The streets of the historic center of Rome are preparing to experience a revolution that has been awaited for decades. The centuries-old tradition of horse-drawn carriages, now anachronistic and incompatible with the rhythms of the modern metropolis, has reached its definitive end. Climate change and increasingly scorching summers have made equines’ stay on hot asphalt unsustainable.
Over the years, the number of active licenses has progressively collapsed, going from thirty-eight to just sixteen operators. Today, thanks to a complex union and institutional negotiation, fifteen of these drivers have formally agreed to abandon the barrels, marking a fundamental turning point for the protection of animals and the modernization of the Capitoline tourist services, as anticipated by the Messaggero.
The agreement for cars and the role of manufacturers
The success of the operation coordinated by Campidoglio lies in a strategy that combines professional reconversion with a concrete economic incentive. Drivers are not only offered the automatic conversion of the authorization title into a taxi license, but also logistical support for the acquisition of the service vehicle.
The administration led by mayor Roberto Gualtieri and the guarantor for animal welfare, Patrizia Prestipino, have established a dense network of contacts with a Japanese car manufacturer. The partnership aims to reduce the costs of purchasing vehicles through targeted incentives and concessions, thus allowing former drivers to start a new business in non-scheduled public transport without having to bear the entire financial burden of the initial investment.
The wall of the last driver and the pressure of the associations
Despite the favorable opinion of almost the entire category, the definitive transition towards ethical mobility encounters an unexpected obstacle. From what emerges, a single operator refuses to join the agreement, earning the nickname “irreducible cabman”. This isolated position risks slowing down the definitive closure of a disputed case.
The main acronyms of animal rights associations, including LAV and OIPA, have expressed great satisfaction with the goal achieved, but ask the Municipality to proceed immediately with the bureaucracy for the fifteen in favor, without waiting for the last driver to turn around. Preventing horses from facing the next summer heat waves is the absolute priority for organizations, which for years have been reporting the dangers linked to the enormous physical efforts imposed on equids under the capital’s sun.
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