Among consumer policies promoted by Cittadinanzattiva, the transport sector is a historic area of intervention.

By years, in this area political initiatives are promoted, as well as planning activities, information spreading campaigns and other actions that outline a new approach to the role of consumers and customers: a role that tends to go beyond the idea of "delegating" one's own responsibility on the part of the citizen towards consumer organizations, instead favouring a total involvement in the accessibility, quality and running of the services of transport. Indeed the intention is to supply the citizen with the procedures and instruments to protect and assert their own rights.
In other words, we are working towards safeguarding rights and promoting civic participation in relations between citizens, public administration, and public utilities, and we have been inspired by the principles found in the Citizens' Charter for Consumers' Rights.

The commitment of Cittadinanzattiva about urban mobility and transport sector over the years

1. Daily citizen protection activities

• Cittadinanzattiva has developed and invested in the technology of citizen protection creating "PiT" (integrated project of citizen protection). Pit provides guidance, information and citizen protection for those citizens who have experienced inadequate services (also) in mobility and transport service;
• Click here to better know how the "PiT" works.

2. Institutional Relations. Participation in working groups to:

• Promote the ADR in this sector. For instance, for users of the railways services
• Promote collective and not only individual protection, for instance for Costa Concordia shipwreck

3. Annual Report on citizens and public services

• A year of complaints with a specific focus on transport (as well as insurance services, bank and postal services, water, electricity and gas, telecommunications). It's an analysis of the quality of the service that starts by the main difficulties encountered by passengers of rail, air, sea and local public transport.
• Click here to find the summary of the latest Annual Report.

4. Civic monitoring of the quality of the local public transport

• For example, for the monitoring of the trains, we asked the help of some commuter citizens to monitor the quality of service on trains. Some items: delay; cleaning seats, rooms and bathrooms; standing passengers; control of tickets by the staff; air conditioning; presence of a fire extinguisher, etc.
• We have also monitored the quality of the services into the railway station, for example: timely information to passengers; presence of automatic machine for paying tickets; cleaning toilets and waiting room; information panels or specific communication because of the blind; Charter of Passengers' Rights; a format for claim, etc.
• You can find examples of our activities at local level, visiting this page of Cittadinanzattiva's website. 

5. Project activities, at local, national and European level

• "Railway stations opened", in partnership with Trenitalia (2002-2004)
• "Commuting: civic evaluation and public information" in partnership with Lazio Region (2007)
• "Rail transport and urban hygiene services: a civic assessment in the Lazio Region", in partnership with Lazio Region (2010);
• "Civic evaluation: of the National Regulatory Authorities". From 2006 to 2008, we worked to realize a civic evaluation of National Regulatory Authorities (on transport, energy, tlc). It is a typical example of a consumer organizations working for general interest services. The project was co-financed by European Commission DG Sanco and involved 8 European member States. The added value of this kind of evaluation was the representation of citizens and consumers' point of view. The analysis of the complaints gathered by citizens and consumer organizations and the experiences they might have had working with the National Regulatory Authorities of their respective countries created a new level of evaluation of the efficiency and efficacy of the National Regulatory Authorities. This activity enabled us to compare the strengths and weaknesses of their functioning, as well as to identify best practices.

6. Communications activities

• Information campaign, for instance "we come back by train", for punctuality and cleanliness of trains;
• Free Guide for passengers, such as "The waters I sail";
• Fixed survey "From the passenger side" in a magazine specializes in transporting.
• A documental study, for instance regarding the analysis of the costs paid by users of public transport, with a comparison among all the Italian capitals cities.

(Last update: February 2013)