Valchiusella remained without a bus on Sunday
«Until about ten years ago there were conurbation meetings in Ivrea where it was really decided, not only the hasty management, but it could be engraved, determined. Today there is no direction, which was what the former province once had, today the functions of a large area have been too centralized and have lost contact with the territory. Think of the student from Piverone who goes to school in Ivrea: he has a bus in the morning and one in the afternoon that arrive and go to Biella, if he loses them he stays on foot ».
Luigi Ricca he is mayor of that border town that is Bollengo. The last to be served by public transport east of Ivrea. Among the excluded, however, there is Silvano Madam, mayor of Palazzo Canavese. «The bus that arrives in Bollengo – explains Signora – stands still for twenty minutes on the square, then it starts again and goes away. He would have plenty of time to get here too. Some ladies in the village would use it, for example there are those who go by bike to Bollengo, then continue with the bus ».
To rethink the paths is a need felt by many mayors. He talks about it Endro Bevolo, by Pavone Canavese. «I’ll give you a practical example – he argues -. Often it happens that races arrive from Bellavista that have to reverse the march, so buses pass by Pavone but do not stop and do not load anyone. I have asked several times to set up stops on that route, but have not been heard. For us, for example, it would be important to have one near public housing. The service is still calibrated on old needs, from when perhaps the Olivetti workers had to reach the factories. We need to calibrate it to other needs, let’s think of the elderly lady who maybe wants to go to the Ivrea market on Friday. I have written, I have urged, but for at least two years now I have been confronted with a bureaucracy that ends more ».
Basically, there is no connection between the territories and the transport company, someone who can listen and summarize the needs of the territories. «In the Piedmontese mobility agency – explains the mayor of Borgofranco Fausto Francisca – unfortunately, only the Municipalities of over 20 thousand inhabitants are represented. Basically there is only Ivrea, which should bring everyone’s needs to the table. It is hard to get ideas, which even exist in the area. For example, I have long hoped for a connection between the Borgofranco railway station and that of Biella via an electric bus. We must think that most of our citizens and those who also come from the lower Valle d’Aosta, today, gravitate to the hospital in Ponderano, rather than those in Turin. Today, the Serra with the tunnel is no longer an obstacle. I would like the Serra to become an opportunity for sustainable mobility ».
It is precisely those traditional invisible borders that weigh more on mobility in Canavese. A territory nestled between Turin, Biella, Vercelli and Valle D’Aosta, which struggles to communicate with its neighbors. Giovanni Franchino, mayor of Tavagnasco, is a voice out of the chorus. For him, the bus is a false problem. «Here – he explains -, there is not much demand for road transport. What is there is fine, I see many that in this period are also running empty. As far as public transport is concerned, it is also a question of costs and benefits. Unfortunately, now people are afraid and are unlikely to return to sit next to someone else with peace of mind. What would really be needed – he adds – is to resume the old stations by preparing a light rail service. We have empty buses, empty trains, but one person per car and that’s not possible. Of course, with the situation that exists now I don’t feel like accusing anyone, I am controversial on many issues but not on this one ».
In Valchiusella there is the problem of an entire territory cut off. On Sundays, for example, there is no bus that arrives in the valley. “Unfortunately if we want people to come to live in the mountains – explains the mayor of Traversella Renza Colombatto -, services are also needed. The residences are growing, but we risk them leaving again. I am thinking above all of the boys who go to school in Castellamonte, who have remained on foot on several occasions, because they have only two connections available. Another issue is that of tourism: now the season is over, but during the summer we always encounter problems with the cars that come to Fondo. We have always been available to organize a shuttle service, but the question has always remained on the table ».