New year and punctually new burst of price increases resulting in a sting for Italian families, estimated at 2,400 euros for 2023 by consumer associations.
After the increase in motorway tolls and petrol - which also sparks political controversy - there are also increases in local public transport, with upward adjustments to the price of bus and metro tickets.
In detail, according to Assoutenti, in Naples the ticket has already risen from 1 euro to 1.20 euro over the past few months;
in Milan the ticket from 9 January will cost 2.20 euros, with an increase of 20 cents.
In Parma the increase is 10 cents with the cost of a one-way ticket going from 1.50 euros to 1.60 euros.
In Ferrara the cost of buses goes from 1.30 to 1.50 euros,
while in Foggia from next March the simple ticket will cost 1 euro (+10 cents).
In Rome, then, from August 2023 the price will jump from the current 1.50 euros to 2 euros, with an increase of 33%.
Increases that are precisely on a par with those of tolls on the arteries under the responsibility of Autostrade per l'Italia, which have increased by 2% since 1 January, with the addition of another 1.34% from 1 July next, and with the elimination of fuel tax rebates.
As regards tolls, based on Assoutenti's calculations, to go from Rome (South) to Milan (West), for example, the toll rises from 46.5 euros in 2022 to the current 47.3 euros, to then reach 48 euro in July, with an increase of 1.5 euro.
From Naples (north) to Milan last year 58.6 euros were spent while now 59.7 euros are needed and from next July 60.5 euros.
To go from Bologna to Taranto, the cost rises from 55.1 euros to 56.1 euros and from July to 56.9 euros.
Regarding the elimination of the cut in excise duties on fuel,
again Assoutenti estimates an increase in spending on average equal to +366 euros per year per family and Staffetta daily points out that the cost of petrol and diesel has risen by about 20 cents per liter compared to 30 December.
"2022 ended with a rise in price lists" and 2023 opened with "the increase in excise duties on petrol, diesel and LPG, back to the normal level of 21 March 2022", writes the newspaper that deals with sources of energy.
"On transport, the Italians will face a real sting in the course of 2023", says the president of Assoutenti, Furio Truzzi.
"The worst thing is that these are completely unfair price increases, with consumers called upon to foot the bill for the current economic crisis", underlines the president, thus explaining that "
New increases that trigger the reaction of the opposition, with the Italian Left speaking of a government that "gives" increases to families while "protecting the strongest" with the "amnesty".
Action-Italia Viva accuses the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, of being "responsible for a real disaster".
Meanwhile, the government announces that from 1 January the forms to request the Purchasing Card have been available on the website of the Ministry of the Economy, which allows citizens aged 65 and over and parents of children under the age of three, to obtain a contribution of 80 euros every two months for food and health expenses and for the payment of electricity and gas bills.