{"id":7360,"date":"2026-09-03T21:09:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T04:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7860059\/reckoning-looms-for-golf-carts-that-zip-through-romes-crowded-historic-center\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T04:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T11:30:10","slug":"rome-mounts-a-crackdown-on-golf-carts-that-are-increasingly-popular-with-tourists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/7360\/rome-mounts-a-crackdown-on-golf-carts-that-are-increasingly-popular-with-tourists\/","title":{"rendered":"Rome mounts a crackdown on golf carts that are increasingly popular with tourists"},"content":{"rendered":"

ROME (AP) \u2014 Beneath the splendor of its monuments and ruins, Rome is taking aim at a modern-day chariot: the golf cart.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of them have started carrying tourists through the historic center. Even rolling along at a moderate speed, these golf carts have so far outpaced regulation. But the city is mounting a crackdown.<\/p>\n

For critics, the carts are running amok, parking illegally, worsening congestion and unlocking another level of overtourism<\/a>. Some local media invoke sensational language, calling it an \u201cinvasion\u201d and saying Rome is being \u201cheld hostage by golf carts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advocates argue carts are silent, occupy less space than tourist vans and buses and don\u2019t choke the air with exhaust that also stains historic monuments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press got a taste of the enmity during a late August ride when a black, eight-seater van pulled up alongside.<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
A golf cart makes its way through crowds of tourists in Rome\u2019s historic center, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, amid growing debate over the vehicles\u2019 role in congestion and overtourism. (AP Photo\/Gregorio Borgia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re in the middle of the road!\u201d its driver barked. \u201cMove it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways the same! The road isn\u2019t yours!\u201d the golf cart driver shouted back. Both gesticulated angrily with their free hands, following a time-honored Roman traffic tradition.<\/p>\n

Carts like this zip through Rome\u2019s cobblestone alleys, past tourists eating spaghetti carbonara<\/a> from plates on checkered tablecloths and shops hawking hot priest calendars<\/a> and tote bags stamped with cliches (Ciao Bella!). But there\u2019s no time to buy anything except a cappuccino or gelato<\/a>; these tours are targeted blitzes on Rome\u2019s hot spots<\/a> \u2014 at least until they collide with authorities.<\/p>\n

Best buckle up.<\/p>\n

All roads lead to Rome, but good luck parking<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
A flotilla of golf carts carrying tourists travels past the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, as city officials move to regulate the rapidly growing industry amid complaints about congestion, illegal parking, and overtourism. (AP Photo\/Gregorio Borgia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ruth Sanderson from Manchester, England, surprised her husband with the tour for his birthday during their first trip to Rome. They could see the major sights in three hours and \u201cjust potter around\u201d for the rest of their short stay, said Sanderson, 50. <\/p>\n

Their guide swung around the basilica where Pope Francis is buried<\/a> then headed to the Spanish Steps<\/a>, where he parked in an area exclusively for car-sharing \u2014 the first of several illegal spots he snagged.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a proper stop for golf carts, so we park where we can \u2014 as legal as possible,\u201d driver Martin Halili explained to them. <\/p>\n

Even before the golf cart boom, parking was a pain. Cars, vans, Vespas<\/a> and motorcycles are stationed atop curbs, crosswalks and medians. Trucks double-park while unloading. <\/p>\n

Any spare cranny is claimed in Rome’s historic center because there are only 4,300 regular on-street spots available, about one-quarter the number of cars owned by the area’s residents, according to the city’s transport chief, citing a field survey conducted last year. Plus, an average 50,000 vehicles enter daily. Unsurprisingly, some residents are unhappy.<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
Pascal Duijnhoven, right, argues with a private-hire driver as he drives his golf cart in downtown Rome, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, amid growing debate over the vehicles\u2019 role in congestion and overtourism. (AP Photo\/Gregorio Borgia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis was the last straw because, unfortunately, there has already been traffic here for a long time, since there are too many categories of vehicles authorized,\u201d Luigi la Licata, head of the Monti neighborhood association, told the AP. \u201cThe golf cart is the most obvious one \u2014 and the latest \u2014 but there are many others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golf cart bookings this summer grew 147% from 2024, according to TripAdvisor, whose subsidiary Viator is the biggest source of passengers. Rome has as many as 500 carts, with one-fifth belonging to the Metur association of tour operators, established last December to seek common ground with locals and the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cOvertourism is a real problem, and we\u2019re not denying it. And maybe we\u2019re also part of it in a way. But if we\u2019re part of it, then at least be part of it in a smart way,\u201d Pascal van Duijnhoven, the association\u2019s president, said. \u201cWe believe, especially for Rome, that it\u2019s a solution. And we really hope that people start looking at it like this. But we need a hand. We need some help from the authorities.\u201d <\/p>\n

Regulating golf carts isn’t so easy <\/p>\n

Rome\u2019s deputy mayor for sustainable mobility and transport, Eugenio Patan\u00e8, is striving to restore order and reduce traffic \u2014 and not just golf carts. <\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
A golf cart carrying tourists travels past parked cars in Rome, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, as city officials move to regulate the rapidly growing industry amid complaints about congestion, illegal parking, and overtourism. (AP Photo\/Gregorio Borgia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In July, electric vehicles started paying for admission to the historic center, as gasoline-powered cars had been \u2014 a strategic shift from cutting emissions to tackling congestion. The number of authorized vehicles is down about one-quarter, to 350,000, and Patan\u00e8 aims to halve the number of daily entrants.<\/p>\n

But it hasn’t been so simple to put the brakes on golf carts. First, not all carts are created equal; technical specifications mean some fall under existing rules while others can roam freely. Second, passenger transport and tourism businesses are regulated regionally, Patan\u00e8 said.<\/p>\n

So he requested the region transfer that power to Rome, and anticipates that will occur this month. Then he can present his regulation that would establish fixed tour routes, cap the number of carts of all types and create a system to select operators.<\/p>\n

\u201cCities where this golf cart phenomenon is expanding truly have very few weapons,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will be able to regulate this phenomenon that has now become rampant and, in some cases, even worrisome.\u201d <\/p>\n

A reckoning is underway<\/p>\n

Operators say such proposals would kneecap their nascent industry. Meantime, their carts are already getting curbed.<\/p>\n

Authorities stopped vehicles owned by Metur associates 14 times in the back half of August, with reviews of drivers’ documents that lasted up to an hour, van Duijnhoven said, and punishments that were inconsistent and severe. Carts allegedly operating as black-market, private-hire vehicles can be banned from the streets for over a month, or drivers slapped with 4,000-euro ($4,600) fines for unlicensed tour guiding.<\/p>\n

One block from the Pantheon<\/a>, the AP saw an officer from Italy’s financial police inspecting the documents from a cart carrying a family from Florida. During the half-hour stop, he took their IDs and copied their information. Three nearby private-hire vans \u2014 also parked illegally \u2014 were receiving no such scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Halili, who guided the couple from Manchester, says private-hire and taxi drivers are bristling at the new kid on the block taking a bite out of their business.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have waged a war against us, filing complaints and appeal after appeal, because they are a powerful lobby,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the problem: They have it in for golf carts.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ROME (AP) \u2014 Beneath the splendor of its monuments and ruins, Rome is taking aim at a modern-day chariot: the golf cart. Hundreds of them have started carrying tourists through the historic center. Even rolling along at a moderate speed, these golf carts have so far outpaced regulation. But the city is mounting a crackdown. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":7361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"ed24193f-4f80-499d-a653-314bf56023e6","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"David Biller And Lorenzo Gironacci","published":"2026-09-03 21:09:56","updated":"2026-09-04 04:24:05","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1303,1304],"tags":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-7360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/7360\/rome-mounts-a-crackdown-on-golf-carts-that-are-increasingly-popular-with-tourists\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Rome mounts a crackdown on golf carts that are increasingly popular with tourists","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/7360\/rome-mounts-a-crackdown-on-golf-carts-that-are-increasingly-popular-with-tourists\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/7360\/rome-mounts-a-crackdown-on-golf-carts-that-are-increasingly-popular-with-tourists\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-dc758e6329fa06b40342108627bf3c4aeec74e2106ae91cf856701ce23b44acd.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-dc758e6329fa06b40342108627bf3c4aeec74e2106ae91cf856701ce23b44acd.jpg"},"articleSection":"International","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-09-04T04:09:56Z","datePublished":"2026-09-04T04:09:56Z","dateModified":"2026-09-04T11:30:10Z"},"rendered":"