variant Omicron and related measures taken by the government to control it, which discourage travel, are causing serious damage to private passenger transport companies: High-speed rail and long-distance bus services. The major operators in the sector (Italo, FlixBus, Itabus, Simet and others) have sent 2 letters to the ministers Enrico Giovannini (Infrastructure) and Daniele Franco (Economy) to urge urgent measures to support high-speed and medium-long distance road transport. In high-speed rail, in particular, the current situation is such as to allow for an inevitable and further deterioration, which will have effects comparable to those already suffered on the occasion of the first national lockdown.
La Rocca: significant drop in demand
Gianbattista The fortress, CEO of Italo (formerly Ntv), explains the reasons for the initiative to Sole 24 Ore: «Right now we are witnessing a significant reduction in demand, around 40 per cent. People are very little inclined to travel for tourism and for work and the promotion of smart working goes precisely in this direction. In addition we must consider a generalized increase in costs: electricity, diesel, motorway tolls, investments in measures aimed at combating Covid such as Hepa filters on board our trains, sanitizers, masks, spacing. An unsustainable situation for all private companies in the sector which, as a sole interlocutor, have private customers. The effects of all this are very similar to those of a lockdown, without however the recognition of any refreshment, as had happened in the past ».
Italo in government: subsidies and refreshments are needed
As for Italo, sales for travel to be made in January are approximately 40% lower than those recorded in the same period before pandemic , those for the month of February are even lower by 80% compared to the same period before Covid.
La Rocca continues: “From the combination of the reduction in demand and the increase in costs, private companies see their income statement in great pain”. The first response of the operators, necessary even if not sufficient, will be a strong reduction of the daily frequencies of their routes, both for trains and buses, of all private operators, starting from next week. Frequencies that will continue to decrease with the further, foreseeable decline in demand in the following weeks, with serious consequences on employment and all related industries.
La Rocca continues: “It is essential that subsidy measures be immediately adopted and refreshments allocated to all those private companies that have been facing a very serious situation for two years and that for this very reason have already applied to the competent ministries”.
Italo asks the government for a discount on the infrastructure access fee (the toll) and the disbursement of compensation funds for the damage suffered.
The canceled trains
Meanwhile, we start with the cancellations of trains. Since yesterday, January 7, Italo has canceled 6 daily services, which from next January 14 will become 27, of which 21 will be canceled every day and a further 6 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Bus service companies are also on the same line as Italo. Mariella says of Florio, CEO of Simet: «The sector has been experiencing, since March 2020, restrictions which, although acceptable, are seriously affecting business activities. Restrictions which, in the absence of immediate refreshments, which cannot be postponed by now, can only lead to a drastic reduction in commercial services on long distances ».
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