The fifth annual report of the Transport Regulatory Authority was presented today in the Chamber of Deputies, in the presence of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, which covers the activities carried out between July 2017 and May 2018.
The report to the deputies was presented by the president of the Authority Andrea Camanzi, who has held the position since 2013. Sustainable mobility, regulation, integrated and quality offers are the topics brought to the attention of the interlocutors by Camanzi, who said in his speech: "The results achieved in these 5 years by the Authority belie the alleged negative correlation between the intensity of regulation and the attractiveness of investments, whose very fast propellers are rather sensitive to the predictability and stability of the regulatory framework and to the credibility of independent economic regulation".
In the period between 2013 and 2016, the results of high-speed transport were positive: with an increase in the offer of +18%, an increase in passengers that exceeds 25% and a consequent growth in total revenues of more than 18 %. The average level of prices, on the other hand, appears to have dropped by 20%.
Environmental sustainability is one of the most relevant issues and of which governments have become aware: "The change underway is based on global technologies and is irreversible and systemic in nature", underlines the President of the ART, stating that "it is therefore necessary that even sector regulation fully grasps its scope by applying equally systemic methods”.
The results of the airport traffic segment were also encouraging, which – in the airports regulated by the Transport Authority, grew by 9,1% compared to the previous year, against a national average increase of 6,2%. Air traffic was 60% higher than that recorded by airports with planning contracts in derogation, such as Fiumicino, Ciampino, Linate and Malpensa airports, where it stands at 3,6%. The number of passengers in transit at the airports has grown steadily since 2013, the total volume of which for 2017 amounted to 174.628.241.
As far as the Italian motorway network is concerned, it has been estimated that the optimal management area corresponds to a kilometer extension between 180 and 315 km per single concession.
On the sidelines of the session, the Minister of Infrastructure Danilo Toninelli intervened, commenting: “I am working hard with a mission that is a fixed nail in my head: to make the way Italians travel ever better. More comfortable, safer, more sustainable for the economy and the environment” and “The Authority is an important entity and a valuable interlocutor”.
The fundamental point of the report is the protection of passengers' rights for which precise legislation has not yet been envisaged: the minimum content of the specific rights of passengers has been defined and the application of the European Regulations for the protection of passengers' rights in road transport has been guaranteed land and by sea. At the heart of the measures to be considered urgent points to be resolved are the punctuality of services, the transparency of the information provided to passengers and public access to travel data.
