MESSINA. Starting from May 2nd, important innovations will be introduced on various ATM lines aimed at improving and strengthening the local public transport service. In particular, lines 20, 20 bis, 22, 22 bis, 23, 27 and 35 will be affected by route changes, while lines 8, 8 bis and 24 will have timetable changes.
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The lines 20 And 20 bis, which serve the San Licandro area, will transit via Fiore and no longer via Saro Leonardi as currently happens.
The lines 22 And 23, serving the Annunziata, will have a change of route to facilitate the connection with the city center. In particular, the route of line 22, which today serves as a shuttle between the Museum terminal and the upper Annunziata area, will undergo a significant lengthening which includes the departure from the Villa Dante terminal and arrival at the Museum, and then continuing along Viale Annunziata up to the University Citadel. The modified line 22 will have a frequency of 40 minutes and larger 12 meter buses will be used to accommodate on board the numerous passengers who need to move from the north to the centre.
There line 22 biswhich was created as an upgrade of line 22, will always start from Villa Dante with destination Annunziata, but along the route it will pass through the Maritime Station and via Luigi Rizzo to facilitate students and commuters coming from Calabria.
There line 35which starts from the Museum Terminal and reaches the town of Acqualadrone passing on the way from the coastal road and from the mountainous part on the way back, with a passage to Faro Superiore, will have a new route: the outward and return journey will be carried out on the same route, in order to allow residents of the Faro Superiore area to be able to use the service also on the return.
There line 27 instead, in all trips to Faro Superiore it will pass through Marotta and Curcuraci, contrary to what happens now with two trips that pass first through Faro Superiore and then through Curcuraci. This change was implemented to avoid overlap with the new route of line 35.
Relatively then, to the changes in timetables, the changes to lines 8 And 8 bis they will cover both the outward and return journeys, and have been specifically designed to allow a greater number of students to have less waiting time at stops when leaving school.
Finally, the line 24, will have a 5 minute advance on the first journey, scheduled for 7am and no longer at 7.05am, in order to avoid delays at school entrances.
“The near future of the city – highlights the mayor Federico Basile – it is in the name of collective and innovative mobility. The change in routes and timetables and in some urban bus lines that ATM has implemented is necessary to respond to the needs of users and the mobility needs expressed by the city neighborhoods. We believe we have achieved one of the objectives of our mandate: to improve city transport starting from a level that was not so satisfactory”.
“We want to continue to improve local public transport to make it more efficient, attractive and pleasant – adds the deputy mayor and councilor for Mobility Salvatore Mondello –. Changing the lines is a complex job because the entire system must be taken into account, but it is essential to make users’ approach to using public transport for travel simpler and easier in order to eliminate urban traffic congestion in benefit of environmental sustainability”.
“Our main goal – explains the president Giuseppe Campagna – remains to make the local public transport service increasingly efficient and responsive to the real needs of users. Thanks to the technological systems adopted by Atm Spa in recent years, we have the possibility of studying the flow of passengers and adapting the operation plan to the data in our possession. This is why, throughout the year, we approve changes regarding routes and timetables. The company top management is committed every day to improving the service with solutions that can encourage more and more people from Messina to leave the car at home and travel by bus and tram”.
