Speed cameras: €306 million in revenue over five years in major cities alone. Florence tops the list with €86 million
The Codacons figures: Milan is in second place with 52.1 million euros. Genoa is third with around 30 million euros in revenue over the last five years, closely followed by Bologna (29.9 million), whilst Rome stands at 25.4 million euros
Key points
In the 21 largest Italian cities alone, speed cameras have generated €306.5 million in revenue for local councils over the last five years, representing a veritable goldmine for local authorities. The figure comes from Codacons, on the day that the new measures introduced by the MIT regarding speed cameras and the type-approval of such devices.
Florence tops the box office charts
With takings of 86.1 million euros, Florence tops the ranking of cities with the highest revenue from speed cameras for the period 2021–2025, well ahead of Milan, which is in second place with 52.1 million euros. Genoa is in third place with around €30 million in revenue over the last five years, followed closely by Bologna (€29.9 million), whilst Rome stands at €25.4 million – according to an analysis by Codacons.
Aosta in last place
Among the towns that used speed cameras within their municipal boundaries during the period under review, Aosta came last, with revenue of just 4,514 euros in 2021 alone, whilst Naples collected a mere 59,713 euros over five years.
In Potenza, fines average 224 euros per resident
Codacons then calculated the average amount of speed camera fines in relation to the resident population in the various cities: once again, Florence tops the table, with fines averaging 235.5 euros per capita, but the real surprise is Potenza, with revenue of 224 euros per resident. Naples comes last, with fines of just 0.06 euros per capita, Aosta at 0.13 euros, and Bolzano and Pescara at around 4 euros.
Compared with 2021, when restrictions linked to the Covid pandemic were still in place, revenue from speed cameras in major cities is set to rise by 20.6% in 2025, having peaked in 2022 at a total of almost 76 million euros, before declining in subsequent years. The largest increase was in Florence – effectively Italy’s speed camera capital – with revenue rising by 407 per cent in the final year compared with 2021, followed by Trento with a 269 per cent increase and Potenza with a 142 per cent increase. Among the cities that used speed cameras throughout the entire 2021–2025 period, the sharpest declines were recorded in Trieste (-98 per cent), Bolzano (-90 per cent) and Turin (-72 per cent).
