A functional central train and bus station. Arrived mid-day on a weekday and the station was bustling, also arrived/departed from here during morning and evening an additional few times during my stay in Bologna and each time was as busy as the last. Only time it wasn't busy was when there was a national transportation strike one of days. Even then a bout 30-40 minutes into the strike some of the buses were finishing up routes they began before the strike started so there were still a fair amount of people.
The layout of the station is a bit confusing, mostly because the signs to the platforms point in every direction possible. For examples there are signs pointing in opposite directions to the same platform if they can be reached by following walkways circling left or right. It feels like in an effort to provide all the options they made it more complicated than necessary.
The majority of local and regional trains depart from the ground/first floor level. Depending on which entrance you enter the station, this may be as easy as walking past the lobby, scanning your ticket and heading straight into the platform area. If you enter on the side entrance you may need to walk thru an underground walkway and up stairs or escalators reach your platform.
If you are arriving or departing from longer regional routes on high speed trains, these platforms are located on the lower sub basement level. There are ticket machines and offices located on this level. I saw some station associates helping customers at specific ticket kiosks.
Between the first/ground floor and sub basement level is a parking and secondary passenger pick-up drop off area.
If you're looking to purchase local Bologna public transit bus tickets, you can buy physical tickets for individual rides or a 10-pack at the convenience/smoke shop located on the left side of the lobby inside the main entrance. Also note that physical tickets aren't necessarily needed since most buses also can scan credit cards with chips. read more