The outbreak of the pandemic has accelerated some trends already; started before health emergency. Mobility is one of these areas given that people have had to change their habits to comply with health measures. If forms of mobility such as public transport have suffered a setback, forms of mobility private individuals have temporarily experienced a strong expansion. Two-wheeled vehicles fit into this complex framework, such as bicycles, scooters and motorcycles , which have been able to respond to the needs of mobility; of people during the pandemic.
From this point of view & egrave; the new Focus2R Observatory is very interestingpromoted by Confindustria ANCMA and Legambiente in collaboration with Ambiente Italia Bike which essentially takes a picture of local policies in favor of cyclists and motorcyclists in the Covid era.
The report highlights that in Italy the availability average number of cycle paths in the city (+ 65.5 km only in Milan) but at the same time the use of Italians for bike-sharing decreases (- 47% compared to 2019), due to the lockdown and partly to competition from the new scooter-sharing services. Furthermore, the attention of Municipalities to improving safety on bicycles is growing, while for 51% of them that linked to motorcycles is not; still a priority. The results of the Observatory are the result of a questionnaire addressed during 2020 to 106 municipalities, to which 94 administrations replied.
GAP BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH
The study shows that although it still shows < strong>a gap between the North and the South of the country in the measures implemented, however, there is a positive and gradual rise in attention to mobility; on two wheels in the political agenda of cities Italian.
A rising interest, which concerned the main indicators of the report, but still not aligned with the renewed protagonism of bicycles and motorcycles and their growing presence in the urban environment. In fact, the reference market describes a real two-wheel boom, with the bike sector that is most likely starting to replicate the success of 2020 with over 2 million pieces sold and the motorcycle sector which marks a surprising + 21.2%. registering almost 290 thousand vehicles.
CYCLING IS GROWING
The Observatory underlines that there are positive news on the front of the growth of cycle paths in Italy . 31 municipalities have built 224.5 km of new cycle paths. Furthermore, most of the local administrations interviewed introduced more; of 2 km of cycle paths, while 7 more & ugrave; of 10 km.
Availability average of cycle paths, pedestrian and cycle paths and areas with moderate speed; at 20 and 30 km/h it also rises in 2020 and reaches 9.5 equivalent meters (+ 25% compared to 2015, the first year of the Focus2R survey). The number of municipalities where & egrave; transport of bicycles on public transport is allowed (52%), a slight increase compared to 2019 and a sharp increase compared to 31% in 2015.
This new report also tells us that the data of the administrations that have set up bike interchange stations in all or at least one railway station (74%), or in schools and universities, remains stable; (80%), while the percentage of cities is decreasing; where electric charging points for pedal assisted bicycles are available, which goes from 38% in 2015 to 33% in 2020 (it was 35% in 2019).
As in 2019, the charging points for e-bikes are concentrated in a few cities, in particular in Trento and Padua (320 and 312 respectively). In any case, 13 out of 23 municipalities do not exceed 5 recharging points and only 6 municipalities have more; of 10. On the bike sharing front, 54% of the municipalities have introduced bicycle sharing services with a total fleet of about 35 thousand vehicles.
Between the cities with the highest number of withdrawals we find Milan, Brescia, Florence, Turin and Bologna, all under one million withdrawals per year, except Milan which records 4.3 million withdrawals in 2020. The total number of withdrawals per year decreases by 47% compared to 2019, so & igrave; like the total mileage that falls by 51% compared to 2019.
And speaking of the motorcycle sector, the new Observatory highlights that the average of motorcycles per 100 inhabitants stands at 13 units, an increase compared to 2019.
The number of cities is also increasing. in which & egrave; access to lanes reserved for public transport is allowed, but it remains a possibility; limited: in 84% of the municipalities interviewed it is not; in fact still allowed. Instead, the number of cities prevails. which allow free access to the ZTL (56%), while the parking situation remains critical: one municipality out of three dedicates a percentage of stalls not exceeding 5% to two wheels.
new Observatory highlights that it improves the percentage of cities & agrave; where electric vehicle charging points are available , going from 42% in 2015 to 56% in 2019 and 62% in 2020. Furthermore, the number of recharging points is; more which doubled from 801 in 2019 to 2,602 charging points in 2020.
On the safety front, on the other hand, in the face of a decrease in the number of accidents and deaths on Italian roads, the perception of municipalities on the issue is still worrying.
In the two main mobility planning tools; urban (PUM and PGTU) security is not; in fact considered a priority; by 51%. Instead, the municipalities that claim to have installed guardrails equipped with safety protections give hope; of motorcyclists, who go from 17% in 2015 to 28% in 2020, while another 25% say they want to expand or use them in the future.
Finally, in 2020 sharing of electric motorcycles/scooters , & egrave; available in 9 municipalities (Brescia, Genoa, Grosseto, Florence, Milan, Lecce, Rimini, Rome and Turin): two more; compared to 2019 and 5 more; compared to 2015. Although limited to a few cities & # 768 ;, the total number of vehicles begins to have a certain consistency with 4,532 units & # 768; in Milan, about double compared to the previous year (2,360), 1,000 in Rimini, 580 in Turin, 560 in Rome and 100 in Genoa and Florence.
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