The Decreto Rilancio introduces a mobility bonus worth up to 500 euros for the purchase of bicycles and other “soft” modes of transport, to tackle traffic and pollution.
Anyone living in a regional capital, a Metropolitan City (including the municipalities of the surrounding hinterland that belong to it), a provincial capital, or in any municipality with a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants will be able to take advantage of a mobility bonus for the purchase of a bicycle, including pedal-assisted models, or other small electric vehicles such as scooters. The bonus will be worth 60 per cent of the expenditure incurred for the purchase of the vehicle (and not 70 per cent as initially announced a few days ago), up to a maximum of 500 euros: for example, for the purchase of a bicycle costing 500 euros the bonus will be 300 euros; for a vehicle costing one thousand euros the bonus will nonetheless remain capped at the maximum threshold of 500 euros.
The mobility voucher, which will be valid for purchases up to 31 December 2020, is included in the decreto Rilancio approved by the Council of Ministers, containing wide-ranging economic measures to relaunch the country hit by the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It can be claimed only once and exclusively for one of the intended uses provided for, but it will be combinable with the 1,500-euro bonus for scrapping Euro 2 or Euro 3 motor vehicles and with the 500-euro bonus for scrapping motorcycles: both vouchers will also be usable for the purchase of local public transport season tickets, as well as bicycles. At a local level, the municipality of Trento is also launching a similar bonus: up to 600 euros for 50 per cent of the expenditure.
The measure forms part of the incentives for sustainable mobility, which it will be essential to promote in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, all the more so at this time when, due to anti-coronavirus containment measures, the use of public transport in cities will be significantly reduced in order to allow adequate distancing between people and to prevent this from translating into severe traffic congestion caused by the exclusive use of private vehicles.
Transport Minister Paola De Micheli, a few days ago, had described the bonus as the start of "a journey towards a new urban mobility that meets the needs of the environment and of those who have to travel every day to get to work", but until the very last moment the measure had remained in the balance: for cyclists and aspiring ones alike, today has brought a breath of fresh air.
