ATAC ticket vending machines at a bus stop in RomeGraphics of a typical bus stop sign, in particular the "X" stands for express line, "u" for urban line, "e" for exact line, "n" for night line
ATAC S.p.A. (Azienda Tramvie e Autobus del Comune di Roma, EN Tramway and Bus Agency of the City of Rome) is an Italian publicly owned company running most of the local public transportation services, paid parking and incentive parking lots in Rome. More specifically, the company handles, on behalf of Roma Capitale Authority, the entire tramway, trolleybus network and metro lines, as well as most of the bus lines in the city.[2] It also operates, on behalf of the Administrative Region of Lazio, three railways: Roma-Civita Castellana-Viterbo, Roma-Giardinetti and Roma-Lido.[3] ATAC S.p.A., with its 2,200-kilometer-wide public transport network, its over 8,500 busses and 70,000 parking stalls, is currently one of the biggest public transportation companies in Europe and the largest in Italy.[2][4][5]
Founded in 1909 as AATM (Autonomous Municipal Tramway Company)[6] in a bid to municipalise public means of transport in Rome, the company was reformed for the first time in 2000, when it was split into two separate components and turned into a mobility agency for the purpose of planning and coordinating public and private mobility in Rome. It was reorganised once again in 2010, when it was joined with the other two companies, Trambus and Met.Ro., both founded in 2000, back then also involved in public transportation in the city.[7][8] Over the next few years, the company was deprived of some of its branches: Roma Patrimonio, the owner of the company's estate, then put into liquidation,[9] and Roma Servizi per la Mobilità, which subsequently served as mobility agency of the municipality.[10] In 2018 ATAC S.p.A., being under financial distress, was admitted to the procedure of composition with creditors for the purpose of paying the debts it incurred with other companies, authorities, suppliers and credit institutions so as to avoid its failure.[11][12]
Public transport in Rome before 1909
Before 1909, public transportation in Rome, in contrast with other services such as waste collection, was not seen as a service that had to be directly provided, for free or upon payment of reduced fares, by public authorities. As a result, the first means of transport in Rome were offered after the beginning of the second half of the 19th century directly by private entrepreneurships, with the provision of carriages similar to those used by post delivery services, towed by either one or two horses and typically called omnibuses.
The first omnibus line in Rome was activated, probably around Jun 1845 as some sources suggest, to connect Piazza Venezia to Saint Paul Outside the Walls. On July 7, 1956, after the inauguration of the railway between Rome and Frascati (which was also the first railway owned by the Holy See), a new omnibus route between Piazza Venezia and the new train station, temporarily based in Porta Maggiore, was rolled out.
In spite of the many peculiarities pertaining to the private management of public means of transport in Rome during the 19th century, it is important to point out that the provision of omnibus lines was strictly regulated by the Holy See, that in fact, to promptly address this matter, issued the "Vehicle and other mean of transport Regulation" on July 30, 1857. According to this document, omnibus drivers had to own a specific license issued by the Municipality of Rome, along with a relevant authorisation provided by the Police General Directorate. In addition to that, omnibuses could only stop in specific areas and squares, also mandated by the ordinance.
The first omnibus service offered in its entirety within the residential area of Rome was inaugurated on February 20, 1866, connecting Piazza del Popolo to St. Peter's Square.
After 1870, when Rome was annexed to the rest of the state as a result of the Breach of Porta Pia, the first regulation concerning public means of transport within the capital was issued by the municipal administration in 1874, regulating the issue of licenses to both carriages (roughly equivalent to modern taxis) and omnibuses, as well as requirements for drivers, their conduct and standard characteristics of vehicles.[13]
This by-law, if a comparison is made with the previous guidance provided by the Holy See, further expanded on the personnel aboard the omnibus. More specifically, it mandated the continuous presence onboard of a servant, apart from the driver. His main duties were "to sit down in the rear of the vehicle and in the designated spot located out of the carriage, provided with a whistle to be used for the purpose of signalling the driver to leave, and with a trumpet or hunting horn so as to advise passengers waiting at the station that the omnibus is either leaving or arriving".[13] The Municipality of Rome also oversaw and had a say in the lines that omnibuses had to follow, as well as in the fares to be paid by passengers. In 1874, only 11 omnibus termini were authorised by the municipality and the vehicles in circulation could be 59 at the most.
A first step towards the municipalisation of public means of transport in Rome was taken in 1876 when the first convention with the "Omnibus Company of Rome" (in Italian, Società Romana degli Omnibus) was signed. The contract, renewed in 1885 and lasting 15 years, accounted for a reduction of fares for passengers, some minor changes to some routes and the implementation of some new lines.[13]
In the meanwhile, Rome was also being strongly influenced by the ongoing wave of technological advancements spreading all over Europe at the time, and evidently also when it came to public transport. As a matter of fact, the first horse-drawn tramway suburban line between Piazza del Popolo and Ponte Milvio was introduced in 1877 by the "Societé Anonime des Tramways et Chemins de Fer Économiques", known as "the Belgian". The main innovation was that the motion of the horse-towed carriage was facilitated by the presence, on the ground, of a metal rail. After a little while, still in 1879, "steam tramways", connecting Rome to Tivoli, also went into service.[13]
The "Omnibus Company of Rome", after the acquisition of tramways and several other routes formerly owned by other entrepreneurships, in 1886 reconstituted itself as the "Roman Tramways and Omnibus Company" (in Italian, Società Romana Tramways e Omnibus), also known as S.R.T.O.[13]
Managing 11 omnibus lines and 9 horse-drawn tramways, S.R.T.O. started experimenting with a new electric tramway that, despite some technical and financial issues which were initially encountered, was successfully introduced within the end of the century, which still appears to be at a much later time than in most other European capital cities. Even though some experimental lines were installed along Via Flaminia out of Porta del Popolo and inaugurated by the king Umberto I of Italy on July 6, 1890, the actual introduction of electric tramways in the city of Rome dates back to 1895, when S.R.T.O. itself activated a line connecting the already-existing line in Termini with St. Silvestro, powered by an aerial cable.[13]
Despite these technological advancements introduced at the turn of the century, several issues still permeated all means of transport handled by S.R.T.O. such as, to name a few, the shortage of vehicles and the high fares that the company could charge its customers being in an almost monopolistic setting, in a city that had already reached the threshold of half a million inhabitants between 1901 and 1911.[13][14] As a result, in a bid to solve these complexities, the Municipality of Rome took into consideration the municipalisation of all public means of transport in the city.[13]
History
At the turn of the century, it was already clear that a private management of public means of transport was, in actual facts, beneficial to neither municipalities nor customers. As a matter of fact, the first could not take advantage of the revenues deriving from the service, neither could the latter benefit from lower fares if compared with the ones provided by private companies.[15]
As a result, on March 29, 1903, Giolitti, an Italian politician and former Prime Minister, promoted a law commonly referred to as “Giolitti law on municipalisation” which regulated, for the first time in the history of the Kingdom of Italy, the management of public local services and the municipalisation thereof. This law, with many changes and integrations implemented over the years, is still partially in force after more than a century since its publication, even in the context of the Republic of Italy.[16]
In the light of this newly-come facilitation of the process of municipalisation of a company allowed by the so-called “Giolitti law”, on May 13, 1908 Ernesto Nathan, at the time mayor of Rome, presented to the municipal council of the city a proposal for the “Creation and exercise of new tramway lines by the municipality”. This document didn't only thoroughly present the project and its peculiarities, but it also carried out an insightful analysis of the public transportation history in Rome coming to the foregone conclusion that shortages of services as well as other disruptions were mainly caused by the almost monopoly that the “Roman Tramways and Omnibus Company” (S.R.T.O) had hitherto gained. This proposal would shortly be followed by a more tangible “Municipal Tramway Network Plan” devised by the Technology Assessor Giovanni Montemarini, which was discussed and subsequently unanimously approved on March 20, 1908. After three years, on March 21, 1911, the first line connecting Piazza Colonna to the area of S. Croce was inaugurated.[13]
After a while, by the end of 1908, also a “Municipal Electric Company” replacing the previously privately owned counterpart had been created, so as to provide not only the facilities but also the motor power needed for public means of transport to properly operate at a much lower price for the municipality itself. As a matter of fact, this municipalisation process led to a significant reduction in the price of tickets for members of the working class: a regular tram ticket cost 10 cents - much less than fares provided by S.R.T.O. - which was further reduced to 5 cents for workers between 5 and 8 A.M.[13]
Established in 1909 as AATM (Autonomous Municipal Tramway), the company changed its name almost immediately to A.T.M. (Municipal Tramways Company).
In this regard, it is possible to have an insight into the organisational structure of the company by taking a close look at the regulatory document issued by A.T.M. itself in 1910. According to it, the company was led by a president, along with a so-called administrative commission appointed by the municipal council itself; there was also the important presence of a technical director, typically an engineer selected on the basis of the outcome of a competition, who directed both the administrative and the technical division of the company. Technical services were further subdivided into 5 specific sectors: motion, storage, warehouse, repair shop, maintenance, and traction. The forementioned document also accounted for further requirements such as administrative transparency criteria and social legal protection, principles that lied at the heart of both hirings and fair financial attitude towards workers. To further underpin this aim, the company annually held a course for prospective drivers. When it came to hiring new personnel, the company often required previous working experience as well as a piece of identity proof, along with different study titles depending on the role held by the worker within the company (ranging roughly from elementary school certificates for drivers to high school diplomas, which made for a strict requirement for administrative personnel and accountants). The number of working hours per week was 63, which could further decrease as per the right to obtain further leaves, with a paid day off every 15 days at work, which were to be added to additional 10 guaranteed, paid days off per year. While team leaders and inspectors could receive a daily salary of up to 6 lire, the greatest wage for drivers was 4 lire, whereas the one of a worker could reach 4.50 lire and that of a messenger 3.70 lire.
In 1919, ATM began to gradually absorb SRTO's lines and rolling stock, becoming the dominant transit company in Rome.
In 1926, the Governorate of Rome, which replaced the city, was established. Consequently, ATM changed its name to ATG, and two years later, with the establishment of the first bus lines, the ATG became ATAG (Bus and Tramways Company of the governorate).
On December 21, 1929, the SRTO closed down as it only ran a single line. All of its fleet was transferred to the ATAG, which implemented a radical reform of the network by removing all the tram lines within the city centre and replacing them with buses from 1 January 1930. After the reform the network was structured on a series of radial lines which originated from a circular internal loop and were interconnected by a circular outer loop.
On 8 January 1937, the first two trolleybuses, 137 and 138, came into service in the Flaminio district.
On August 9, 1944, the city returned to its original status, so the ATAG became ATAC. It started to tackle the difficult task of rebuilding the network and the fleet. For the first two years of the post-war period a minimum service was provided by "trucks," and then in February 1947, ATAC restored the first 6 lines. The return to the pre-war network was not achieved until 1948.
In the 1950s, the highway network in Italy expanded, which caused train ridership to decrease.
In July 1972, the last trolleybus line (47) was closed.
In 2000, ATAC underwent further transformation: it has only retained ownership of the facilities, tram and trolleybus and deposits, while selling the task of managing the business to external concessionaires. The management of most of the lines of Rome is assigned to the Tramway, which is wholly owned by the City of Rome. Some private companies have won the public tender for the management of other local lines, mostly peripheral ones.
The BredaMenarinibus Avancity+ HTB were part of a controversy of misuse of public funds by the Gianni Alemanno's and Ignazio Marino's mayoral terms. In fact, they had been originally purchased in 2009 to operate into a new trolleybus line at the EUR, but had remained unused inside the Tor Pagnotta bus depot for years, before making their official debut in 2016 on routes 60 and 90 and, since 2019, on route 74.[18]
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