Confindustria ANCMA: two-wheel mobility is growing in Italy

Confindustria ANCMA – How city mobility on two wheels is changing. This was discussed today in Milan at the headquarters ofancient at the presentation of the second report of theFocus2R Observatory – National Observatory on Infrastructure, Safety and Mobility for Two-Wheel Vehicles, the most complete and updated photograph of the policies dedicated to two wheels by the Italian provincial capital municipalities, in the presence of the President of Confindustria ANCMA, Andrea Dell'Orto; of the General Director of Confindustria ANCMA, Pier Francesco Caliari; of the urban areas and mobility manager of Legambiente, Alberto Fiorillo; of the President of Legambiente Lombardia, Barbara Meggetto; of the General Director of ANCI Lombardy, Pier Attilio Superti and the sole director of Ambiente Italia, Mario Zambrini. The Mobility Councilors of the Municipalities of Milan, Bergamo, Bolzano, Genoa and Turin also spoke at the presentation.

The report - unique in Italy - makes available a wealth of information on cycle paths, guardrails, sharing mobility, dedicated car parks, charging stations for electric vehicles, provided directly by local administrations. This year too, the response of Italian municipalities to the monitoring of two-wheel mobility in urban areas, carried out by the Focus 2R Observatory, was excellent: 78% of local administrations completed and returned the questionnaire, developed by Ambiente Italia on behalf of Confindustria ANCMA and Legambiente, which feeds the richest and most detailed database ever produced in Italy on mobility policies dedicated to bicycles and motorcycles. 74% of the municipalities interviewed allow mopeds and motorcycles to enter the Limited Traffic Zones. It is significant that in one city out of 10, access to the historic center is allowed only to vehicles with electric motors. The circulation of mopeds and motorcycles in the lanes reserved for public transport remains prohibited in the majority of cities, but the percentage of municipalities that authorize access rises - compared to the last survey - from 8% to 12%. The situation is different for bicycles, which are authorized to circulate in all or some reserved lanes in 36 Municipalities, equal to 41% of the total. The data relating to the cities that authorize the transport of bicycles on public transport is also significant: these are 38 municipalities, equal to 40% of the total (in 2016 they were 31%).

The problem of spaces reserved for parking motorbikes and scooters remains an unsolved problem: approximately half of the cities (56%) offer less than 5% availability of spaces dedicated to motorized two-wheelers; 80% of the municipalities that responded to the questionnaire have an availability of dedicated parking spaces of no more than 20%. Even worse, if possible, is the situation with bicycles: 50% of municipalities declare that they have no stall dedicated to bicycles or, in any case, a percentage lower than 1% of the total. However, some timid signs of improvement emerge from the comparison with the previous year: the average availability of dedicated parking spaces rises from 8% to 11% for motorbikes and from 9% to 12% for bicycles. The situation of interchange parking for bicycles, located near railway stations, is better: 73% of local administrations (increasing compared to 2016 when it was 69%) have set them up at least at one station.

"Two-wheeled mobility in Italy and the possibility of traveling on bicycles, scooters and motorcycles – declares Andrea Dell'Orto, President of Confindustria ANCMA – represents an indispensable opportunity for Italian local administrations, with a view to reducing emissions and streamlining traffic. ANCMA's request is that the regulatory framework becomes increasingly clear, uniform and favorable to the spread of two wheels and their safety in urban traffic. Behind this phenomenon there is a healthy Italian industry that produces wealth and employment for the country: companies in the motorcycle and bicycle sector generate a turnover of 5 billion euros and employ 60.000 people; Italy is a European leader in the production of two-wheeled vehicles, both motorized and pedal-powered, and can boast a trade balance that has been in the black for 25 years with a cumulative value of over 17 billion euros".

There are now 63 municipalities that have equipped themselves with a bike-sharing service, with an overall availability of almost 11.000 bicycles for more than 140.000 subscribers: compared to an increase in the percentage of municipalities that offer bike-sharing (from 61% from 2016 to 66% this year), there is a decrease in the average number of bicycles available (-15%) and subscribers (-13%). The widespread diffusion of scooter sharing services is still immature: in the year the research was surveyed, only 4 cities offered this service, further reduced due to the recent withdrawal of an operator. Signs of growth are recorded in the field of electric mobility: 41% of the cities interviewed declare they have installed a charging network for motorcycles or scooters, with an average of 30 public charging stations per municipality, but peaks exceeding 100 units in larger or more sensitive municipalities. 38% of cities have installed networks for charging e-bikes, although in this case the presence of charging stations across the territory is much more uneven.

Finally, there is a different level of attention on the part of local administrators with respect to the measures to improve the safety of users included in the Urban Mobility Plans: if 71% of the municipalities declare to have approved at least one measure for the safety of cyclists ( but the value is decreasing compared to 75% in 2016), only 26% presented initiatives for the safety of motorcyclists. An exception is represented by the installation of specific guardrails for the protection of motorcyclists: 19% have installed them, another 22% - up compared to 18% in 2016 - declare they intend to expand them or use them in the future for the first time .