At the Arena dello Stretto, on the Italo Falcomatà seafront, another 11 new Atam buses were presentedthe subsidiary company of the Municipality and the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria owner of the local public transport service. These are latest generation vehicles with totally electric traction and zero emissions.
The vehicles are part of a commission of 67 in total which must be delivered by the year 2025, purchased thanks to Pnrr funds, equal to 46.2 million euros, of which 38.7 for the purchase of vehicles and 7.5 for infrastructure , among the latter the charging columns in the two Atam vehicle parks in via Foro Boario and Piazzale Botteghelle.
Present for the occasion were the metropolitan mayor, Giuseppe Falcomatà, the municipal councilor with responsibility for investee companies Domenico Battaglia, the councilor with responsibility for Mobility Paolo Malara, the managing director of Atam Giuseppe Basile, Ezio Privitera and Melina Sangiovanni of the Board of Directors, the Atam management and a large delegation of city councilors and aldermen.
The new vehicles are part of the broader regeneration project of Atam’s vehicle fleet, an initiative that aims to make the public transport service in the city of the Strait more efficient, helping to reduce the environmental impact of vehicles and promoting energy saving. There are two types of vehicles presented today: minibuses with a length of 6.60 meters, the Otokar E-Centro model, and short minibuses, with a length of 8.00 metres, the Karsan e-ATAK model.
Minibuses are a sort of novelty, as they have been missing from Atam’s vehicle fleet since the early 2000s, particularly suitable for the streets of the city center or foothill roads that are difficult to navigate, given their very limited overall dimensions both in width and length. They have a range of almost 200 km and a capacity of 32 passengers. The second type of vehicles are the Karsan e-Atak, which have over 300 km of autonomy. Both models (Otokar and Karsan) are equipped with second level safety systems (ADAS) at the driver’s service. They are also equipped with new vision technologies such as 360° cameras which allow the driver to see a reproduction of the vehicle from above and the projection of all 4 sides of the vehicle. A further innovation, which will be present on all 67 buses, is the presence of mirror cams, which will replace the rear-view mirrors, capable of facilitating visibility in all visibility conditions: fog, rain, sun, poor light.
“There are 90 new buses purchased in recent years, for a total of 140 buses, which make up the Atam fleet. By 2025 the entire fleet of vehicles will be renewed, reaching 75% of the entire fleet with a totally electric engine”. Thus the mayor of Reggio Calabria, Giuseppe Falcomatà, who adds: “It is a real ‘green’ turning point that we have tried to make both as a municipality and as a metropolitan city, making the best use of the resources of the Pnrr. We like to think that this technological breakthrough puts aside the season of saving Atam, which we wanted at the time to avoid bankruptcy with consequent difficulties for the many families of the employees”. “Today – Falcomatà recalled – Atam has hired new staff, new drivers, has updated its fleet of vehicles by 75%, also investing in the renovation of its offices and expanding its transport service in the metropolitan area”.
Atam’s CEO, Giuseppe Basile, highlighted that: “This is the first delivery of electric buses that we have planned and implemented thanks to the commitment of Atam members, the Municipality of Reggio Calabria and the Metropolitan City and which will soon lead us to a total renewal of our fleet of vehicles”. “The thing that makes us satisfied – he added – is that these investments have been addressed, keeping Atam’s accounts in order. For all of us, including partners, it was essential to move forward with our transport service activities, keeping the company’s accounts in order. Therefore – concluded Basile – we are satisfied on both fronts, both on that of investments and on the economic and financial stability of the company”.
