Venice People Mover: A first-day report

 

ABOVE: A mural in the People Mover's Piazzale Roma station. BELOW: A free first-day ticket, and videos of day and nighttime rides on the new system.

The long-awaited Venice People Mover opened at noon on Monday, April 19. The new system is similar to the cable-operated driverless trains in many airports, and it has three stations: the Piazzale Roma (the automotive and bus gateway to Venice's historic center), the entrance to the Venice Cruise Terminal's Marittima basin (which opened after the videos below were shot), and the parking island of Tronchetto.

Tickets were free on the People Mover's first day of operation, so we rode from the Piazzale Roma to Tronchetto and back. We also shot the videos below:

• The first video shows a train coming into the Piazzale Roma station, the three-minute ride to Tronchetto, and the train leaving Tronchetto for the Piazzale Roma.
• The second video shows a train entering the Tronchetto station after dark, followed by a nighttime ride from Tronchetto to the Piazzale Roma.
• The third, very short video shows the Piazzale Roma station, so you'll know what to look for if you're trying to reach Tronchetto or the cruise port. It includes a shot of a cable pulley rotating.

For more information on riding the People Mover (including illustrated step-by-step instructions), see our new Venice People Mover article at Venice for Visitors.

Comments

[Stuart Levine]

When will Maratime station be opened?

[Durant Imboden]

I don't know, and I'd take any prediction with a large grain of salt, since the People Mover's announced opening date was pushed back several times over a period of months.

[Durant Imboden]

It's now open. See our "Venice People Mover" article at Venice for Visitors.

[Brenda Wade]

We will be staying in Mestre. Am I correct in believing we can take a land taxi from the train station directly to the cruise port? I have read the cost to do so would be 20 to 30 euros. Is that correct? Thanks for any assistance.

[Durant Imboden]

You can take a land taxi from your Mestre hotel to the cruise terminal at Marittima or S. Basilio, and the fare shouldn't be too painful.

Or, if you want to save money, you can take the train from Mestre to the Venice Santa Lucia railroad station, haul your luggage over the new Calatrava Bridge to the Piazzale Roma, and either catch a free shuttle bus to your ship or pay a euro to ride the Venice People Mover to the Marittima cruise-ship basin (if that's where your ship is moored).