October 18 transport strikes

Responding to my own post, I just read that only local metro bus and trams will be affected; not rail and not trennord. However, I don’t have any idea if what I read is a reliable site https://www.mentelocale.it/milano/59595-atm-milano-sciopero-il-18-ottobre-2024-orari-e-fasce-garantite-per-metropolitana-e-bus-e-i-treni.htm

This English news site I follow to stay up to date on strikes says the same. I don't mind strikes, but I wish it was easier as a tourist to figure out what exactly is impacted https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/italy-public-transport-strike-18-october.html

Hi CD in DC, OMG, you really have seen the strikes in person, haven’t you? My condolences. The 10/18 nationwide “ Local Transportation” strike is expected to severely hit the trams, metro trains, buses and trolleys run by Milan’s ATM network. In Milan the strike is expected between the hours of 8:45am-16:30 and from 18:00 onward. That looks like a brief 90- minute window when local transit will be operating.
Other cities will also be affected under different schedules. The strike should not affect Trenitalia or Italo trains.
The Google AI overview is now saying Trenord WILL be affected by the strike. ( At the moment, Trenord’s site has no information). Trenord runs the trains to MXP airport, and is supposed to have buses stand in for the trains in the event of a strike.
Tickets on a Terravision bus with buses from Milan Centrale to MXP Airport every 30 minutes for €10 can be bought at www.Terravision.eu. The private company runs buses throughout Italy from nearby cities to/from their Airports.
A reliable strike info source is www.TheLocal.it

CD in DC referred me here. I was worried about regional buses between small villages and regional hubs (and posted on the other thread about October strikes), in my case Faeto to Foggia. We happened to catch the bus as it was arriving in Faeto from Foggia today. It seems the regional buses won't be affected. That stands to reason, as these buses are how many students get to school and workers get to work.

Glad to know your itinerary is on a roll with the bus and will be “back on track” from Foggia to Rome.

Glad to report that I had no problem getting to Malpensa airport yesterday. I greatly appreciate all the help from Kenko and others on this forum. Fortunately, I had the flexibility to navigate around strikes on Sept 30, Oct. 5, Oct 8, Oct 12-13 with minimal inconvenience.

In case my experiences can be helpful to anyone else, I'll share a few observations. The queue for the Trennord bus alternatives from Malpensa formed right near the area where the Malpensa express ordinarily leaves; NOT outside with other busses. I had to wait in line for ah hour and a quarter. The regular Malpebsa bus would probably be a better option. I was in Ortisei for the Oct. 5 local transport strike. I had extended my stay earlier so that I wasn't trying to get a bus that day. I noticed that there were some busses running and there were notices at the main bus stop in Ortisei warning that some bus routes may be affected, but specific routes or times were not noted. I was afraid to take any bus between the Val Gardena towns that day. For Oct 7-14, I was in Bologna and had planned to stagger day trips with days in Bologna. Instead, I did day trips three days in a row to avoid strike days. The Bologna Welcome tourist information center was helpful in advising on the Oct. 8 and 12-13 expected impact on Bologna. As a number of people have noted, the strike situations are fluid. The Trenitalia website warns that even when specific train disruption hours are listed, travelers should be aware that service disruption may start earlier or end later. In many cases the geographic areas and sectors affected, and unions involved, expanded as the day approached. While in Italy, I found it easier to find news reports online in English that provided information on what to expect and also background on the labor issues than when I did google searches from the U.S. before traveling.