Protests continue in Florence against ban on golf carts and rickshaws as city enforces new rules.
Tourist rickshaw and golf cart operators protested in Florence on Monday against a new bylaw prohibiting them from working in the UNESCO-listed historic centre of the Tuscan city.
The ban, which affects golf buggies, rickshaws, tuktuks and “other atypical vehicles”, was announced in July and was met with protests when it came into force last Wednesday.
The rickshaw and golf buggy operators are demanding a review of the new rules, which they call “disproportionate and penalising”, amid plans to mount a legal challenge against the city, reports local newspaper La Nazione.
“The measure affects not only the golf cart category, but extends to all types of tourist transportation, resulting in the cessation of services that for years have contributed to making the city more accessible, livable and attractive to visitors”, the protesting drivers said, adding that the newly prohibited services are also relied upon by people with mobility difficulties and disabilities.
The clampdown is an effort to regulate Florence’s tourist transport sector which has seen “a proliferation of different types of vehicles in recent years”, according to the city, which has allowed a maximum of 24 electric vehicles to operate on two designated routes, with pick-up and drop-off points in Piazza Ferrucci and Piazza Vittorio Veneto.
Florence mobility councillor Andrea Giorgio said the ban was introduced to tackle an “unsustainable” situation, while tourism councillor Jacopo Vicini has described the move as key to the city’s “10 commandments for sustainable tourism”.
Municipal police can seize a vehicle in violation of the new rules, while those with a permit but operating illegally will have their permit revoked and be handed a €500 fine.
Following the protests on Monday, Florence’s centre-left mayor Sara Funaro said the response to the clampdown has been “positive because it was what our citizens were waiting for: to have free, usable piazzas, used by pedestrians, by residents and by visitors”, adding: “We have no intention of reviewing our regulations”.
For full details see Florence city website. Photo credit: Simona Sirio / Shutterstock.com.
