Saw this article posted over on TA. It talks about a plan to allow Venetians to board first onto the vaporetti, supposedly starting in a limited fashion this summer. I can't blame the locals for their annoyance at some of the behavior I'm guessing many of us have witnessed when boarding, but as the article notes, the logistics of this might prove difficult.
Posted by
Los Angeles
4935 posts
Unenforceable!
Plus I have trouble imagining natives can't just bully their way on whenever they want.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16263 posts
There is a simpler way.
Local residents with resident card pay €1. Visitors can be asked to pay €20 per ride during rush hour (with a special rush hour ticket) instead of the €7 charged currently. Many tourists will so find it more advantageous to use the water taxis or gondolas (or walk) or just wait for off peak hours and that will free up space in the vaporetti during commute time when locals go or return from work.
That is called congestion pricing and it works.
Posted by
North Carolina
362 posts
I will swallow hard to pay 20 per ride, but would be happy to give my place in the queue to a resident, or 10, who truly need their public transportation. I am one of the millions of tourists who have made the city so difficult for Venetian natives to live in. I guess I feel guilty for even going, but it is hard to resist. A long wait for the vaporetto, to me, is a small price to pay for the joy of being there. And as someone else said, I can always walk.
Posted by
Bendigo, Australia
1302 posts
I can't see this happening. Many of the vaporetto stops have limited space on the pontoons, and I do not imagine that ACTV are about to dedicate a person on each pontoon to marshall the residents into a group. The marinari on the boats can't do it.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Yes, I would pay to see Italians or French voluntarily form a civilized queue. I think it cannot be done!