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STRIKES

Will Italy’s strikes on Friday affect the Ryder Cup in Rome?

A quarter of a million visitors are expected in Rome this weekend for the first Ryder Cup golf tournament ever to be held in Italy, but will they face transport strikes in the city?

Published: 28 September 2023 17:04 CEST
Will Italy's strikes on Friday affect the Ryder Cup in Rome?
A practice session ahead of the 44th Ryder Cup at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome on September 28, 2023. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

Players from Europe and the United States will battle it out between Friday and Sunday in the Cup’s 44th edition, to be held at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome.

But with reports of transport strikes in the news, people visiting Rome this weekend may be concerned that their plans will be disrupted.

Strikes now look unlikely to cause disruption in the city of Rome itself, after a 24-hour public transport strike planned for Friday was postponed until October 9th.

Airport strikes

Friday may however be a difficult day for air travel to or from Italy, with more than one strike by airport and airline staff set to go ahead within the same 24-hour period.

It remains unclear ahead of the strikes how disruptive they may turn out to be, and whether this could lead to any significant delays at Italian airports.

STRIKES: How will flights and transport in Italy be affected on Friday?

Aeroporti di Roma, the management company running Rome’s two airports, Ciampino and Fiumicino, had not announced any likely disruption as of Thursday afternoon, only warning passengers flying on Friday to check the status of their flight with their airline before setting off.

Flights scheduled to depart between 7am and 10am and between 6pm and 9pm are protected from strikes under Italian law, and should go ahead as usual on Friday. 

Italy’s civil aviation authority Enac has published a list of flights guaranteed to go ahead on Friday on its website.

(Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP)

Public transport

Strikes shouldn’t cause any particular problems with getting around Rome by public transport during the tournament.

However, there is a closure on part of the metro line this weekend which could complicate things for passengers.

Rome’s metro B1, a branch of the B line, will be shut from September 28th until October 1st.

This line serves four stations, from Piazza Bologna to Jonio, in the north-east of the capital, close to the Marco Simone golf course.

The city transport authority ATAC said the closure was urgently needed in order to carry out repair work on overhead lines, and that the B1 line will be replaced by shuttle buses in the meantime.

Rome meanwhile plans to increase the frequency of metro trains on the B line to once every five minutes for the duration of the Ryder Cup.

The city has also announced free shuttle buses will be laid on between Marco Simone and the train stations Ponte Mammolo (Metro B) and La Rustica UIR (FL2 railway) over the weekend.

Find more information on Rome city council’s Ryder Cup event website.

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TRAVEL NEWS

How is Italy’s national public transport strike affecting travel on Friday?

Passengers in cities around Italy, including Rome, Milan and Florence, faced delays and cancellations on Friday, September 20th, as local public transport staff staged a 24-hour nationwide walkout.

Published: 18 September 2024 09:45 CEST
Updated: 20 September 2024 08:31 CEST
How is Italy's national public transport strike affecting travel on Friday?

The walkout was set to affect all types of local public transport, from surface services (buses, trams, commuter trains and ferries) to underground metro lines, but wasn’t expected to impact long-distance rail services and taxis.

As it’s often the case with public transport strikes in Italy, the level of disruption faced by passengers was expected to vary from city to city depending on the number of transport workers participating in the protest.

According to Italian media reports, commuters in major cities, including Rome, Milan, Florence and Venice, were all likely to experience at least some level of disruption on Friday, though the strike may also have an impact in smaller cities and towns.

READ ALSO: The transport strikes to expect in Italy in autumn 2024

The protest was called in late June by some of Italy’s largest transport unions to protest against employers’ “unwillingness to open a dialogue on the issues raised by workers” including “a monthly salary increase of 300 euros [and] a reduction of working hours from 39 to 35 per week”.

Guaranteed services

Under national strike laws, public transport companies are required to guarantee the operation of a number of essential services (servizi minimi) during walkouts.

The exact times vary by operator, but usually coincide with peak travel hours.

Milan’s public transport operator ATM said that the strike may affect its trams, buses and metro lines from 8.45am to 3pm, and then from 6pm until end of service.

Services scheduled outside of the above windows were expected to operate as normal.

Rome’s major public transport operator ATAC said in a statement that services scheduled before 8.30am and from 5pm to 8pm would go ahead as normal. 

Venice’s public transport operator ACTV published a list of all the water network services that were guaranteed to go ahead on Friday. The list is available here (in Italian).  

Florence’s bus operator Autolinee Toscane said it will guarantee services scheduled from 4.15am to 8.14am, and then from 12.30pm to 14.29pm.

Gest, which operates a number of tram lines in Florence, said that services will be guaranteed in the following time slots: from 6.30am to 9.30 am, and from 5pm to 8pm.

In Naples, public transport operator EAV published a list of guaranteed services for each of their lines. See their website for further information. 

Tper, which operates buses in the northeastern Emilia Romagna region, said it will guarantee the operation of services scheduled before 8.30am and from 4.30pm to 7.30pm. Services in the provinces of Ravenna, Forli’-Cesena and Rimini were set to go ahead as normal after the areas were hit by severe flooding on Wednesday, unions said. 

Palermo’s public transport operator Amat warned that its bus and tram lines may be affected by “potential cancellations and disruption” from 8.30am to 5.30pm, and from 8.30pm to midnight.

For details on guaranteed services in other cities around the country, passengers were advised to check the relevant transport company’s website or social media accounts.

Anyone planning to travel by public transport in Italy on Friday was advised to leave extra time for their journey and check the status of local services with the relevant operator before setting off.

Keep up with the latest updates in The Local’s strike news section.

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