Palermo Bus Tickets: Where to Buy and How to Validate

For Palermo’s AMAT buses and trams, the standard ticket costs €1.40 and lasts 90 minutes from validation. Buy before boarding from an authorized retailer, an AMAT sales point, or on a smartphone. The important part is validation: you must validate when you first board and again every time you transfer to another bus or tram while the ticket is still valid.

For most visitors, Palermo bus tickets are easiest to handle by buying a paper ticket before the journey or setting up the AMAT mobile option in advance. Buying from the driver is possible on buses, but it costs more and is deliberately treated by AMAT as a fallback rather than the best way to travel.

How much do AMAT tickets cost?

AMAT currently lists the following main visitor fares on its official ticket page:

• Ordinary ticket: €1.40, valid for 90 minutes from validation.
• Ordinary ticket bought from the bus driver: €1.80, including the €0.40 onboard surcharge.
• Daily ticket: €3.50, valid across the network until the end of service on the day it is validated.
• 2-day ticket: €6.
• 3-day ticket: €8.
• 7-day ticket: €16.50.

AMAT also sells app-only carnets, including 20 ordinary tickets for €23.50 and 20 daily tickets for €45.80. For a short city stay, these are unlikely to be useful unless several journeys are planned over a longer period.

The ordinary 90-minute fare works across AMAT’s urban bus and tram network during its validity period. It is not a universal transport ticket for every service in Palermo. The airport train and privately operated airport coaches, for example, have their own tickets.

Where to buy a paper ticket

AMAT says it has more than 1,000 authorized retailers around Palermo. Look for a shop displaying the AMAT reseller sticker. This is usually the easiest solution if you pass a participating retailer before reaching your stop.

There are also official AMAT sales points. A particularly useful one for arriving travelers is the Stazione Centrale kiosk in Piazza Giulio Cesare. AMAT also lists outlets at Via Giusti, the Basile bus terminus, inside Notarbartolo station and at the tourist information point in Mondello. Check the current AMAT sales-point page before making a special trip, since opening hours vary and some offices close at weekends or on holidays.

If you will need a bus early in the morning, late in the evening or on a Sunday, buying a spare ticket beforehand is sensible. A nearby retailer that sells tickets during the day may be closed precisely when you need it.

How to validate a paper ticket

Buying the ticket does not start its validity. The clock begins when you validate it on board.

1. Board the bus or tram and go to the onboard validator.
2. Insert the magnetic ticket into the slot using the side indicated on the ticket.
3. Check that the machine has printed the validation information. AMAT says the stamp includes the vehicle number, date and time, and the ticket’s expiry time.
4. Keep the ticket for the entire journey.
5. If you change to another AMAT bus or tram before the 90 minutes expire, validate the same ticket again as soon as you board the next vehicle.

That last step catches visitors out. The ticket is still within its 90-minute validity, but AMAT nevertheless requires a new validation at each boarding or transfer. An inspector can treat a ticket that was not revalidated on the second vehicle as invalid.

Using a ticket on your phone

AMAT currently supports electronic tickets through its mobile system, including PalerMobilità and MyAMAT. The official PalerMobilità information page describes ticket purchase and validation.

The process is different from simply showing a purchased ticket on your screen:

1. Add credit to the app wallet and buy the ticket you want.
2. After boarding, open the bus/tram section and select the purchased ticket.
3. Scan the QR code located near the onboard validator.
4. If scanning fails, you can enter the vehicle number manually. AMAT specifically means the individual bus number, not the route number such as 101 or 102.
5. Confirm the validation. The ticket should then appear in the app’s Attivi, or active, section.
6. When transferring to another bus or tram, open the active ticket and validate it again for the new vehicle.

If an inspector checks tickets, open the active ticket and display its e-ticket QR code. Keep enough battery charge to do this. A screenshot of an unactivated ticket is not a substitute for completing the required validation process.

The electronic ticket is generally personal, so one phone should not be treated as a convenient wallet for a group of unrelated adults. AMAT makes a specific exception allowing an adult travelling with minors aged 11 to 18 to validate multiple ordinary 90-minute tickets together at the first validation.

Once local transport is sorted, you can build the rest of your Italy itinerary without having to fit every stop into the same day.

Can you buy a ticket from the bus driver?

Yes, but do not make it your first choice. AMAT currently charges €1.80 rather than €1.40 for an ordinary ticket bought on board.

The procedure is unusually specific:

1. Enter through the front door.
2. Tell the driver immediately that you need to buy a ticket.
3. Have the necessary coins ready.
4. The driver will sell the ticket when traffic and driving conditions make it safe to do so.
5. You receive the ordinary ticket plus a separate esazione a bordo receipt showing that the onboard surcharge was paid.
6. Validate the ordinary ticket in the machine. Do not put the esazione a bordo slip into the validator.

The driver is allowed to postpone or decline the transaction if selling a ticket would interfere with safe driving. This is why standing at a stop without a ticket and assuming the driver will solve the problem is risky.

Tickets are not sold by the driver on trams. AMAT explicitly prohibits onboard sales there for safety reasons.

What if the validator is broken?

Do not simply sit down with an unvalidated paper ticket. Under AMAT’s published travel conditions, if the validation machines are unavailable or unusable, you should write the date and starting time of the journey on the ticket in pen. Alternatively, ask AMAT staff for assistance if someone is available.

Carrying a pen sounds slightly old-fashioned until the validator refuses your ticket. Then it becomes one of the more useful objects in your day bag.

Do you need another ticket when changing buses?

Not necessarily another ticket, but you do need another validation.

Suppose you validate an ordinary fare at 10:00 and change buses at 10:35. You can continue using that same fare because you are within its 90-minute window. After boarding the second bus, however, validate the paper ticket again or repeat the vehicle-validation process in the app.

The same principle applies when changing between an AMAT bus and tram within the allowed validity period.

Luggage can require its own ticket

AMAT allows small hand luggage free of charge. Its published conditions say that larger baggage up to 50 x 60 x 80 cm requires a separate ticket costing the same as the passenger fare. Items larger than those stated maximum dimensions are not permitted on board.

This matters if you are travelling between Palermo Centrale and accommodation with a full-size suitcase. A small backpack or compact hand bag is one thing; a substantial suitcase should not automatically be assumed to travel free.

Tickets for children

Under AMAT’s general conditions, one child younger than 11 may travel free with each accompanying adult provided the child does not occupy a seat. Additional children beyond that allowance require a valid fare.

Be careful with age rules on special seasonal services. AMAT occasionally introduces temporary lines or promotional fares with their own eligibility conditions, which do not necessarily match the normal city-network rules.

A current Mondello exception for summer 2026

Through 30 September 2026, AMAT has announced special fares for seasonal lines serving Mondello and Sferracavallo, including lines 84, 86, 87 and 88. Non-residents pay €0.50, while Palermo residents and several eligible categories travel free. Tickets for these seasonal services are sold only through the MyAMAT and PalerMobilità apps.

If you are heading to the beach this summer, check AMAT’s notices for line 84 and lines 86, 87 and 88 rather than assuming the normal urban fare applies.

The mistakes most likely to cause trouble

• Buying a ticket but forgetting to validate it. Possessing an unused ticket is not enough.
• Validating only on the first vehicle. Revalidate whenever you transfer.
• Waiting until the bus arrives to find somewhere to buy a ticket. Retailer opening hours can be awkward, particularly on Sundays and late in the day.
• Assuming the driver will always sell one. Onboard sales cost more, depend on safe driving conditions and are unavailable on trams.
• Entering the route number in the app. For electronic validation, AMAT asks for the individual vehicle number shown with the onboard QR code.
• Assuming a large suitcase travels free. Check the baggage rule before boarding.
• Assuming you can simply tap a bank card. AMAT’s published system centers on magnetic tickets and validated smartphone tickets, so arrive with one of those methods ready rather than relying on contactless bank-card payment being available.

What happens if your ticket is not valid?

AMAT’s published conditions currently state an administrative penalty of €52 plus the price of the required ticket for travelling without a valid fare or without completing the required validation.

The safest routine is therefore simple: buy before you need the bus, validate immediately after boarding, glance at the ticket or app to make sure the validation worked, and repeat the process each time you change vehicles. That takes a few seconds and avoids the most common ticket problem visitors encounter on Palermo’s public transport.