Voices from Bergamo – student mobility and the U-MOB LIFE project

A letter from Claudia

My name is Claudia and I am a student at the University of Bergamo. I study building engineering in Dalmine. I usually use my car to move around the city but in my spare time I use my bicycle to go to the city parks. I also like to walk to reach Bergamo’s historic centre and town.

After starting my master’s degree at my university, I learned about the activities of U-MOB LIFE thanks to a professor here, Maria Rosa Ronzoni. I inmediately decided to collaborate with this group of young students. I strongly believe in this project that aims to create a mobility system for the city of Bergamo – one which connects our university which is spread out across the area.

It’s possible to use the bicycle if students live near the different university locations – but this privilege is only for a few of us. In fact, most students live far from university buildings so it’s impossible to bike to classes.

This means that very few students use bicycles. To reach Dalmine, most students take the car and a few others go by bus. On top of this, the bus frequency is low and for this reason people have no incentive to use them. This is a typically Italian problem.

For the future, I would like the university’s students and professors to use a transport system as a habit: car sharing, carpooling, tram and – for the last mile – the bike or on foot on paths properly suited for pedestrians.

The university, thanks to Professor Maria Rosa Ronzoni, has constant relations with the municipality of Bergamo and Dalmine, sending problems encountered by students to help them move around the city.

The municipality should make foot and cycle paths more visible with colourful signs and attractive street furniture. On top of this, all the routes must be safe and continuous and connect the most important areas of Bergamo and Dalmine.

Thanks!
Claudia