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Since May 2002, the Municipality of Venice has
joined the national initiative, financed by the Italian Environment Ministry
(9.5 million Euro at national level), to create an urban car sharing service by
means of ICS (Car Sharing Initiative). The organisation delegated by the
Ministry to supply Cities with services and technical assistance to promote
sustainable mobility. The most important requirements to receive the Ministry’s
funds were: the presentation of a car-sharing Project (made by the operative
partner that is ASM, the Municipal Agency for Mobility) approved by ICS and an
economic investment, from the City, equivalent to the one’s requested as
contribution to the Ministry.
The aim of
the Car Sharing Project in Venice is to achieve the following objectives by
proposing different travel behaviour:
- a
reduction in private vehicle use;
- the
boosting of collective transport vehicles use;
- containment
of energy consumption;
- reduction
in air pollution;
- speeding
up of city traffic.
Vehicles are collected and returned using an automatic
self-service system based on a microchip card, that is made available when the
user sign his contract. There are various types of vehicles which are all
collected from and returned to four car parks in the Mainland (Mestre and
Tessera) and one car park in the Venice Lido (here the fleet includes electric
vehicles too).
Users only have to
stipulate a contract where they undertake to observe all the rules for the use
of the vehicles.
Each customer is then issued with a smart card enabling him or her to use the
vehicles.
Users must have
first made a reservation before being able to pick up a car. Reservations are made through a
call centre (24 hour service), and users must specify when and where the car
will be picked up and returned. Thus the system enables users to use vehicles
for one-way journeys; i.e. users are not obliged to return the car to the
station where it was picked up.
Vehicles are picked up and returned using automated, self-service
procedures. By
placing the smart card near a windscreen mounted reader, the car door opens and
the car can be used as if it were the user’s own property. After its use the
car is returned to one of the stations provided for the service.
Types of car. The fleet comprises 22 cars made up of:
- n. 3
natural gas Fiat Multipla;
- n. 3 Ford Ka;
- n. 3 Mercedes Smart;
- n. 7 Opel Corsa;
- n. 4 Opel Agila;
- n. 2
hybrid natural gas/diesel Opel Zafira.
The type of vehicle used does not
influence service costs.
Designated Parking Areas (see parking
areas). Vehicles can be picked up and
returned to the following stations:
MAINLAND:
- Autorimessa Comunale -
A.S.M. S.p.A - Piazzale Roma - Venice;
- Park A.S.M. S.p.A. P.le Candiani - Mestre;
- Marco Polo Airport - Tessera;
- V.le
S. Marco, n. 154 (near the law courts) - Mestre;
- P.le
Leonardo da Vinci (first 3 numbers to the left of the car park entrance) -
Mestre.
VENICE LIDO:
- Gran Viale S. Maria
Elisabetta;
- Riviera S. Maria
Elisabetta;
- Lungomare Guglielmo Marconi.
Customers can make use of either circuit but in no circumstance can a
car be taken outside its specific territorial area (mainland or the Venice
Lido).
Costs. At present no membership fees are envisaged. A deposit of € 15.50 is only required for the issue of the smart card.
The rates are based upon the time for which the car is used and the mileage
clocked up. One hour costs € 2.58, vat
included, and per kilometre € 0.26. The costs regarding insurance, fuel and
parking in authorised car parks are obviously included.
Payment is made upon the receipt of an invoice issued by A.S.M. Spa, at
the conclusion of the service and calculated on the use made of the vehicles.
Facilities. In addition to the foregoing advantages, membership also entitles users
to:
- transit
and park in "controlled-traffic areas";
- use
preferential lanes and/or reserved lanes within the territory of the Venice Municipality;
- park
free-of-charge in metered-parking areas (i.e. "blue-stripe area")
and in ground-level parking areas managed by A.S.M. S.p.A.;
- travel
in the so-called "odd-even car-registration days" (the vehicles
included in the service are expressly exempt from this measure).
In order to guarantee identical rights for all car-sharing customers in
other Italian cities, starting from August 19th 2003, the city of Venice’s car-sharing system will officially form part of the national
car-sharing circuit, designed and set up by the Ministry of the Environment.
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