Italy is the country with the highest motorisation rate in the European Union. A record that reflects the political and cultural condition of our country, which from the standpoint of sustainable mobility undoubtedly still has a long way to go. This is demonstrated by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, which has published the ranking of car density relative to population size for the year 2022. Italy comes out on top, overtaking Luxembourg (which previously held the first position) with a record figure: 684 cars per 1,000 inhabitants, compared with a European average of 560 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants.

The negative effects of the high number of cars

Italy is therefore experiencing (more or less consciously) a situation of strong car dependency that is having a negative impact on various aspects related to mobility and beyond. Consider, for example, the amount of public space occupied by parked vehicles (which remain stationary for more than 90 per cent of the time) and the traffic congestion that brings average speeds in cities during rush hours down to 20 km/h (as shown by data from the Tom Tom traffic index).

There are then two central issues to consider, namely people's health and safety. We draw on information about CO2 emissions provided by the European Environment Agency, which highlights the weight of the transport sector, responsible for around a quarter of total CO2 emissions in Europe, 71.7 per cent of which is produced by road transport.

We should recall that the EU has set the target of reducing transport emissions by 60 per cent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, with a view to achieving a 90 per cent reduction by 2050, within the framework of the roadmap set by the European Green Deal.
Other factors that affect air quality and cause damage to health are PM10 and PM2.5 produced by tyre wear and brakes. It is therefore clear that the more cars are on the road, the more unbreathable the air becomes.

Road safety and EU targets

There is then the major problem of road safety, addressed in detail in the EU road safety policy framework 2021-2030 with recommendations on next steps towards the "zero victims" objective. Here we read that every year around 22,700 people still lose their lives on EU roads and around 120,000 are seriously injured. Over the past 10 years, more than 11,800 children and young people under the age of 17 have been killed in road accidents in the EU, and this is precisely the leading cause of death in Italy for people under the age of 24. We are therefore talking about an emergency caused by multiple factors but which is fundamentally linked to people's habits and behaviour, to how they travel and what means of transport they use.

An interesting picture at the national level is provided by Isfort, the Istituto superiore di formazione e ricerca per i trasporti, which produced the survey "Audimob – Stili e comportamenti di mobilità degli italiani". The research reveals that in Italy the car remains the dominant means of transport, accounting for 70 per cent of journeys, with the number of vehicles in circulation continuing to grow. Indeed, in 2022, for the first time Italy's car fleet exceeded 40 million (40,213,061), an increase of 19 per cent over the past 20 years. There are therefore ever more cars on the road and ever older ones (and thus more polluting), while "sustainable mobility – as the report notes – is at a standstill".

How can we reduce the number of cars?

To reduce car use, other forms of mobility must be encouraged by rebalancing policy choices. People must therefore be provided with valid alternatives, and this is particularly possible in urban centres, where journeys take place within a radius of just a few kilometres. Public transport and the rail network must therefore be strengthened, promoting intermodality (for example the combined use of bicycle and train), active mobility and in particular the use of the bicycle. Measures must be introduced to make roads safe for the most vulnerable users (cyclists and pedestrians). At the same time, the scrapping of older, more polluting cars must be incentivised while the purchase of electric vehicles, still too expensive, must be facilitated.

In the aforementioned research by Isfort, which paints an overall decidedly bleak picture from the standpoint of sustainable mobility, there is one interesting piece of data that gives us reason for optimism. This is the inclination of people towards greater use of public transport, bicycles and shared mobility. This tendency is growing and, in particular, the bicycle reaches a very high modal propensity index, equal to 34.3 per cent. A confirmation of the fact that among citizens the will and the need to change habits are growing rapidly, with a view to moving towards a different kind of mobility and more sustainable lifestyles.