The transportation system in Vatican City, a country 1.05 km (0.65 mi) long and 0.85 km (0.53 mi) wide,[1] is a small transportation system with no airports or highways. There is no public transport in the country. A heliport and a short railway is used for special occasions only. Most visitors will walk from a nearby Italian bus or train stop, or car parking. Given an average walking speed of 3.6 km/h (2.2 mph),[2]Vatican City can be crossed in 20 minutes or less. Thus, much of the infrastructure in the Vatican consists of St. Peter's Square itself, hallways and aisles in the basilica and surrounding buildings, and walkways behind and between the buildings.[1] The Vatican City Heliport is in the western corner of the city-state, and is used only for officials of the Holy See and official visitors.[3]
Vehicle registration plates of official road vehicles registered in Vatican City use the prefix SCV, an abbreviation of the Latin Status Civitatis Vaticanae,[5] followed by a series of digits, while vehicle registration plates of residential road vehicles registered in Vatican City use the prefix CV followed by a series of digits. The international identification plate/sticker is V. The Pope's car has usually carried the registration SCV 1 in red lettering. As there is more than one vehicle used to transport the Pope, multiple registered vehicles in Vatican City use the SCV 1 registration plate.
Pope Francis, who called for a more frugal lifestyle for the Catholic clergy in general,[6] downgraded the Papal vehicles (reminiscent of his preference for public transport as Archbishop).[7] He drives himself inside the Vatican in a small 1984 Renault 4[8] in lieu of the bulletproof popemobile.[9][10]
