Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

TRAVEL NEWS

How is Italy’s nationwide public transport strike affecting travel on Monday?

Passengers in cities around Italy, including Rome, Milan and Venice, faced delays and cancellations on Monday, September 9th, as an eight-hour nationwide strike hit local public transport services.

Published: 9 September 2024 08:24 CEST
A public transport tram pictured in Milan, with the Duomo Cathedral in the background.
A public transport tram pictured in Milan, with the Duomo Cathedral in the background. Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP

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 affect long-distance rail services and taxis.

As it’s often the case with public transport strikes in Italy, the start and end times of the protest were set to vary from city to city.

The level of disruption faced by passengers was also set to vary depending on the number of transport workers participating in the protest in each part of the country.

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

The protest was called in late July by some of Italy’s largest transport unions to demand the renewal of collective labour agreements and to protest against “the insufficiency of the resources allocated to the [transport] sector, inadequate wages [and] poor work-life balance” according to a statement from union Filt Cgil.

Rome

Rome’s public transport operator ATAC said in a statement that the walkout may disrupt metro, bus and tram services from 8.30am to 4.30pm.

Atac also said that the normal operation of buses run by RomaTpl, Autoservizi Troiani/Sap and Autoservizi Tuscia/Bis may be affected by the strike over the same time window, but didn’t provide further information.

Milan

Milan’s major public transport operator ATM said that the strike may affect the normal operation of its metro lines, trams and buses from 6pm until end of service.

ATM also said that passengers on the Como-Brunate funicular may experience disruption from 7:30pm until end of service. 

Venice

Venice’s public transport operator ACTV said the strike may affect water buses and mainland bus lines from 10am to 4pm.

ACTV also published a list of all the water network services that are guaranteed to go ahead on Monday. This is available here.

Florence

In Florence, passengers using Autolinee Toscane’s bus services may experience disruption from 2.30pm to 10.30pm, according to a statement from the company. 

Gest, which operates a number of tram lines in the Tuscan city, said that staff were set to walk out from 9.30am to 5pm.  

Bologna and Ferrara

Staff at Tper, which operates buses in Bologna and Ferrara, in the northeastern Emilia Romagna region, were set to walk out from 8.30am to 4.30pm. 

The protest was set to affect the Marconi Express monorail, which connects Bologna’s Guglielmo Marconi Airport with the city’s central rail station, over the same time window.

Naples

In Naples, public transport operator Anm said that tram and metro services scheduled from 9am to 5pm may not go ahead as normal due to the strike. 

Genoa

Genoa’s public transport operator AMT said that staff were set to strike from 9.30am to 5pm.

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.

For further details on guaranteed services, passengers are advised to check the relevant transport company’s website or social media accounts.

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

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

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TRAVEL NEWS

Your questions answered on the UK’s new £10 entry fee for European travellers

From next year, European travellers visiting the UK will be required to pay a £10 Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in order to enter. The Local answers your questions on what that means for people living in the EU or EEA, including EU spouses and dual nationals.

Published: 13 September 2024 12:10 CEST
Your questions answered on the UK's new £10 entry fee for European travellers

The UK has introduced an electronic travel authorisation scheme known as ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) for people paying short visits such as tourists of those visiting family members.

The ETA – which costs £10, lasts for two years and must be applied for online in advance of your trip – is already in place for citizens of some countries, but in the spring of 2025 it will be expanded to include EU and EEA citizens such as French, German or Swiss nationals.

You can find full details of the scheme and how it works here.

The UK government information is largely geared towards tourists, and readers of The Local had questions – especially on how the changes affect people with residency in an EU or EEA country, on the position for EU spouses of a UK national and the changes for dual nationals.

Does this affect Brits who are resident in an EU/EEA country?

This system all depends on the passport you are travelling on, not where you live or whether you have a residency permit for another country.

So in short if you are travelling on your UK passport, you will be treated like every other Brit and won’t need an ETA. If you are a dual national, it depends on the passport you are travelling on (more on that below).

However Brits who have an EU partner or spouse (who don’t have a British passport) should be aware that the changes will apply to their spouse.

Does this limit stays in the UK for EU citizens who are married to a Brit?

ETA, like the EU’s new EES biometric passport checks and ETIAS visa waiver, does not change any of the existing rules around immigration or long-stay visas.

At present, citizens of a number of countries – including all EU/EEA countries and a number of non-EU countries such as the USA and Canada – benefit from visa-free travel to the UK for short visits. Those people can stay in the UK for up to 180 days per year without needing a visa, although they cannot work in the UK.

This category would cover tourists and people making short visits to family. Anyone who wants to stay longer than 180 days in a year, or who wants to work in the UK, would need a visa or to apply for residency through other routes such as the EU Settled Status scheme. This includes EU nationals who have a British spouse.

What changes under ETA is that the people making short stays will no longer benefit from visa-free travel – instead they must apply online for the ETA visa before travel.

Those who wish to stay longer or to work in the UK must apply for the relevant visa or residency permit type, exactly as they do now.

What about Irish passport holders?

The exception to these rules is for people travelling on an Irish passport. Because of the Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland, those travelling on an Irish passport will not be required to get an ETA, and in fact nothing changes for them.

The exemption only applies if you are using your Irish passport to travel – if you have an Irish passport but are using another non-UK passport to travel you will be treated according to the passport you present. 

Likewise, UK nationals are also exempt from the requirement – but only if they are using their UK passport to travel.

Do children need an ETA?

Yes, everyone entering the UK will need an ETA, including children and babies. The travel authorisation costs £10 for everyone – unlike the EU’s ETIAS, there is no cost exemption for over 70s or under 18s.

Do I need an ETA as an airline transit passenger? That seems mad if I’m only passing through the airport?

Yes, an ETA is required for everyone, even if you’re only passing through a UK airport as part of a connecting flight. This has sparked fury from the UK’s ‘hub’ airports such as Heathrow, where bosses say the change could cost them up to 4 million passengers a year.

The government says: “Requiring transit passengers to obtain an ETA stops people who may use connecting flights to avoid gaining permission to travel to the UK.”

What about dual nationals?

The key thing for dual nationals to remember is that your passports are not ‘linked’ – so the immigration official that you present your passport to has no way of knowing that you also have the passport of another country.

Dual nationals are therefore treated according to the passport they present. So let’s say you have a UK passport and an Italian one – if you travel to the UK on the UK passport, you will not need an ETA. However if you travel on the Italian passport you will need an ETA.

It is perfectly legal to use two passports while making a trip, so that you can enter the UK showing your UK passport and then on your return to Italy show the Italian passport – this allows you to avoid the formalities for foreigners in both countries. If you are doing this, you will just need to take care when supplying Advance Passenger Information (API) to your travel provider that you are supplying the right information for the passport that you will be using for each leg of the journey.

When does this start?

The ETA requirement is already in place for citizens of certain countries and then will continue the roll-out in two subsequent stages.

Citizens of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates already need an ETA to enter the UK. From January 8th 2025 it will be extended to citizens of all non-EU/non-EEA countries and then from April 2nd it will be required for all EU/EEA citizens (with the exception of Ireland). Find the full list of countries here.

How do I get the ETA?

You apply and pay online before you travel – the UK government says that applications should be processed within three working days but that some could take longer. You cannot enter the UK until your application is processed.

Once issued, the ETA lasts for two years and allows multiple trips – although if your passport is renewed during that two-year period you will have to apply for a new ETA.

Find full details of how to apply here.

Why is the UK doing this?

It’s a security measure and is part of the UK’s plan to digitise its borders. The scheme is intended to reduce queues at the border, “helping to speed up legitimate journeys to the UK”, a government spokesman said.

It is very similar to the EU’s ETIAS visa waiver – due to come into effect in the spring of 2025 – and the US’s ESTA visa, which has been required for all visitors since 2009.

SHOW COMMENTS