8, 2009 ACTV, vaporetto, & city transit, Instructions for Use
The following is a summary of the principal adjustments in the ACTV vaporetto schedule, in effect as of April 1, 2009.
LINE 2:
Connection with Vallaresso until 8:30 p.m.; with the doubling of the number of trips between Rialto and Valleresso.
LINE 5 direct to Murano from San Zaccaria: from 10.14 until 12.14, and from 13.14 until 16.54, a boat departs every 20 minutes.
Line LN – Laguna Nord, the north lagoon line
- From F.Nove to Treporti and from S.Zaccaria MVE to P.Sabbioni, boats depart every half-hour, with an hourly connection from P.Sabbioni to Burano and vice-versa.
- There is an additional departure from F.Nove for Burano at 8:10.
There is a new Line 15 that runs from direct between Venezia and P.Sabbioni during rush hour.
Line 11
There is now a regular stop at Pellestrina Caroman for ten pairs of courses.
The Fusina line hours have been extended to about 8,30 p.m.
For a two handy schedule documents, download the current ACTV Vaporetto Timetables from the Illustrata Press portable Vap Map web site.
New Vaporetto and IMob Ticketing Machines
Apr 2, 2009 ACTV, vaporetto, & city transit, Instructions for Use
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
The other night, on the way back from a review of every varitel, DOC and DOCG in Lazio, Abruzzo and Campania (can you actually get a degree in wine?), I walked passed the vap stop at the train station. For some reason, something caught my eye from behind the ticket booth. I wandered toward it, and there it was, the long-overdue prodigal of the Automatic Ticket Machine sitting just inside the station: a ticket machine that issues vaporetto tickets! And iMob passes! And Alilaguna tickets! And Venicecards! And event tickets! And that allows you to both apply for long term pass and print it immediately! It’s a miracle!
Maybe.
I don’t even know if it works. I haven’t seen a press release, or maybe I missed it. I’ve only seen this one machine, and have to say that I immediately started to imagine lines forming around it in summer heat. Will there be more machines, here at the train station, or placed at other stops like Piazzale Roma, San Zaccaria, Rialto, etc.? Does it even work yet?
Stay tuned…Maybe I’ll try it out the next time I top up my imob card. Or, try it out yourself, and let me know what happens (thought maybe I’d get in on the whole crowd-sourcing approach to things).
