Tomorrow will be a crucial day for the fate of Atac, the company that deals with public transport in Rome. The municipalized capital is on the verge of bankruptcy and the board of directors to be held tomorrow will ask for a meeting to be convened to recapitalize the company by at least 200 million euros and thus avoid taking the books to court as early as next Monday. Further tarnishing Atac's image are the white strikes of a part of the employees, and in particular of the train drivers who are causing cancellations of the journeys and consequent delays in the connections of the main areas of the city. Furthermore, the Prefect's decision on the injunction of Atac drivers is awaited for today in view of the strike proclaimed for the 27 July.
A company on the brink of collapse
Inside the municipalized capital of the capital there is a total clash in view of a board of directors that promises to be fiery. Atac's board of statutory auditors would be ready to ask for the liquidation of the company as early as Monday if radical decisions were not taken to keep a company that now seems in shambles alive. The clash is on recapitalization plan through which to attempt to bring the company back to life. In fact, the college of mayors seems intent on rejecting the hypothesis of conferring some underground trains to reinvigorate the bloodless heritage of Atac. According to what was written today by Corriere della Sera, in fact, the Capitoline councilors Scozzese and Improta (respectively Budget and Transport, close to Prime Minister Renzi) aim to obtain from the government a decree law that allows the Capitol to recapitalize Atac with 200 million euros, including 160 from the transfer of metro trains and only 40 million in cash.
But the operation, according to the mayors, would settle the Atac budget 'artificially' and certainly won't serve to fill Atac's bled coffers or to pay the long list of suppliers who are waiting in vain to obtain their credits from the largest Italian transport company local audience. Hence the tug of war to obtain something more substantial and capable of protecting administrators also from the risk of involvement in bankruptcy proceedings with the accusation of not having correctly applied the articles of the civil code.
Furthermore, according to 'La Repubblica', Atac is also a creditor, and has been waiting for the i funding from the Lazio Region on local public transport relating to the period from 2010 to 2013: well 373 million euro which the Roman municipal company has not yet collected. Money that would be good for Atac and above all for its suppliers and also, by extension, for bus and subway users.
Even today difficult situation in the subway
I inconvenience for users they are the other hot topic related to Atac in this absolutely hot month of July. The white strike continues even today and causes situations bordering on decency on the two main lines of the Capitoline underground: metro A and line B. Both lines undergo huge delays due to the departure of fewer trains than foreseen in the daily schedule. The reason for the delays lies in the application of the regulation to the letter by some drivers: they do not start trains that register anomalies, even insignificant ones, sending them for repairs, thus causing a decrease in the number of journeys. The effect is a crowd in the main metro hubs such as Tiburtina station and Termini station where you are forced to miss even 5-6 rides before being able to get on a train.
Injunction in view of the strike on Monday 27 July
Finally, the decision on the matter is expected this morning strike called by the Orsa and Ugl trade unions expected for the next one 27 July. After a long meeting, the Prefect of Rome Franco Gabrielli he asked the representatives of the trade unions to cancel the strike. Orsa and Ugl will give the answer by 12 today but in the event of failure to revoke by the two trade unions, the Prefect has already announced that he is ready to trigger the precept of Atac drivers.
