Lazio region and unions meet to discuss proposed fare hike on Rome's buses, trams and subways.

Italian trade unions have reportedly suggested raising the €1.50 fare for Rome's public transport network to €2.50 for tourists but keeping it unchanged for locals.

The proposal was put forward during a meeting on Wednesday between Lazio region authorities and officials from the Cgil, Cisl and Uil unions, according to Rome newspaper Il Messaggero.

Unions said the proposal would generate part, if not all, the €22 million needed to renew the service contract with Rome's municipal public transport company ATAC for the three-year period 2025-2027.

"Painful necessity"

The talks followed a request from Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri to the Lazio region, which controls the ticket pricing on the capital's public transport network, to request a price hike.

Describing it as a "painful necessity", Gualtieri told reporters on Sunday that said the request was made in the absence of additional funds from the Italian government.

Earlier this year Giorgia Meloni's government rejected an appeal from Rome to pump an additional €100 million into the city's public transport system.

The last time Rome raised bus and metro fares was in 2012 when the ticket price rose from €1 for 75 minutes to the current €1.50 for 100 minutes.

Fare hike

Under the proposed fare hike, first reported by Il Messaggero in April, the 100-minute ticket would rise to €2, up from €1.50.

All other fare options would increase except the €35 monthly pass, which would remain unchanged, and the yearly pass which would drop by €10 to €240.

"We are against any increase in fares for the citizens of Rome and Lazio, who have been experiencing inconvenience related to construction sites for a year" - the Cgil secretary of Rome and Lazio Natale Di Cola said during the talks on Wednesday - "There is a solution: just increase the price, to €2.50 or even €2.20, for those who are not residents in the regional territory and who largely use regular tickets, rather than annual passes, leaving the cost at €1.50 for residents."

Lazio and Rome

The talks were attended by the transport councillors of Rome and the Lazio region, respectively Eugenio Patanè and Fabrizio Ghera.

“We are willing to do our part by asking for more resources from the national transport fund but the city of Rome should also play its part", Ghera said, suggesting a means-tested fare based on ISEE, the document that indicates the overall economic situation of households.

Patanè said the capital was examing several proposals but stressed: “We must cover the €22 million either with an increase in the share of the national transport fund or with an increase in the fare", Il Messaggero reports.

Raise fare or cut services

In a video interview with Rome news outlet RomaToday on Thursday, Mayor Gualtieri reiterated that the fare increase is "inevitable" and claimed that: "All the other big cities have more expensive tickets".

"No mayor is happy to increase the cost of tickets, but I'm not being demagogic" - Gualtieri told RomaToday - "If we don't go to €2, I will have to reduce the service heavily".

Jubilee Year 2025

The fare increase is reportedly set to come into force from next January, in time for the Vatican's Jubilee Year 2025 when the Eternal City is expected to welcome 32 million tourists and pilgrims.

Over the past year, commuters on Rome's troubled public transport system have faced widespread disruption, including subway closures and traffic gridlock, as a result of major infrastructure projects being carried out ahead of the Jubilee Year.