The implementing regulation of Ministerial Decree 255/2016 of the MIT that revolutionizes public transport in Italy.
With the implementing regulation of Decree 255 of October 27, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry for Simplification and Public Administration on January 10, 2017, local public transport companies have a set of technical rules at their disposal to “promote the adoption of interoperable electronic ticketing systems at the national level and integrated electronic tickets in metropolitan cities”, to be followed, starting from January 25, 2017.
The issue of interoperability therefore becomes central. A prerequisite for true interoperability is data accessibility, and the Decree specifically mandates transport operators to make public, on their websites, in accordance with open data principles, the list of travel tickets, purchase methods, network schedules, and their services.
Another important requirement dictated by Decree 255/2016 is the obligation to validate the travel ticket“also automatically, using ground and on-board equipment and appropriate technical and organizational solutions, at the beginning of each trip or transfer”,which, supported by an adequate sanctioning system, implies a significant cultural shift in perspective: the service is only for those who pay for it and prove they have paid for it.
Electronic ticketing systems must be able to manage all types of travel tickets and make them available for purchase also through the internet and mobile devices. Furthermore, they must allow different types of tickets to coexist on the same physical medium, both from different operators and for different services, mainly related to mobility, such as bus, metro, train, collective transport, and parking services, but also other types.
All this, as stated in the preamble of the Decree, “in order to incentivizethe use of electronic tools to improve services for citizens in the local public transport sector, reducing related costs”. And precisely with the aim of saving and enhancing existing technologies, as urged by the Decree itself, it becomes essential to raise awareness among Public Administrations on how to best utilize technologies already present in the territory to comply with the rules set by the Decree.
A concrete example can come from the world of parking: 12,000 out of the 25,000 parking meters in Italy are new-generation devices, and therefore, from a technological standpoint, are fully capable of performing many operations beyond parking payment, such as checking and recharging public transport season tickets.
And examples of using parking meters beyond parking are not lacking. In Milan, for instance, the parking meter allows payment for Area C, as well as checking and recharging public transport season tickets; in Genoa and Ivrea, it is possible to pay administrative fines and manage discounts for transport season ticket holders (equipped with a “BELT” card) at park-and-ride facilities and for resident parking; finally, in Arezzo, in addition to allowing the recharging of “AREZZO CARD” cards, it enables the activation of BIKE SHARING services in multi-story car parks.
Their widespread presence in the territory makes them strategic for Public Administrations that, understanding their potential, could exploit their characteristics to provide services to citizens, in compliance with Decree 255/2016, without incurring additional “infrastructural” costs.
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