Transport initiatives making a contribution to the environment

Interview with Sergio D'Arrigo, Mobility & Facilities Manager FMCS, Catania, Italy

On a site like Catania, which has more than 5,000 employees, managing everyone’s travel to and from work is a key issue. We are committed to finding ways to reduce our environmental impact, as well as looking at how we can address issues such as increased traffic and shortage of parking spaces.

We wanted to better understand what we can do to improve the situation. So we carried out a detailed survey, with the help of the local university’s Engineering Faculty, to define the transport profile of our employees, including where they live, their daily schedule, the type of transport they use, when they travel, and so on. 43% of employees took part, so we were able to get some really useful data on which to base our proposals.

Car-pooling as a first initiative

After analyzing the data, we decided to promote car pooling. There are several well-known advantages to this: it is cheaper than traveling in separate cars, you have the chance to mix with other employees, and it’s safer than traveling alone. But we also offered our staff another incentive: a specific parking area for car-poolers. This was particularly appealing as there isn’t enough parking for everyone who wants to travel by car, and parking outside the premises isn’t as convenient. Two years after launching the initiative, 400 people are now car-pooling.

A special focus on public transport

In partnership with the City of Catania and the Italian Environment Ministry, we also helped start a shuttle program, including ‘bus plus train’ transport.

Public transport didn’t serve the north of the city that well, but thanks to our lobbying, a new bus route is now being created - with financial help from the Italian Environment Ministry. A local transport company, AMT (Azienda Municipale Trasporti) agreed to enlarge an urban transportation bus line, starting from strategic points located inside the town and reaching our plant, according to the schedule (frequency and timing) of ST shifts.

The result is a reduction of cars circulating in rush hours and an improved level of service for ST users.

Globally speaking, our Catania site promoted several integrated initiatives to limit the impact of ST-related traffic on the environment (such as car-pooling, controlling exhaust fumes, and making it easier to use the bus).

We are also working on a partnership with the local train company to obtain discounted train tickets for employees.

Of course, in such matters, involving stakeholders is key to getting the project to work. We need the buy-in of national authorities and local partners, as well as our employees, to guarantee the success of any initiative.

Finally, we are also piloting a new initiative, launched by the City, where on some days of the year we have a special parking lot where we can inspect employees’ vehicles to make sure they conform with the local regulation called ‘bollino blu’. This check guarantees cars meet CO2 emission specifications. This service is free for employees.

Following in the footsteps of other sites that have launched such initiatives, our Catania site is now really moving forward in this area.