Venice Town Hall announced 26 reforms regarding the transport on gondolas around the world known city. The measures are the result of a tragic accident that occurred last August in which a German tourist died after crashing a gondola with a vaporetto, or a waterbus.
One of the most important measures implemented by the Venice authorities is the prohibition of merchandise ships traffic after 10:30 a.m. in order to alleviate the boat congestion in peak hours.
Also, the taxis of Venice will have to follow the restrictions imposed on peak traffic times and congestion. Similarly, it was proclaimed that only those that possessed an ordinary public service license would be able to offer a service and not those with a private status that also have a permission to transport people.
Regarding the implementation of GPS devices on the gondolas, it is expected that this new measure will be quite useful to the gondoliers. This way it will be easier for them to plan their routes as well as connect to more than 40 cameras installed throughout the canals.
The license plates on the outside of the gondolas, however, will not be implemented shortly. According to the authorities, the reform will be made in a non-invasive way, honoring the essence of the famous ships.