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The first buses and the development
In 1919 the "Servizi Automobilistici Friulani"
started the public transportation service in Udine province with 5 adapted
military lorries
Fiat 15 ter.
In the following years, after the transformation of the company in "Società
Auto Industriale Friulana", some Fiat 18
BL and some Ceirano with Dalla Via body improved and extended the service.
In
1920 new companies were founded: the Società Anonima Italiana Trasporti
Automobilistici, then simply SAITA, and the "Società Servizi
Automobilistici Pubblici". Then followed the "Giacomo Giordani"
of Claut (PN), the "Società Cooperativa Spilimberghese", the
"Odorico Comuzzi", the "Società Carnica
Autotrasporti", the "Faustino Crucil" of Cividale, the
"Ornella & C.", the "Attilio Collavini"...
After Second World War, the links to Istria and to Trieste hinterland,
separated by a new artificial state-limit, were mainly assured by
Autolinee Triestine (which in 1995 became a part of the new SAF).
The connections between the suburbs
and the cities were divided in a a lot of small private companies. In Trieste,
for example, existed: SAP, La
Stradale, la Carsica, and Servizio Comunale Trenovia.
In 1974 the regional Law no. 47, in advance to the national rules (Law no.151
of 1981), initiated the "traffic basins" (bacini di traffico) and the
"Management Units" (Unità di Gestione).
Until then, the line concessions were national, single, with small
contributions and with free fares. The principle "1 UdG =
1 company" caused, only in Udine province, the reduction from
39 companies (ANAC members) to 7.
The successive Regional Law no.41 of 1986, delegated to provinces the
management of local public transports (t.p.l.)
The evolution of the rules and the
requests for managing the UdGs and their own contributions made the life harder for the smallest companies. In fact in 1993 Autovie Pupin was sold
and divided in two parts, joined respectively in ATAP and in SAITA.
In 1995 growing economic problems convinced the private companies of Udine to create a new bigger firm,
SAF (Autoservizi FVG S.p.A.)
with the participation of: Autoservizi Olivo from Cavazzo Carnico, Autolinee Ferrari
from
Udine, Collavini form Udine, Autolinee Triestine from Trieste and Autoservizi
Rosina from Cividale. The first big private company of north-east of Italy
was born, with almost 300 buses and about 400 employees.
The regional Law no.20 of 1997 which anticipated the application of the
new European Community rules, extabilished for the first time in Italy,
the contracts for managing the t.p.l. (public local transportation).
The European invitation to tender made by Region in 1999 extabilished to
allot the managment of t.p.l. services (1 per province) considering
discounts on the maximum public contribution and valuating some features
as service quality, average of buses, stops, etc.
On summer of the same year, two
companies "la Gradese" (Grado) and "SAITA"
(Udine) decided to sell in advance their activities making over vehicles
and employees, which joined SAF.
A one year delay made the tender
more precise and interesting also for other companies. In some cases the
competitors were Italian from other regions, in other cases the local
firms created "ATI" (companies temporary association) or Joint Stock
Companies with a foreign partnership.
The decision for the tenders was
taken at the end of year 2000, for starting the new UdG managment from the
1st of January 2001. The winners were: SAF for Udine province, ATAP for
Pordenone and APT for Gorizia one. Trieste province has no more interurban
lines, in fact the two main courses (Trieste-Monfalcone-Grado and Trieste-Airport-Udine)
passed under Gorizia UdG.
This reorganization of t.p.l. allowed to save a concrete sum of money (of
public contribution), moreover simplified tickets and fares.
This also meant the end of some old
glorious transportation companies as SAITA, AMG Gorizia and Giordani
Pordenone.
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