Europe travel guide

Venice water bus for the locals

A new water bus service will have a ban on tourist passengers. The new line is reserved for pass holders only and only city residents qualify for one.

The move is to try and lessen the impact of rising numbers of tourists in Venice - now an estimated 20 million annually - who swamp the vaporetti boats that ply their trade along the Grand Canal.

Venice residents have complained for years that hordes of tourists leave no room for locals on the water buses that are the only means of transport around the city.

There are already calls for a tourist tax to limit the numbers but these have proved unpopular with those who make as reported $17 billion annually from the tourist trade.

The new No3 water bus runs along the Grand Canal from the Piazzale Roma to the Piazza San Marco.

This article was written for TravelSavvy Europe by Val Adams. If you know of an interesting European travel related news story, please get in contact.