Commuters and holidaymakers in Italy may once again experience significant travel disruption on Monday as public transport staff plan to take part in a four-hour walkout.
The strike was called earlier this month by USB, one of Italy’s major trade unions, to demand higher wages, the introduction of a national minimum wage and stronger measures on workplace safety.
Monday’s walkout is expected to affect all types of local public transport, from metro lines to surface services (buses, trams, ferries, etc.), in cities around the country.
This could mean major delays or even cancellations for passengers amid an intense heatwave that’s set to continue into the beginning of next week.
As it’s often the case with public transport strikes in Italy, the start and end times of the protest will vary from city to city, as will the amount of disruption caused by it.
READ ALSO: Should you travel in Italy when there’s a strike on?
In Rome, staff at public transport companies Atac and Roma TPL plan to strike from 8.30am to 12.30am.
Besides affecting the normal operation of local transport services, the protest may also mean some bus or metro stations are closed throughout the demonstration.
Services scheduled to begin before the start of the strike and following its end should run as normal, Atac said in a press release.
In Tuscany, staff at Autolinee Toscane, which runs urban and extra-urban bus lines in a number of cities including Florence, will strike from 5.45pm to 9.45pm, with services potentially experiencing “delays or cancellations”.
Staff at Milan’s ATM are not expected to take part in the walkout, according to local media reports.
However, workers with FerrovieNord, which manages over 300 kilometres of rail network in northern Italy including in and around the Milan area, will strike from 9am to 1pm.
This may have “repercussions” on some Trenord lines, including rail routes between central Milan and Malpensa airport.
Rail services to and from Malpensa airport could be replaced with buses if they are affected by the strike, Trenord said.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Why are there so many transport strikes in Italy?
For details about how Monday’s strike will affect public transport in your city, including the start and end times of any planned walkout, passengers are advised to check the website of their local transport company.
It’s worth stressing that walkouts in Italy don't always mean a complete stop to all public transport services, as a number of minimum services (servizi minimi in Italian) are generally guaranteed to operate during strike actions.
National rail travel
Interregional and long-distance rail services operated by Trenitalia and Italo should not be affected by the walkout according to the latest reports.
Air travel
Air travel won’t be impacted by the walkout.
Keep up with the latest updates in The Local's strike news section.
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