Itabus, let's go. The new Italo-branded bus service, which will compete with the similar activity of Fs and Flixbus, officially debuts on Italian roads on Thursday 27 May. The fleet boasts 300 vehicles, including the latest generation MAN branded bus, Volkswagen group, winner of the "Coach of the Year 2020" award: they will be carried out 350 connections per day and traveled 90 million kilometers a year, and the project strongly desired by the vice president of Italo, Flavio Cattaneo, will also be capable of generating over 1.000 new jobs, both directly and indirectly, as well as relaunching the Italo group, adding a new offer that will compensate for the decline in rail transport in the last year, due to Covid, which has forced the company to reduce connections and also to suspend some sections.
The Regions covered by Itabus are almost all: starting with Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia Romagna, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardy, Marche, Molise, Piedmont, Puglia, Tuscany, Trentino-Alto-Adige, Umbria and Veneto, but coverage of Sicily is already envisaged. Only Sardinia, Friuli and Valle d'Aosta remain out for now. The goal is to connect even the most remote locations in a capillary way, even at night, and to connect with transit through ports, airports and railway stations. The fleet will be renewed periodically to guarantee an average age of less than 2 years, and attention to the environment is guaranteed through an agreement with Eni, which will supply Eni diesel+ dieselthus contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions compared to traditional fuels. Tim also enables the 5G Internet network on board. All the travel comforts are on board (vending machines, toilets, USB and power sockets for each seat) and in the double-decker bus a Comfort+ and Top double environment, with fully reclining seats.
The investment was also supported thanks to a Intesa Sanpaolo loan, through the IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division. Luca di Montezemolo is also involved in the project, who was one of the founding partners of Italo in 2006.
