Urban environment quality

In 2012, the motorisation rate was about 609 cars per thousand inhabitants (-0.7% over the previous year); the number of motorcycles was almost stable at 131.6 per thousand inhabitants (+0.1%); which confirmed the slowdown in the growth trend that characterized the last decade.

For the first time, less polluting cars were more widespread than the most polluting ones: in provincial capitals, on average, cars up to class euro 3 were 303.9 per thousand inhabitants, compared to 305.3 class euro 4 or higher. The most polluting motorcycles (up to class euro 2) still represented two-thirds of the total.

In 2012, petrol-powered cars reduced by 1.2 percentage points in favour of the diesel (+0.9 percentage points) and bi-fuel ones, i.e. petrol/LPG- or petrol/methane-powered cars, (+0.3 percentage points).

The demand for public transport (number of passengers carried by all modes of public transport in a year) amounted to 208.9 passengers per capita: a 7.4% decrease over the previous year.

Compared to 2011, the situation of air quality, measured through all monitoring units (traffic, industrial and background type) improved: the number of provincial capitals where the PM₁₀ limit value for the protection of human health was exceeded for more than 35 days, decreased from 59 to 52. Improvements were especially in the Centre (12 to 9) and in the South and Islands area (9 to 6).