A Letter from ACT Pilot Alberto Cancian:
What has happened to local public transportation?
A few years ago, it would have been unthinkable to ask that question. Local public transportation (TPL) was one of the most important drivers for the country; a permanent job, with guarantees for the future, a job with dignity for those working in the sector, but above all for those who use public transportation to get around.
They rely on those sure links that create connections with life, schools, hospitals, meeting places.
In short, it was a sought-after position for many young people.
Now what’s happening? We hear about a staff shortage that is affecting the entire country. What happened to get to this point?
What made the job of bus and tram driver unappealing?
In Venice, we are experiencing the effects every day, with missed vaporetto trips and those that are running being always full. Likewise, there are fewer buses, which are also always full, in Mestre, with the accompanying inconveniences for local users and for the numerous tourists who not only invade the historic center but also the mainland, a problem that will also and especially become clear when schools reopen.
Why did we get to this point?
First of all, there is the inability of municipal administrations to do adequate planning, in compliance with government regulations that require companies to move within the confines of what is called the PEF (economic financial program), which itself is too limited. There is the impossibility of reviewing the parameters set out in the National Collective Labor Agreement, which require too long a time before a career reaches decent salaries and the impossibility of including command allowances. However, it is not just an economic issue, it is also a question of recognition of the professional role.
Once upon a time, drivers, pilots, captains, sailors and inspectors were respected professionals, and you could set your watch by ACTV vaporetti. Now there is an increase in rudeness, but this is at least in part due to bad political management.
As if that were not enough, next year the Ministry of Transportation will implement a cut of about thirty million euros to the Veneto region’s allocation, which is distributed to the six TPL governing bodies, namely the six provinces plus the metropolitan city of Venice. This will lead to further inconveniences and poor service, the repercussion of which will then promptly fall on those working on the front lines. We will always be stuck at the starting point, namely the lack of personnel, because no one wants to take on the burden, but above all the honor of carrying out and ensuring what is a constitutional right, the right to mobility.
National and city politics must understand that these companies are not meant to produce profits, but rights.
Thus local public transportation should return to providing the level of service it did before – otherwise, what will be the alternative?
Let posterity decide.
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About Alberto Cancian: I am Venetian, and I live in Castello. Married with two children, I am in charge of the command at ACTV, the local public transportation company of Venice. I am passionate about sports and in the past I was a basketball player and coach. My current pastime is the radio: I personally curate the emerging artists section for Radio Vanessa.
Source: Ytali.com
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