From Games spotlight to daily grind: Milan’s tram drivers in short supply

MILAN, Feb 14 : When Milan tram driver Stefano De Blasio tuned in to the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, he was delighted to see Italian motorcycling champion Valentino Rossi donning his uniform and ferrying President Sergio Mattarella to Milan’s San Siro stadium.

"It really gave the right value, and a sense of satisfaction, to the work we drivers do every day,” said De Blasio, 39, sitting on the wooden seats of one of Milan’s oldest trams at a city depot where many of the network's streetcars begin and end their daily journeys.

In the video, Mattarella is carried on one of Milan’s 125 historic Carrelli trams, a symbol of Italy's financial capital.

The rattling cars, in service since the late 1930s, were overhauled by local transport firm ATM between 2006 and 2019, restoring their original yellow‑and‑cream livery and upgrading their mechanical systems.

But revamping them could prove easier than addressing a driver shortage on the bus and tram network, a challenge that ATM, owned by the local city, shares with many local transport operators in Europe.

The rising cost of living in Milan after a real estate boom is one issue, along with growing competition for drivers from e-commerce delivery firms.

According to a survey compiled by Eurocities, a network comprising more than 200 European cities including Milan, public transport is grappling with a staffing crunch, with 35 per cent of mayors reporting shortages of drivers and mechanics as a major issue that is disrupting services and pushing up costs.

INCENTIVES OFFERED TO ATTRACT DRIVERS

The entry-level pay for a bus or tram driver in Milan is about 1,500 euros ($1,780) a month, with shifts of six and a half hours to keep services running for nearly the whole day.

ATM,