24-hour strike at ATM Milan, metro and buses at risk

The 24-hour strike called by the AL-COBAS and Confial Trasporti unions concerns Gruppo ATM staff in Milan, with possible disruptions on the metro, buses and trams during the hours not covered by the guarantee periods, according to Il Post and MilanoToday.

Service may not be guaranteed from 8:45 to 15:00 and from 18:00 until the end of the daily operating schedule, time slots in which Milan commuters risk cancelled runs or delays on multiple lines simultaneously. Outside these windows, ATM is required to guarantee the minimum service provided for under the regulations on strikes in public transport, so during the central morning hours and in the evening hours the company must ensure the essential runs indicated by the guarantee periods.

The protest is not limited to Milan’s urban network: it also involves the Como-Brunate funicular and the transport services run by Net in Brianza, thus extending the potential disruption beyond the Lombard capital alone to a wider area of the region. The situation is different on the regional rail lines: Trenord trains will run as normal, remaining a service unaffected by the stoppage during the same hours.

A useful element for assessing the historical impact of similar protests is the participation data recorded in recent years: Gruppo ATM strikes have seen average participation of around 11% of staff, a percentage that in previous instances has limited total service interruptions, while still leaving room for uncertainty about the actual scale of the October 9 strike.

The two time slots indicated by the unions — morning and evening — therefore remain the moments when the risk of cancellations and delays is most concentrated, while the Trenord regional rail network does not fall within the scope of the protest called by AL-COBAS and Confial Trasporti.