Actv

ACTV

THE VENETIAN TRAVEL EXPERTS

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I PROFILE

ACTV

With a peak season daily average of 110,000 tourists flocking to Venice, Italy, and around 55,000 people calling it home, the demand for top-quality public transportation is high. As a leading public transportation provider, Actv has recently implemented a significant expansion plan. COO Gianluca Cuzzolin explained more, in an exclusive interview with Inside Marine. Report by Imogen Ward.

stablished in 1978, Actv’s roots can

E

to hustle our customers straight from our

be traced back to the 1800s. This

waterbus stops.

experience and longevity put it in

“Currently, we are implementing a lot

great standing with the Municipality of

of technology, including new ticketing

Venice and made the company a fierce

systems, that will resolve this issue. This is

competitor in the water.

the only feasible way of overcoming this

“We haven’t got any competitors within

problem, because it would be impractical

the public transport side of the business,

to have staff positioned at every stop.”

because we have a direct contract with the Municipality,” COO Gianluca Cuzzolin

Expanding fleet

said. “However, when it comes to the

With the demand for water transportation

tourist market, we have a huge amount

higher than ever, Actv made the decision

of competition, some of which even try

to expand its waterborne fleet, through

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an impressive investment of €150 million

provide travel between the various Islands

across ten years.

of Venice. This shipment is due in 2024 and

“Initially, when the plans were put in

will be followed with a further delivery the

place two years ago, we intended to finish

following year, featuring two new 600

the ten-year period with a total of 66 new

tonne car ferries, 20 new hybrid ‘Vaporetto’

boats,” Mr Cuzzolin explained. “However,

and 5 new hybrid motor vessels.

because costs have increased substan-

Also on order is a fully electric 800

tially, we have reduced that number to 56.

tonne car ferry and eight small motor-

That remains a huge number, and we are

boats which are used to cross the

actually getting ready to receive the first

smaller channels in Venice.

delivery of five.”

“It is an incredibly exciting time, and

This investment will also see Actv receive

we are very happy with the progress,”

seven new lagoon boats, which are used to

said Mr Cuzzolin. “It was not easy to find

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VULKAN ITALIA The first example of the new ACTV hybrid VAPORETTO originates from a real sustainable project. This is a retrofit of an existing VAPORETTO vessel, 80 class, Canal Grande series, with a traditional diesel propulsion, that will welcome a brand-new serial hybrid propulsion designed by VULKAN according to ACTV’s specification. VULKAN was project leader for the whole retrofit and conversion process. The new propulsion system’s bench test results won over ACTV’s technicians and managers, widely confirming the emissions reduction in accordance with Venice University’s virtual model.

The fully retrofitted hybrid VAPORETTO will sail again in the Lagoon from 2024.

editorial mention

70 Inside marine

ACTV

I PROFILE

a shipyard that builds these types of boats

services. This will have several benefits,

because it is a particular market; there are

including a reduction in queueing on the

only a few suppliers that work on the ves-

Lagoon lines, which are becoming increas-

sels that we need. On top of that, we have

ingly popular due to their tourist appeal.

additional requirements, as we use steel

The company is also collaborating with

instead of fibreglass or aluminium. The yard

the University of Venice on a computer

also needs to be medium-sized because

model that will result in the incorporation

the end of the boat is very heavy, so the

of Hybrid engines into its fleet, including 24

shipbuilders need the facilities to support

‘Vaporetto’ vessels and 10 lagoon boats.

that. Despite this, we are exceptionally happy with the results so far.”

Once delivery of all 56 vessels is complete, Actv plans to increase the frequency of its

Currently, Actv’s operations account for 1% of the PM10, 5% of the NOx and 2% of the CO of Venice’s total emissions. The model predicts that, with the implementation of hybrid vessels, Actv will reduce its own emissions respectively by 31% of PM10, 21% of NOx and 4% of CO, which will help with the city’s emissions.

Technology upgrades With the imminent arrival of new vessels, Actv felt it was time to make some other changes. Having used the same fleet management system for many years, the company decided it needed a change.

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“We will be upgrading our station communication and installing new LCD screens on board all of our vessels, and at landing stages,” said Mr Cuzzolin. “We are also looking at new GPS technology that will improve live tracking. Ultimately, we want to ensure that we always give the customers the very best experience.”

With customer satisfaction in mind, Actv is working on an advanced ticketing system that will allow customers to purchase tickets on a ‘pay-as-you-go’ basis. This will rely on

“We really wanted to give users a range

an account-based ticketing system, but will

of options when it comes to purchasing

also be accessible via QR codes placed at

tickets,” said Mr Cuzzolin. “Our new tick-

the company’s stops. Actv hopes this will

eting system will be ready by April 2024

make the purchasing process simpler,

and will really improve the overall pur-

reduce excessive queueing and prevent its

chasing experience. At the moment, we

competitors from poaching customers.

get a lot of people queueing at our ticket

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ACTV

I PROFILE

all the maintenance data collected from each vessel.

“We really want to be proactive when it comes to the health of our vessels,” Mr Cuzzolin said. “Not only will this help us save time and money, but it will also make the repair process more efficient.

“To ensure the success of the new department we intend to purchase new analytic software. We receive millions of data sets from the vessels, and it would offices. Also, with around 200 different

be impossible to fully correlate that data

fares on offer, finding the right ticket can

without an automated system.”

be confusing. This system will lead the customer to the right fare.”

There has also been a reorganisation

Keeping busy When it comes to the company’s next

within the company’s shipyard and main-

steps, Mr Cuzzolin predicted a jam-packed

tenance department to make room for a

schedule: “The main challenge in our daily

new predictive maintenance office. This

activities is being able to guarantee a daily

department will focus on understanding

service for the number of passengers we

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get, in such a small city. We have around

“The waterborne service is so useful, and

200,000 people using our transportation

other places would really benefit from it if

services every day: that’s a lot of move-

they were to just give it a chance. Water

ment around Venice.

travel is safe, comfortable and it avoids the

“Mobility is another challenge. It would be

dilemma of traffic jams and road works,”

great if we could implement a new line with

he concluded. “This is something I feel very

new stops, to really ensure a comfortable

passionately about, and I would love to see

user experience.”

the presence of waterbuses increase in the

Also on the cards for Actv is planned

n

coming years.”

maintenance for its main stops. Over the next three years, the company intends locations that link the beaches to the northeast part of the Lagoon with the city centre and another five of the most important landing stages of our network.

When discussing his role, Mr Cuzzolin felt privileged to have such an interesting and unique job role: “I feel like I am the only person in the world who can say they work

ACTV COO Gianluca Cuzzolin

to carry out special maintenance on the

in a city as beautiful Venice and manage a door-to-door public transport service that involves both buses and boats.

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