AS Roma’s initiative to provide smooth ride to fans

Article posted by Coliseum, February 4^th, 2020

Image: MJR Group Ltd.

AS Roma – the Italian professional football club – has set in motion a new scheme which will bring together some of the main transport players in the capital Rome who will ensure a smooth ride (in and out of the stadium) for fans on Stadio Olimpico match days.

Stadio Olimpico is the main and largest sports facility of Rome, Italy, and the home ground of AS Roma.

The ‘Easy Mobility’ scheme was launched recently in Roma’s derby match against SS Lazio – the Italian professional sports club based in Rome. The most competitive matches in the Premier League are called derby matches.

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It will save fans the headache of looking around for a parking spot near the facility. It is also meant to ensure that fans not only enjoy 90 minutes of the match but also face no parking hassles prior to the start of the match and once the game is over.

‘Easy Mobility’ involves BusForFun, Moovit, WeTaxi, Jump By Uber, eCooltra and E-Gap. Through these partners, supporters will have access to a range of dedicated services as well as discounts and other exclusive benefits.

Parking spots outside the facility will be available to the club’s mobility partners. The spots have been made available courtesy Sport e Salute, a State body that promotes the development of sport, as a means to grant fans the ability to get to the stadium more quickly and sustainably, without the inconvenience of having to hunt for a parking space.

“This initiative is further proof of how the club is constantly seeking strategic partnerships to ease the mobility problems faced by fans on match day,” said Roma’s Chief Operating Officer Francesco Calvo.

“Thanks to Easy Mobility, our fans will have an array of easy, practical, ecological options available to them so that they can get to the stadium easily,” asserted Calvo.

Moovit will facilitate fans to keep track in real time of all the available travel options to reach the venue. Pedal-assist electric bicycles will be provided by Jump By Uber, with parking available near the stadium and spectators will be able to avail special discounts.

Scooter-sharing service eCooltra will provide their electric scooters, with discounted rates and reserved parking close to the arena. WeTaxi, a taxi-booking app, will have access to a parking area outside the stadium with drop and pick-up facilities for supporters.

BusForFun will run six routes from across the metropolitan area of Rome to a parking area at the Stadio Olimpico. E-Gap, Europe’s first on-demand charging service for electric vehicles, will help fans to travel to the stadium by electric car and charge their vehicle during a match. Initially, there will be no charges for this service, and later on it will be made available at a discounted rate.

The Stadio Olimpico is owned by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI). CONI’s Marketing Director, Diego Nepi, said they will try to expand the Easy Mobility facility to other events held at the venue – “We often think only of the 90 minutes, but not of the other 90 that precede or follow the game.”

“Instead, the value of a match day is expressed throughout the day and not only the match itself. At the Olimpico, only 15 percent of the fans arrive by public transport, the rest travel by car or motorbike, with the consequent anxiety caused by parking. For this reason, Easy Mobility is a project that we would like to replicate for other events such as the Six Nations, the Internazionali (tennis championships), Piazza di Siena, concerts or even the next European Football Championships, when Rome will host four games,” Nepi informed.

“It’s a small big step towards improving the usability of the Olympic stadium – a way to be close to our fans and an idea to lighten and improve the problems related to their mobility on the day of the race. All in a functional and ecological way,” says Francesco Calvo, Chief Operating Officer of Roma.

Fans can reach Olimpico by bike, moped and electric car, bus or taxi. A small great revolution, which expects to reap benefits in the medium to long term. Moovit, for example, will monitor in real time how to reach the stadium in the shortest time possible.

“On an average, people take between 40 and 60 minutes to get to the stadium and between 50 and 70 to leave,” says Samuel Sed Piazza, Moovit’s Director of Partnerships.

“The closest metro stop to the stadium is 2.7 kilometers. From there we will indicate the shortest way. Through eCooltra you can reach the stadium at discounted rates, being able to park in reserved spaces, while Jump will set up an electric bicycle service (also here with parking near the stadium) to allow fans to travel the last part of the route. The goal is to allow fans to cover the last mile in a Green way,” says General Manager Fabio Stefanini.

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