Ncc, start of the circular on the electronic service sheet. 'On 12 December in the streets against the reform'

Full steam ahead on the reform of non-scheduled public transport. The latest act is the publication, on 3 December, of an implementing circular with clarifications on the functioning of the electronic service sheet for the Ncc. This is an exquisitely technical measure but one that in fact confirms the line taken by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport to follow up on the mini-reform of chauffeur-driven car hire that has been much contested by the category associations. The circular lays down the rules for "access, transmission and compilation of data relating to the electronic service sheet", establishing first of all that this is "only permitted following registration in the Ncc Rent Electronic Register". Nothing is added about the issues contested by the black cars, first of all the obligation to wait twenty minutes between one Ncc service and the next after the car has left the departure shed..

"The circular intervenes on technical aspects of the Salvini Decree," protests Andrea Romano, leader of MuoverSì, the association representing the Ncc sector, "without in any way addressing the substance of the problem: the Minister of Transport aims to put an entire category of operators and companies in the non-scheduled public transport sector out of business, without the knowledge of Parliament and the other ministers. But in the meantime, the countdown has begun for the new rules on the service sheet, which according to the regulatory calendar will come into force on 3 January.

Hence the agitation of the category, including Uber. "In an already critical situation for urban mobility, the decree imposes a limitation on the offer by the Ncc to serve users who have the right to access a service that responds to the needs of the moment," commentsits general manager Italy Lorenzo Pireddu. Moreover, the Ministerial Decree 'is in stark contrast with what the Constitutional Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union have reiterated several times, namely that the user, who seeks modern, accessible and competitive transport services, must be placed at the centre of any reasoning'..

The climate among operators is red-hot, as confirmed by the day of national agitation that will take place in various cities, including Rome, Milan, Naples and Palermo, proclaimed by the category for Thursday 12 December. That is, when the black cars will demand 'the withdrawal of the Salvini decrees, a new law on non-scheduled public transport 33 years after 21/1992, and better services for users, businesses and tourists', as Romano goes on to explain. But in the meantime, while waiting for the politicians to respond, an appeal by the Regione Calabria on the initiative of Governor Occhiuto to the Constitutional Court has already begun: the object of the dispute is a conflict of attribution between the powers of the State. The Region, which in recent months had already won a victory in front of the Constitutional Court in terms of the liberalisation of coach and bus services, is now back in charge, claiming that the decree on the electronic service sheet violates regional prerogatives on the regulation of coach and bus services.