Lake Transit Disruptions Resume as Ferry Service Returns After Repair
In the end, the electronic board that consistently caused the motor to fail, locking it in the harbor at Piazza Catena, was found and promptly replaced.
Since yesterday, therefore, “Mincio”, the flagship ferry of Navigarda, has resumed service, much to the relief of numerous commuters who daily travel the Riva-Limone route and vice versa.
They are the cursed of the lake, the “boat-people”, the people of the boat who every morning are packed onto ships and ferries and taken to their destinations.
To work or to study. It is mainly students who use Navigarda’s vessels to compensate for the closure of the Gardesana Occidentale highway.
Testimonials and Difficulties
They embark in Limone to attend schools in Riva. Many workers employed in the Limone area and in Alto Garda also travel with them.
Some of the ferry passengers, once in Limone, continue to other destinations along the Brescia coast. These individuals are forced to travel by car, paying considerable daily tolls (approximately thirty thousand lire).
An entire world, by necessity, forced to endure the most uncomfortable consequences of a natural event that suddenly disrupted everyday life.
Each could share their own story and discomfort. But a particularly illustrative case is that of a bank clerk from Tremosine employed at a credit institution in Riva.
He has been practically trapped in Riva for two weeks, since the landslide occurred, far from his family loved ones.
“My work starts very early in the morning,” he tells us during a break. “It’s too early for the schedules set by Navigarda.”
Unable to request special permits, he had to adjust and stay overnight away from home, despite having a wife and three children. Luckily, his parents live in Varone, which eased the problem, but many others in the same situation couldn’t rely on anyone for help.
The discomfort has now been compounded by the ignorance of the needs of us working commuters.
From Monday, ferry and boat departures will increase (practically covering the entire day from early morning until midnight for both routes), but only because schools are reopening.
He’s still undecided whether to use the ferry and therefore the car, or the boat. Maybe he will borrow his father’s car to get around the area. A situation truly at the limit of endurance, shared by many other “damned” lake residents.
They are not afraid to reveal their fears. “Problems won’t disappear with the reopening of the Gardesana,” concludes the bank clerk, “but only when the safety of those traveling on it is guaranteed. Until then, riding it will give me chills.”