Sightseeing Buses Banned, Tram 2 Inaugurating

Florence mayor Dario Nardella is working towards city council approving a decree to ban oversize tourist sightseeing buses from downtown Florence.

The distinctive red vehicles that regularly pass by city landmarks such as the Pitti Palace are usually crammed with tourists listening to a description of what they are seeing through the window.  Nardella has declared that if quick action is not taken, he will issue a special city ordinance in a week’s time to prohibit the double decker buses from entering the city center.

A city hall representative also announced that tram line T2, which will connect the Santa Maria Novella station to Florence’s Peretola airport, will start service in December 2018.  This is a certainty, says the mayor, since the firm currently employed in the line’s construction has stuck to the various deadlines posed.  There was a delay due to the fact that the previous firm who was working on the project had declared bankruptcy.

Line T2 is designed for passengers to arrive at the airport from Santa Maria Novella and vice versa in just 22 minutes.

To read more in Italian, see the articles on the tourist buses and Tram T2 construction on Florence’s La Repubblica news site.  (rosanna cirigliano)