On Venetian public transport

There are no cars or trucks in Venice proper.  All the "main streets" are water, requiring boats to get from one place to another.  There are, of course, thousands of secondary streets, or calles, requiring your feet for transport (not to mention the 450 bridges).  So everything...refrigerators, garbage, building materials...gets moved by boat.  But people-moving is by far the most common purpose for boating on the canals.  Gondolas, which began as a conceit of the rich centuries ago, are now only a conveyance for tourists.  A half hour ride will cost you anywhere from 80-120 euros (but, the gondolier might sing, making it perhaps worth it for many).  The main way to get around, second only to walking, are the water busses, called vaporettos.  All of these are not equal.  Of the 20 or so different "lines", the main ones that travel the Grand Canal are numbers 1 and 2.  They also link places like the train station and St. Mark's Square.  And they are always jammed with people from early morning until late at night.  Here is a little hint of what it's like to ride on one of these:

The notion of personal space shrinks dramatically.  Happily most people seem to shower regularly.