They may be obvious in some other cities but here they are brand new initiatives.
The Ligurian city has applied for the National Recovery and Resilience Fund and it was granted to Genoa just a few months ago. The National Recovery and Resilience Fund can be used to renew the local public transport system and it’s being used for many different initiatives regarding the underground network, the buses and the local trains.
The first initiative is to extend the underground network adding a few more stations to the existing lines.
Another initiative is to offer free public transport for four months.
This latter initiative started on December 1st and it aims at encouraging the use of public transport thus reducing not only the vehicles in circulation, but consequently also CO² emissions.
The experiment, which will end on March 31st 2022, concerns the underground, the buses and also the so-called vertical systems which include public elevators and funiculars.
Genoa is a city with an infinite maze of alleyways, dead end streets and cobblestone roads that plunge between the buildings, from the hills to the sea.
Some streets are not accessible to buses and, given the many hills in the city center, many elevators and funiculars were built to connect the different neighborhoods in Genoa.
The buses and vertical solutions alike will all be free every day of the week without time limits whereas the underground will be free every day from 10 am to 4 pm and from 8 pm to closing time, therefore not including rush hour.
The Genoese territory is a complex one and it is characterized by a road system with unique characteristics (curvy, narrow roads and often with only one lane) which therefore needs to be compensated by a functional public transport.
The public transport must be improved to be faster, more convenient, reliable and frequent than it used to be, but it also must be focused on sustainability that’s why the buses are leaning towards a transition to fully electric.
More and more electric buses have been ordered and are planned to enter the fleet by early 2022.
More electric buses will be added by early 2022
After the free transport initiative ends in March, it seems that the city will grant facilitated access to public transport for certain social categories distributing free passes to the elderly and to all students.
Also the use of electric cars is already a reality and Genoa is implementing a city-run service which allows people to use and share electric cars with an app and find rental stations to park and recharge the vehicles throughout the city.
In Genoa there is also a bike sharing service with smart bicycles: the bikes have a built-in screen and a geolocation device that informs the user about the roads and timetables of the public transport in case they use the bikes in conjunction with a bus service for example.
The Genoese bike sharing works both with a membership and for those who need occasional rides.
The annual pass costs only forty euros and allows you to use the bikes for free for up to an hour and then being charged by the hour or fraction thereof.
The bike can be unlocked with your membership card or using a credit card in case of occasional use.
There are bike stations throughout the city and in particular around the University and the harbor area therefore to encourage use by students and tourists.
The city still needs to work on improving the bike lane system but it will certainly be the next initiative.
