In this section, you’ll find out how to get around Bari by public transport, how much tickets cost and where to buy them.

Public transport – buses

Buses form the backbone of the public transport system, taking you all over the city and, in particular, to tourist attractions. The vast majority of bus routes have a central interchange at Bari Centrale railway station, right in front of the station building.

Public transport in Bari is operated by AMTAB, which runs around 30 routes using its red, white and grey buses.

Usually, each route runs once every 15 to 30 minutes, but on the main routes there are often several buses running at the same time, so the actual interval is much shorter.

The well-known Moovit app also provides useful information on connections, route maps and timetables.

Bus tickets

In Bari, you can use three types of public transport ticket, which are valid only on AMTAB buses:

• Single journey – 1 eur
• 90-minute transfer – 1,20 eur
• All-day ticket (valid for one calendar day) – 2,50 eur

You can buy tickets at all Tabacchi newsagents – of which there are several in the city and at the railway station – as well as in selected supermarkets, bookshops and souvenir shops.

You can also purchase tickets via theMUVT (Android / Apple) or DropTicket mobile apps once you’ve registered.

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Useful bus routes

You’ll probably get around the city centre itself on foot, but you can use buses to get to the railway station or the beaches, for example. We’ve selected the most useful bus routes for you – look out for these numbers on the streets of Bari.

• Bari Centrale railway station – Old Town: routes 1, 2, 6, 22, 27, 50, 53 (Teatro Piccinni stop, approx. 250 metres from the centre), 12 (Cavour-Piccinni stop, approx. 300 metres from the centre)
• Railway Station – San Francesco Beach: routes 22, 27, 53
• Old Town – San Francesco Beach: lines 2/, 22, 27, 42, 53

Metro and trains in Bari

Although Bari boasts of operating a metro system, in reality these are more like suburban trains running on standard tracks, albeit with more stops than long-distance and regional trains.

If you’re just getting around the city, you’ll hardly use the ‘metro’ at all; the lines are mainly used for travel to the surrounding towns of Barletta, Bitonto or Andria.

For tourists, however, the metro is most useful when travelling between the airport Bari BRI and the railway station, where it is the fastest option.

You can buy train tickets from the ticket machines at every station; you can pay by cash or card. Examples of ticket prices:

• Airport – Bari Centrale: 5,20 eur
• Bari Centrale – Barletta: 5,70 eur

Detailed information on timetables, current ticket prices and route maps can be found on the official websiteferrovienordbarese.it.

Car hire

As the largest city in Apulia with a major international airport, Bari is the ideal place to hire a car if you’re planning trips to more remote towns and villages that cannot be reached by bus or train.

However, it is not worth hiring a car for travelling around Bari itself or its immediate surroundings.

Prices from smaller hire companies start at 145 eur for 4 days, but more reputable hire companies are currently offering prices from 310 eur, which are roughly twice as high as before the Covid-19 pandemic.

You can compare all car hire companies in Bari on websites such asbooking.com, where you can also book a car straight away.