For some months there has been a lot of talk in the media about a real ecological revolution with thousands of kids, "led" by the very young Greta Thunberg, who are asking the world's powerful for a more sustainable planet. By embracing this spirit of initiative, Carlo Alberto Brunori, Raffaele Di Stefano and Mario Anselmi (researchers of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) have been carrying out since 2016, through the figure of the Mobility Manager, an activity aimed at promoting the reduction of the environmental pollution produced by every single car or scooter used to get to the workplace and, in general, to get around the city. We talked about it with Carlo Alberto Brunori who, together with Di Stefano and Anselmi, holds the position of Mobility Manager at INGV.
When was the figure of the Mobility Manager introduced?
The Mobility Manager was introduced in Italy in 1998 with the Decree of the Minister of the Environment of 27 March 1998 which introduced the first Italian regulations on "Sustainable mobility in urban areas" born out of the urgency to start the first implementation initiatives for the achievement of the commitments made at the Kyoto conference.
What is the mission of the MM?
The main task of the Company Mobility Manager is the drafting of the Home-Work Travel Plan (PSCL) of its employees, i.e. a company document which aims to promote the reduction of the use of individual private means of transport to achieve of the workplace and a better organization of timetables to limit traffic congestion in the classic peak hours.
How is the MM constituted?
INGV has set up the figure of the Mobility Manager of Rome as a working group which, therefore, is made up of me, Raffaele Di Stefano and Mario Anselmi. We have been in office since January 2016 and we started our business by taking an interest in corporate mobility and its optimization, informing and encouraging fellow workers to consider alternative mobility routes and habits. The general objective was to open a dialogue between management and personnel for the design of initiatives to support good practices in urban travel to and from the workplace.
What initiatives aimed at promoting these good practices have you implemented?
As a first action, the Company Mobility Plan (PMA) was drawn up containing information on the mobility of the organization relating to personnel and their habits, the times of entry/exit from the workplace and the home-work route, the vehicle used for reaching the workplace, both public and private.
The INGV Mobility Plan, presented to the "Roma Servizi per la Mobilità" agency (a company 100% owned by Roma Capitale) and to the office of the Mobility Managers of the ATAC transport company, allowed the signing of the agreement between ATAC and INGV for access to incentives on transport and sustainable mobility, allocated periodically by the Ministry of the Environment for Rome Capital, until available funds are exhausted.
What brought about the signing of this Convention?
Achieved thanks to the collaboration of the INGV General Management, the signing of the Agreement made it possible to start a procedure for the activation and/or renewal of discounted annual season tickets and the installment of payroll expenditure. In fact, the administration anticipated the entire cost of the season ticket for each employee who requested it, recovering, in installments and without interest, the cost of season tickets from the pay slips with a maximum predefined number of installments. Access was guaranteed, by ATAC's general choice, only to employees of the Entity (both permanent and fixed-term subordinated contracts), thus excluding any form of para-subordinated contract.
Is it currently still ongoing?
During 2018, the agreement was interrupted due to the depletion of ministerial funds and their non-renewal. ATAC's discounted offer, in the absence of ministerial funds, was not renewed and the agreement with INGV was effectively interrupted, also eliminating the internal procedure for anticipating the cost by the institution and paying in installments on the monthly fees .
Are you planning a new convention?
A new agreement is currently being studied between INGV and ATAC with which the working group of Mobility Managers would like to introduce some simple but important innovations. The first would be to release the subscription renewal/activation procedure and the advance/payment by INGV from the availability of ministerial funds. This would be possible because the aforementioned funds affect only the subscription price and not the procedure itself and therefore do not make any difference for the Entity, but only for the employee who would pay the full price. Work is underway to find the right tools to convey these good initiatives through existing legislation. We Mobility Managers are confident, also because support for the purchase of season tickets is active in many public administrations.
What would be the benefits?
INGV, in keeping the advance/delay procedure alive, would help to give a very strong incentive to use public transport on an ongoing rather than discontinuous basis like ministerial funds are. Furthermore, there would be an extension of access to the procedure also for all those who work for the Institute without, however, being subordinate workers. On this point, the commitment of the INGV Mobility Managers in Rome is to make the ATAC company acknowledge the status of research fellows and grant holders as a "strength of the institution" which, in practical terms, it would not present from ATAC's point of view no difference compared to fixed-term subordinate employees. As for the advance/payment procedure, not even for INGV would there be any difference because, as in the case of fixed-term employees, it would be sufficient to calibrate the payment by installments based on the expiry of the individual person's contract.
Where are we with this 2.0 convention?
At present, the resolution of some bureaucratic issues is being studied, such as, for example, the identification of forms of incentives and facilitations for the purchase of season tickets by INGV.
What goals have you set yourself for the near future?
Despite the momentary stagnation of the employee support initiative in terms of annual public transport passes, but thanks to the support of new subjects who in the future will take up the baton as new Mobility Managers, we plan to expand the issues concerning the quality of life of workers, at least as regards the time spent commuting from home to work.
In what way?
In general, we want to stimulate reflections on the need to limit the use of private vehicles when moving around the city, with a different approach to the use of public transport, despite the too often poor quality of service. Particular attention will be dedicated to stimulating the use of two wheels (traditional bicycle, pedal assisted bicycle) as a means of movement and respect and improvement of one's physical and mental health, also through the installation of safe anchorage stalls at the institution and the simultaneous stimulus action at the public administrations for the design and construction of protected routes dedicated to "light" mobility, as well as the identification of methods that simplify intermodality for the use of two wheels in combination with public transport by road and rail.
Do you think it is possible to extend the role of Mobility Manager to companies and public administrations with less than 300 employees? I am thinking, for example, of our offices in Milan, Naples or Palermo, for example…
We think it is useful, not to mention necessary. No one is too small to make a difference, for themselves, for the quality of their lives and for that of the people we interact with on a daily basis.
Every single initiative aimed at requesting the improvement of the public transport service, even starting from the introduction of economic incentives, is indispensable. So even smaller working realities, perhaps networked with each other, can make the difference through the economic incentive that stimulates the individual to use public transport, thus experimenting with healthier ways of understanding travel for work in the city and between city, but also in other daily activities.
We know that it is not always easy to productively convey messages that aim to change citizens' habits. What message do you feel like sending?
Referring to the city of Rome, citizens can and must certainly complain about the situation of environmental degradation which the city has come to find itself after years of overbuilding not accompanied by a parallel and adequate redefinition of mobility and connections. Complaining about its roads, traffic and polluted air is certainly as indispensable as a strong awareness - and a little effort - on everyone's part. Above all, a major effort is needed by the public administration and private companies to put in place tools for removing obstacles, encouraging light and sustainable mobility. As Mobility Manager of INGV in Rome we try to do our small part trying to make a "difference".
Photo - The bicycle is the main tool for light and "sustainable" mobility when traveling from home to work in the city. Ph. © Marco Cirilli