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ACTV Ticket Machines

How to buy vaporetto tickets from vending machines in Venice

By Durant Imboden

ABOVE: A ticket-vending machine has replaced the manned biglietteria at Venice's Zattere vaporetto stop.

ACTV, Venice's public-transportation authority, has installed multilingual ticket-vending machines at many waterbus stops. Some of the machines are replacing manned ticket booths, while others are being used to supplement human ticket vendors. From a traveler's point of view, the new ticket machines have two benefits:

• They provide an alternative to standing in line at a crowded ticket window.

• They operate 24 hours a day.

Although the machines look intimidating, they're fairly simple to use if you know what kind of ticket you want to buy.

On this page, we offer step-by-step instructions on how to use the new machines. To get started, go to Step 1 below.

Note: Some ACTV machines are programmed differently from others, so you may find slight variations in screen options.

Step 1:

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Before you touch the vending machine's interactive screen, decide what kind of ticket you need. Your options are shown in a table on the machine:

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Unless you've bought the Venezia Unica (formerly imob.venezia) stored-value photo card, which is used mostly by commuters and long-term visitors, you'll be interested in the tickets identified by white or paper-ticket icons. These options include:

• Single-fare ticket. This ticket is good for 75 minutes in one direction, with a change of boats if necessary. (You're allowed to carry one suitcase of reasonable size, plus a small backpack or tote.)

• Daily passes or multi-day tickets for unlimited rides over a period of 12 hours to 7 days, depending on which version you choose. (See our Venice ACTV travel passes article).

• ACTV city bus ticket to the airport. (See our Venice Airport Buses article).

Note: These tickets are valid only for ACTV transportation. (You can't use them on the Alilaguna airport boat or the ATVO airport coach.)

For more information on travel by ACTV public water bus, see our articles on Venice Vaporetto Routes and Venice Vaporetto Fares.

Step 2:

Once you've decided what kind of ACTV ticket to buy, touch the interactive screen to begin your purchase.

• Note: The image on the screen may be different from the one shown above, depending on what ACTV wants to publicize or promote at any given time.

Step 3:

Touch the next screen to choose a language: Italian, French, Spanish, English, or German.

Step 4:

Using the touch screen, choose "Water services" if you're buying a ticket for a vaporetto or motoscafo water bus.

("Top up your ticket" is for holders of the Venezia Unica stored-value card, while "Urban road services" is for land buses on the mainland or the Lido.)

Step 5:

Tap the menu item for the type of ticket you want to buy.

Step 6:

After you've chosen  your ticket type, a screen will show how much you owe.

Important:

• If you're paying by banknote, pay attention to the "Max. Change" amount, or you may find yourself paying a huge sum for an already expensive ticket.

• If you change your mind about buying a ticket, or if you want to start again, click the "X" in the red box.

Step 7:

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Use a credit card, debit card, euro coins, or euro banknotes to pay for your ticket.

Once you've paid, the machine will print your ticket and deliver it (with a receipt and and any change that's due) in the slot below the touch screen and payment panel.

Please note:

• If you've bought a carnet and the machine dispenses only one ticket such as the one shown here, don't worry: Your "biglietto ricaricabile" (rechargeable ticket) is a stored-value card that holds multiple fares.

• Be sure to validate your ticket before entering the boat platform by swiping it against the electronic card reader and waiting approximately 1.5 seconds for a "beep" and a green flashing light. This is extremely important, because you can be fined 60 euros if you travel with a non-validated ticket.

About the author:

Durant Imboden has written about Venice, Italy since 1996. He covered Venice and European travel at About.com for 4-1/2 years before launching Europe for Visitors (including Venice for Visitors) with Cheryl Imboden in 2001.

PC Magazine has called this "the premier visitors' site for Venice, Italy." Over the years, it has helped more than 30 million travelers. For more information, see About our site, our Europe for Visitors press clippings, and our reader testimonials.