The TAR of Lazio established that the referendum on the ATAC in Rome was valid even if the quorum was not reached

The Regional Administrative Court of Lazio has accepted the appeal presented by the organizers of the consultative referendum that was held in Rome in November 2018 on the liberalization of the public transport service, currently managed almost exclusively by the municipal company ATAC. Only 16.4 percent of those entitled to vote had voted in the referendum (the Yes to liberalization had won), and the quorum of 33 percent established by the by-laws of the Municipality had not been reached. The organizers, however, contested the legitimacy of the quorum: it had in fact been abolished by the Municipality of Rome on January 30, 2018, the same day that the order was issued to call the referendum. The TAR has therefore accepted the appeal, concluding that the municipal administration should have promulgated the result of the referendum.

The ATAC is known for its usual disservices and its huge debts, and the malfunctioning of the subway and buses is one of the best known problems in Rome and they attract the most frequent criticisms. The referendum demanded that the tender for the management of public transport be put to tender. Being only consultative, the municipality is not bound to accept the result.