Rome has declared war on the golf cart, the small electric vehicle that has become the latest way for tourists to see the Italian capital's ancient ruins and landmarks. The Associated Press reports that hundreds of these carts now ferry visitors through the historic center, moving at modest speeds but outpacing regulators trying to keep up with them.
City officials are now preparing sweeping measures to bring the vehicles under control.
Critics say the golf carts have gotten out of hand, parking in banned zones, worsening traffic jams and adding a new layer to the city's overtourism problem. Some local media have called the carts' arrival an "invasion."
Supporters counter that the vehicles are nearly silent, take up less space than tour vans and buses, and produce no exhaust fumes, which contribute to the erosion and pollution of historic monuments.
AP journalists witnessed an argument between the driver of an eight-seat minivan and a golf cart driver, with both men waving their free hands angrily, following what the AP described as a long Roman tradition of settling disputes in the middle of the road. The AP described golf carts weaving through Rome's cobblestone alleys, passing tourists eating spaghetti carbonara at checkered-tablecloth tables and shops selling racy calendars featuring priests and tote bags printed with slogans like "Ciao Bella!"
All Roads Lead to Rome, But Parking Is a Problem
Ruth Sanderson, 50, from Manchester, England, decided to give her husband a birthday gift during their first trip to Rome. She said a golf cart tour let them see the city's main sights in three hours, leaving the rest of their short holiday free to simply relax and wander.
Their guide drove past the basilica where Pope Francis is buried, then headed to the Spanish Steps, where he parked in a spot reserved exclusively for car-sharing vehicles. It was the first of several no-parking zones he used during the tour.
Driver Martin Halili told the tourists that there were no designated stopping places for golf carts, so drivers parked wherever they could, trying to stay legal as much as possible.
Rome's parking problems predate the golf carts, the AP notes. Cars, minivans, Vespas and motorcycles routinely occupy sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and traffic islands, while delivery trucks double-park during unloading.
Nearly every free scrap of space in central Rome is taken. The head of the city's transport department, citing a field study conducted last year, said the area has only 4,300 regular on-street parking spaces, roughly a quarter of the number of cars owned by residents there.
An average of 50,000 vehicles enter the historic center every day, and some residents say they have had enough.
Luigi La Licata, head of the residents' association in the Monti district, told the AP that the situation had become the final straw after years of traffic problems in the area. He said too many categories of vehicles were allowed to operate there, with the golf cart being the most visible and newest addition, though far from the only one.
Bookings Surge as Rules Struggle to Keep Up
According to TripAdvisor, golf cart tour bookings in Rome rose 147% this summer compared with 2024. Viator, a TripAdvisor subsidiary, supplies most of the passengers for these tours.
Rome may have as many as 500 golf carts operating in the city. About a fifth of them belong to members of Metur, an association of tour operators founded in December to seek a compromise with residents and city authorities.
Metur president Pascal van Dyinghouven said overtourism was a real problem that the association did not deny, and acknowledged operators might be part of it. But he said that if they were part of the problem, they wanted to be a smart part of the solution, especially in a city like Rome, and hoped people would come to see it that way. He said the industry needed help and support from the authorities.
Regulating Golf Carts Proves Complicated
Eugenio Patanè, Rome's deputy mayor for sustainable mobility and transport, is trying to bring the situation, including but not limited to golf carts, back under control.
In July, electric vehicles began paying to enter the historic center, a fee previously charged only to gasoline-powered cars. The shift reflects a change in priorities, from cutting emissions to easing congestion.
The number of vehicles allowed into the center has already fallen by about a quarter, to 350,000, and Patanè wants to cut daily entries by half.
Golf carts have proven far harder to regulate. Not all of them are alike: differences in technical specifications mean some fall under existing rules while others can move with almost no restrictions. Patanè also explained that passenger transport and tourism business are regulated at the regional level, so he has asked the region to hand the relevant powers to the city of Rome, which he expects to happen this month.
Once that happens, Patanè said he could introduce his own rules, including fixed tour routes, limits on the number of golf carts of all types, and a system for vetting operators.
He said cities where the golf cart phenomenon is spreading rapidly actually have very few tools to influence it, and that Rome would be able to regulate a trend that has already become widespread and, in some cases, a source of concern.
The Reckoning Has Already Begun
Operators say the proposed rules could effectively kill off their young industry. Meanwhile, authorities have already begun restricting golf cart operations.
Van Dyinghouven said police stopped vehicles belonging to Metur members 14 times in the second half of August, with document checks sometimes lasting up to an hour. He said the penalties had been inconsistent and excessively harsh.
Golf carts that authorities determine are operating as illegal private hire vehicles can be banned from the streets for more than a month. Drivers can also be fined 4,000 euros, or about 4,600 dollars, for running tours without a proper license.
A block from the Pantheon, AP journalists watched an officer from Italy's financial police inspect a golf cart carrying a family from Florida. The roughly 30-minute check ended with the officer taking down the passengers' documents and copying their details. Three nearby private-hire minivans, also parked in violation of the rules, underwent no similar inspection.
Halili, who guided the couple from Manchester and owns the company Wheel Tours, said drivers of private hire cars and taxis were bitterly resentful of a new competitor eating into their business. He said they had declared war on golf carts, filing complaint after complaint and challenging everything they could because they represented a powerful lobby, and that this was the real problem: they had simply turned against golf carts.
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Separately, London is this week testing robotaxis, with autonomous vehicles carrying passengers on the British capital's streets for the first time. London's medieval street layout has left it a dense maze where cars, buses, scooter couriers, cyclists and pedestrians who often cross outside designated areas all move at once. Fifteen autonomous robotaxis, jointly operated by Uber and British self-driving startup Wayve, will be bookable through the Uber app.
