Transport: Tuscany Archipelago, towards the tender for the assignment of connection services

Press release no. 0622

Of CRT Press Office

Florence – In his communication to the chamber the regional councilor Stefano Baccelli illustrated the various steps regarding the preparation of the tender for the assignment of the maritime cabotage service connecting with the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago which began in 2022. “The contract with the current manager Toremar spa will end on 31 December 2024. We have carried out a market verification procedure and the definition of the tender lots as required by the resolution of the Transport Regulation Authority (ART). Then we made use of the external technical assistance entrusted to the temporary grouping of companies formed by Paragon SRL and T Bridge Spa”, explained Baccelli. The choice of the Tuscany Region “was to proceed with an intense comparison with the territory, with mayors and councilors of the Tuscan archipelago, with the Port System Authority, with the employers’ associations and trade unions, a questionnaire was also opened on users’ mobility needs”. Consultations were also carried out with the stakeholders of the Tuscan Archipelago, with the Municipality of Giglio Island, with the Municipality of Capraia, and with the municipalities of Elba. “The Piombino – Portoferraio route has attracted great interest, even without public compensation, while without public compensation there is no interest for the other routes and for the Capraia and Giglio area”. For the councilor there is therefore “a very uneven situation between the various lines, and for the Tuscany Region the need to guarantee the best offer and maintenance of services and maximum protection of the workers involved. The path – he concluded – includes the final procedural steps, also with the discussion with ART and the Port System Authority, for the start of the finalized procedures for the assignment of the lines”.

In his speech Marco Landi (Lega) recalled “that it remains to be assessed how any staff redundancy will be managed. I would like to highlight that the duration of the tender (last tender 12 years) is so long that it must include a possible verification and modification, with a constraint on the young age of the fleet to avoid difficulties in the high season”. Landi hopes that “there is no risk of unpacking, because the commercial principle must unite with a social principle: we must finance all routes. In the past we have not seen residents and vulnerable people protected in a dignified manner, even on medical transport”. The economic categories, Landi recalled, “indicate the transit of goods on means other than those used for the transport of people, as happens for rail transport; Furthermore, digital ticket machines are needed for residents.” According to Landi, it is “Important to relate to the companies so as not to reach a state of unrest with unions, companies and operators. There are advantages on certain lines but you have to take even the most difficult lines with the unique lot. Toremar works well, we need to try to achieve territorial continuity and study the possibility of resident ticketing for Tuscans too.”

Alessandro Capecchi (Fratelli Italia) asked “if political indications can still be given at this stage of the race” and believes that the discussion cannot be “exhausted today”. The councilor said that it would be necessary to “look at electrification to reduce the environmental impact of ships” and highlighted four elements: transport in territorial continuity, the application of the employment protection clause, the quality of services and the ‘environmental impact. “We need to find a way to keep together the strong tourist demand, with the weakest segment of residents, and the necessary safeguarding of medical transport – he added. The most touristy part of the route attracts more interest, while other routes are not of interest. With the single lot, the lost revenues deriving from the less interesting routes could be compensated. We appreciate the consultations carried out and ask ourselves which path the Region should take and how to involve the Council”.

The regional councilor Gianni Anselmi (Pd) spoke about a theme that “affects first of all the quality of life of the inhabitants of the Tuscan Archipelago, which affects tourism service and maritime mobility”. According to councilor Anselmi, two issues are worthy of attention which complement the documents presented. The first is the management of the Campiglia-Piombino route, we consider worthy of attention within the tender the possibility that the manager of the maritime routes also takes charge of the management of the Campiglia-Piombino railway section following a discussion with the Italian railway network which she is currently the owner. This is to better link timetables and improve environmental sustainability. The incentive of the train service would partially relieve the vehicular pressure on the island. “The second aspect to take into consideration – continued councilor Anselmi – concerns the issue of cold ironing. A system which, thanks to the electrification of the port’s docks, would allow the on-board systems to be recharged with the engines off, and this, especially in Portoferraio, could lead to a notable improvement in the environmental context. The objective on these issues is to arrive at a shared synthesis with the other council groups”.

In his speech the regional councilor of Fratelli d’Italia Diego Petrucci: he confirmed how the topic of cold ironing is more current than ever, explaining that “by dining in Portoferraio you realize how much noise and air pollution the inhabitants are forced to suffer. And the same discussion can be extended, even if indirectly, to the inhabitants of Piombino. This is an issue on which the public must prove itself more virtuous than the private sector by setting an example and achieving the electrification of the docks as soon as possible”. Councilor Petrucci who brought the virtuous example of Venice concluded his speech by adding that “Tuscany in this case must become a pilot region for the rest of the country by inserting this objective in the tender”.

During his reply, councilor Stefano Baccelli first of all explained that “the legal framework cannot be ignored to avoid there being appeals that invalidate the announcement”. “The Region’s objective – he added – is not to limit costs, but to implement the 15% service. The duration of the contract remains unchanged at 12 years and the social partners have also recognized the Council’s sensitivity to the issue of employment. It is not possible to directly entrust the management to Toremar or to invent a disguised tender because this would inevitably lead to a shower of appeals from other operators in the sector. It is also unrealistic to include a maximum age of 5 years for ships in the tender, because in this way the tender would be deserted, while, if anything, reward indices need to be imagined to modernize the fleet”.

(text edited by Riccardo Ferrucci and Emmanuel Milano)

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