Public transport: almost half of buses no longer run on diesel

Almost half of the buses no longer run on diesel: in 2024 the share of low-emission vehicles, and therefore electric/hybrid or methane/LPG, has risen to 48.4% of the total. This is an increase of 8.1 percentage points on the previous year and 16.8 on 2019. This was reported by an Istat report, which shows some important steps forward in the renewal of vehicles used for local public transport. Compared to 2023, in fact, electric and hybrid buses increased by 54.9%, while gas buses saw a more limited increase, which stood at 9.7 percent. The Institute's data also indicates a strengthening of the metro and trolleybus lines and an expansion of the cycle path network.

In general, in 2024 there will be a growth in the size of the bus fleet made available to citizens in the capital municipalities of 2.8 percent. In the South there was an increase of 7.9%, in the North-East of 4.9%, while in the other areas there were no significant changes.

The overall share of low-emission buses increases in all areas, but with marked territorial differences: if it reaches 63.8% in the capitals of the North-East, it remains significantly lower than the average in the North-West (42.5%) and in the South (39.5%). The aggregate value of the metropolitan capitals, which stands at 47.5%, is in line with the national average but hides strong inequalities. The share of non-diesel buses exceeds 75% in Bologna and Bari and 50% in Venice, Rome and Catania, while Genoa, Florence and Reggio Calabria have much lower values ​​than the average.

Gas-powered buses, despite less growth than hybrid and electric buses, remain superior in number. The former continue to constitute 29.9% of the buses in service in the provincial capitals (with peaks of 46.5% in the North-East and 36.6% in the Centre) while they stop at 18.4 percent of the total, concentrating especially in the North-West (26.4%).

The share of Euro 6 buses remains substantially equivalent between the North, Center and South of the peninsula, where these vehicles represent 61.7%, 59.1% and 61.7% of the total respectively. Despite the new traffic restrictions foreseen starting from 1 October 2026 in the regions of the Po Valley, significant shares of Euro 5 vehicles, registered for more than 11 years (26.5%), and also of previous classes, registered for more than 16 years, remain in operation (12.5% ​​in all the capitals, and 22% in the cities of the South). Overall, however, Euro 6 vehicles increased by 12.8% compared to the previous year, while Euro 5 vehicles decreased by 6.6% and even more obsolete ones by 15.8 percent.