Venice, tourists and transport bonuses save Actv: three million more from the increase in tickets
Actv once again thanks the tourists, but above all the maneuver of the Municipality that has increased the price of tickets by two eurosbecause in fifty days the company has seen an increase of 3.2 million euros in receipts. And the passengers have certainly not grown. «It is a phenomenon that affects all Italian cities – says the general manager of Avm Giovanni Seno – Post-pandemic disaffection with public transport is now a fact. In Venice the calli are full and the vehicles, excluding some races, sections or periods of the day, are not stormed ». The goal of recovering the subscribers lost during the pandemic to meet the 16 million extra operating costs and bills due to high energy has also been achieved, but for now the operation has failed.
The Covid effect
Actv still pays for the Covid injuries (this year there are no refreshments or amortizations) which has caused the number of subscribers to collapse
: in the last three years the fear of contagion, and the taxes on the capacity of public transport, have pushed many users to use their private cars, bicycles or walk. The need has become a habit and they are the ones who, despite the withdrawal of the few and the results obtained thanks to the vaccination campaign. And so the subscriptions are still well below pre-pandemic levels. Actv currently has 21 percent fewer subscriptions than in 2019: a weak recovery compared to last year (-25 percent).
Positive signs
However, some positive signs can be glimpsed: in the last month and a half the number of subscriptions sold was only 5 percent less than in the same pre-Covid period.A recovery, however, “drugged” by the transport bonus: 32,246 people benefited from it. On the one hand, the incentive has contributed to the resumption of the use of public transport but on the other it risks being a flash in the pan. C.hello subscribed using the bonus may not renew it once the help is gone. The race for the bonus then suggests aother reading: for many, public transport is destined to become a luxury; a service that can only be used with state aid. “We are putting a great effort into transport management – explains the company – we welcome the progressive improvement in season ticket sales and we hope that this trend will be confirmed and consolidated in the coming months and especially in 2023”. Next year recovering lost subscribers will be almost a necessity. In fact, already this year, operating costs – due to the explosion in the cost of energy, fuels and raw materials – will weigh 16.2 million more than in 2019. And in August the Municipality and the company made a courageous bet: the cost of tickets and passes, for residents and commuters, remained unchanged for the seventh consecutive year, instead going to insist on tourists, bringing the cost of the ticket to 9.5 euros per race. The goal for the next few months therefore remains the one set in August: to recover the “lost subscribers”. The estimate for the end of the year speaks of 85 per cent of receipts on 2019. Holding up with today’s rates, with energy costs that do not seem to decrease sufficiently, would otherwise become increasingly complicated.
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October 25, 2022 (change October 25, 2022 | 17:33)
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