The roundtable participants began their examination of the mobility issues affecting Italy today with the observation that, last year alone, Italian households spent on average more than 35 billion euro on getting from one place to another. Also in 2009, the cost of congestion in metropolitan areas was around 9 billion euro. Just in Rome, for example, fuel consumption totaled between 12-15 million euro in the same year – to which must be added the costs generated by rising pollution in cities and areas beyond city limits, as well as by road traffic accidents.
It was stressed that these figures should raise alarm bells, especially in times of economic crisis, whilst also making clear the extent to which mobility impacts on the country’s economy. Indeed, service industry activities (which include transport) currently account for as much as around 70% of GDP formation (as against 40% up until 15 years ago). Mobility also plays an important role in terms of energy resource planning and conservation, with transport responsible for a third of national daily energy consumption, and 50% of energy resources being used solely to power urban mobility.
These observations were seen as giving rise to a fundamental strategic imperative that, in years to come, any mobility plans will need to take into account, namely: the need to rethink and strengthen local public transport and to persist with sector and network integration and coordination policies.
Market policies in the future will need to encourage the amalgamation of local transport service providers (there are currently around 1200 in Italy, with 120 in Lombardy alone) with a view to making them more competitive, including on an international level. In large metropolitan centers, where millions of people travel in and out of the area each day, investment in transport network integration will be crucial. Road and highway infrastructure, for instance, should be equipped with large transport interchange hubs (near city access points), where drivers can leave their cars behind and continue their journey by public transport.
The participants acknowledged that integrated planning is also essential for airports, with the sector having undergone considerable change. The “old era” of nationally-owned carriers and monopolistic authorities has passed. Airports are no longer immortal beings, but business concerns whose continued existence depends on the market strategies they adopt. Hence, the better and more efficiently connected they are to their local area infrastructure, the greater their competitive edge in the global market.
As regards seaports, in addition to integrated planning, there was a perceived need for change in tax policy. Having launched the so-called “motorways of the sea” (aimed at relieving road and rail congestion), it has emerged that demand has actually fallen below supply. Port operators have expressed the view that industry should be encouraged, through favorable tax treatment, to choose ships rather than trucks or trains to transport their goods.
Finally, it was observed that another key factor for mobility policies is investment in technological innovation. In this regard, it was felt that the many small and medium-sized Italian businesses capable of offering top-quality products, and that are also increasingly taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by the advent of the “green economy”, could constitute an invaluable resource.