TPL: In Tuscany service increased, strong post-Covid recovery

Florence. Local public transport in Toscana has seen a fair amount of change in the last three years. With the start of the new management in November 2021, Autolinee toscane, a company of the French group Ratp Dev, winner of the single tender of the Region, has immediately implemented a mass of investments with few precedents: 390 million have been spent so far.

They served to renew the fleet, among the most data in Europe, to fill the holes in the staff, but also to climb the slope in the efficiency of a service that after the pandemic had lost users and appeal. And the results are starting to give comfort to the company led by Gianni We have made a series of very important investments especially regarding the acquisition of new buses - explains the president of Autolinee, speaking with Dire - 600 new vehicles in three years.

We have lowered the average age of the fleet, which was particularly high here in Tuscany, equal to about 15 years. We want to bring it to a European average of 6-7 years”.

A first tangible result that recalls a Now the service comes out at 98,5%, which is an absolutely high level". Passengers have a "regular" service again. And this, warns Bechelli, "consoles us, because it has also allowed us to recover a number of users, especially after the Covid had halved. It was a difficult task, but in Tuscany we had one of the most important recoveries at a national level”.

Along with this, highlights the number one of the company that manages buses in Tuscany, "there are also other things that give us particular satisfaction: not only the technological renewal, but above all the work we have done in recent years on the other element that was struggling a bit at the beginning: the drivers. We were missing 350. In Tuscany we have done a great job, which has allowed us to make a great recovery".

HIRING MADE, BUT DRIVER JOB NOT ATTRACTIVE

'THE PROBLEM IS NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN, HE MUST RECEIVE GRATIFICATIONS'

In Tuscany, the public transport service is being rapidly renewed, but it has to deal with a general problem in the sector that affects both the Italian and European markets: the shortage of drivers. The profession has lost activity among potential workers: the fault of salaries, but also of cultural factors that penalize the choice of profession.

Serve a turning point. This is the hope expressed by the president of Autolinee toscane, Gianni Bechelli, answering some questions from Dire on the state of health of public transport. Unfortunately, it is a big problem in Tuscany as in Italy and in Europe.

This job doesn't seem so attractive anymore - adds Bechelli - first of all there is a problem of salary treatment, which is a truly singular fact especially in Italy, together with some difficulties such as shifts".

On the other hand, he acknowledges, “it is not a simple job, but at the same time it is strategically very relevant for the life of cities. Our drivers have the task not only of transporting passengers, but also of transforming the life and quality of life of the city. It is one of the most important strategic objectives that await us in the coming years. Therefore it is a job of great social and ecological relevance”.

If once being a bus or train driver was an element of social distinction, today this job has ended up a bit in a cone of 'It must instead return to being a socially relevant job again - is Bechelli's spur - for this reason it must receive adequate salary gratifications and social recognition.

Autolinee has tried to do its part by hiring 1.200 drivers, 600 of whom are trained. We have tried to overcome an initial obstacle - continues the president of the Ratper group company - it was difficult, especially for young people, to get a D license. We have therefore invented an academy through which we train drivers at our own expense and to whom we then give the security of a permanent job".

All this, he reveals, “has weighed on us as a cost, but it has allowed us to hire 1.200 people. It means that, if we start to overcome some of these obstacles and valorize this type of work, the problem can be solved”.

FOR A GREEN TURN IN TUSCANY RETURN TO PREFERENTIALS

“BUSES SHOULD HAVE ABSOLUTE PRIORITY, SO COMPETITIVE WITH CARS”

The investment plan of Autolinee toscane, the sole regional manager of public transport services, is allowing the fleet of buses to be renewed: the average age of the vehicles is decreasing considerably, but it is also becoming greener. And environmental sustainability is one of the elements to focus on to strengthen the service, provided that local administrations also lend a hand by giving the right importance to preferential lanes.

Gianni Bechelli, president of Autolinee, explained this during an interview with Let's start with this certainty - observes the number one of the company - in general, large cities, metropolitan areas like Florence and similar areas in Tuscany are polluted by 30% of city traffic. You should know that local public transport contributes 30% of this 0,7% with the means we have today".

In fact, a modernization of the is underway. The contribution of public transport to smog, it is in the nature of things, will decrease further. "Already today - highlights, therefore, the president of Autolinee - by getting on a bus not only you use a service, but you also create a different ecology in our cities. The bus has this characteristic: to be a driving element as regards the ecological transformation of life in our cities and in the reduction of polluting elements".

This is why, the president claims, "we are proud of the investments made". The new buses are mostly diesel, but of the new generation. And this ensures much, much lower emissions than in the past.

Furthermore, Bechelli points out, "we have already built depots for electric vehicles in Florence and Prato with mostly public investments: there will be over a hundred between this year and next and they will give a further qualification to the life of the city, because they are literally zero emissions".

In other words, a process has been started that not only changes the tools available to the company to honor the service, but that on paper can revolutionize the life of the cities. Getting on a bus must however become more desirable, because if today the service is provided 98% with Autolinee, the inconveniences caused for example by traffic are not lacking. Difficulties to be overcome, according to Bechelli, with the contribution of local authorities.

“One of the most important innovations that can be brought about is in some cases the restoration and, much more often, the expansion in terms of quantity and number of kilometers of preferential lanes. They have been somewhat abandoned to themselves in cities, so much so that they have become normal lanes”.

The problem is the respect of the access bans for other vehicles. In reality, a solution would be within reach. From this point of view, warns the president of Autolinee, "if new preferential lanes with cameras are created, violations can be discouraged". And the cascade would allow buses to regain an "absolute priority" in road traffic. This would also mean, among other things, being able to intervene on traffic lights to allow public transport to have priority during transit, as happens in some cities.