The latest tourist season also highlighted the problem: the supply of taxis and chauffeur-driven car services appears insufficient to meet the demand for mobility in Cagliari, especially during peak periods and in the evening and nighttime. Hence the Municipality's proposal: to intervene on the public transportation front, creating a dedicated connection between the city and Elmas Airport .
The issue is at the heart of a motion approved yesterday in the city council, first signatory Alessio Mereu, a city councilor for the FdI party and former councilor for mobility . The motion commits the mayor and city council to initiate a consultation process with the regional transport department and the CTM (Italian Transport and Transport Committee). The aim is to establish a bus line between the capital and Elmas airport, with frequencies sufficient to guarantee service throughout the entire duration of arrivals and departures.
The issue arises from the growth in tourist flows recorded in recent years. According to estimates by the Sardinian Sea Port System Authority, Cagliari has seen a significant increase in tourist presences and movements, a trend that fuels a growing need for mobility . This demand, however, as highlighted in the motion, clashes with a supply that remains inadequate.
"It should not be forgotten that public transport also includes taxi services, and as such, the administration has not only a duty but an obligation to make them efficient and able to offer adequate services to citizens," states Mereu. " In the city of Cagliari, there are 100 operators in service, each holding an equal number of ordinary licenses and five licenses for the transport of persons with reduced mobility . If we consider," he adds, "that the current licenses were issued in 2005 (the ordinary ones) and in 2006 for the five extraordinary ones, and that over the last twenty years, the city's accommodation facilities, both hotels and non-hotels, have seen a continuous increase in tourist flows, confirming Cagliari's position as an important hub for both national and international tourism. It is all too clear that the strong increase in tourism benefits our capital and much of southern Sardinia. It is even more evident," he concludes, "that the poor service, even before affecting the city, is also affecting the airport, where reports from citizens and tourists highlight the difficult conditions."