Digital is making its way into the mobility sector
The research highlights how the mobility market in Italy is recovering from the crisis of recent years, with some sectors having already surpassed 2019 in terms of consumer spending. However, some sectors in medium-long range transport are still far from the pre-pandemic values.
Although the use of electronic payments still concerns only 1 out of 10 transactions, digital is playing an increasingly important role in mobility. Digital is also increasing its presence in traditional sectors more linked to the use of cash; the research uses the taxi sector as an example, where the penetration of payment cards has reached 27%.
2022 marks an increase in the use of digital tools to purchase and pay for transport services. In the medium-long range bus sector, there is an increase of 12 percentage points in the use of cards and wallets owned by transport operators.
The growth of online channels
Online channels are also becoming increasingly relevant, rising from 54% in 2019 to 64% in 2022. In the rail transport market, online accounts for 59% of volumes, an 18 percentage point increase compared to 2019. However , cash remains the instrument of choice for consumers in almost all cases.Valeria Portale, Director of the Innovative Payments Observatory of the Milan Polytechnic, commented: “Physical payment remains prevalent for urban mobility services, as in the case of transport by bus, subway and tram, where more of 9 transactions out of 10 are currently made through more traditional channels".
Valeria Portale, Director of the Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Observatory
"However, digital is also increasing its incidence in sectors that have always been linked to cash. The taxi market, where payments by card have come to represent 27% of total transactions, for example, represents a clear signal that testifies how consumers, including tourists and people who travel for work, are increasingly inclined to use cashless tools ”, concluded Portale.
The mobility market in Italy is recovering from the crisis caused by the pandemic in recent years. The airline sector recorded a 65% increase in 2022, reaching a value of 9.9 billion euros, still lower than the 2019 data.
The ferry sector and the car rental have recorded positive results, but medium-long range bus transport and rail transport are still far from their pre-pandemic values.
The local public transport market, such as urban services, has recovered almost completely the gap with 2019, with an increase of 46% on 2021. The taxi market is the one that has recorded the greatest growth compared to 2021, with an increase of 81% and a value of almost 1.5 billion euros .
