A system worth €675 million per year prepares for a full renewal, with strategic extensions, new green buses, and strengthened governance.

Lombardia’s local public transport (TPL) system is heading toward a structural transformation by 2026, with the phase-out of old concessions and the introduction of a more integrated and controlled model. The system is organized into 6 Basin Agencies: the largest, Milan, Monza and Brianza, Lodi, and Pavia, covers four provinces and manages about 160 million bus-km per year, while the others cover provincial or multi-provincial areas with different territorial characteristics (mountainous, urban, or suburban).

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Local public transport in Lombardy has entered its decisive two-year period. After years of regulatory uncertainty and the long tail of the pandemic, 2026 has been set as the deadline to close the old concession era and launch a new phase based on sustainability and digital integration.

1. Transport Geography: The 6 Basins

Lombardy manages its services through 6 Basin Agencies, entities that coordinate road transport (bus) services across optimal territorial areas. Each basin has unique characteristics and needs:

The 6 Basins of Lombardy

1. Milan, Monza and Brianza, Lodi, and Pavia: The largest basin, grouping four provinces under a single agency. It manages about 160 million bus-km with 36 contracts. Tenders, initially expected years ago, are now accelerating. In 2025, opinions from the Transport Regulation Authority (ART) and tender lot reports (5 planned lots) were published.
2. Como, Lecco, and Varese: Covers the lake area and border regions.
3. Brescia: Manages the entire province (urban and suburban).
4. Bergamo: Manages the entire province.
5. Cremona e Mantova: Covers the south-eastern area, with strong suburban and school transport demand.
6. Sondrio: Covers the mountainous territory of Valtellina and Valchiavenna, where service continuity is supported by specific funding for “low-demand areas.”

2. New Governance and Integrated Ticketing

• Recently, the Regional Council approved a further update to Regional Law 6/2012 (revised between late 2025 and early 2026), granting the Region stronger control over the Agencies to avoid further delays and standardize service quality.

The reform also aims to:

• Fare Integration: Introduce a regional integrated ticket. A pilot will start in June 2026 (initially in the Milan–Monza area), with full rollout across Lombardy by 2028.
• Social Clause: Protect workers during transitions between operators.
• Monitoring: New sanctioning tools for agencies that fail to meet tender deadlines.
• Fleet Renewal: Around 1,100 low-emission buses (electric, hydrogen, or methane) to be deployed by the end of 2026.

3. Key Figures (April 2026)

The Region has allocated significant resources to prevent system disruption during the transition:

• €665 million: Funding for 2026 allocated to Basin Agencies. An additional €5 million per year (2027–2028) is earmarked for mountainous and small municipalities.
• 1,100 new buses: Fleet renewal target by the end of the year, financed through the PNRR and national funds.

Tender Status: 

• Milan: ART validation ongoing for extra-urban lots (2, 3, 4, and 5).
• Como–Lecco–Varese: Among the most advanced, with tender documentation already submitted.
• Bergamo: Shift from a single-lot model to multi-lot to increase competition.

Methodological Notes

The data is based on official regional allocations for 2026 and the latest tender documentation published by the Basin Agencies.

The figures reported in the table and analysis were developed by cross-referencing various institutional and technical sources updated as of April 2026. Below is a list of the documents and portals from which the data were extracted or inferred:

1. Funds and Compensation (Financial Data)

The values for Compensation per year are derived from the allocation plans of the Lombardy Region for the 2024–2026 three-year period.

• Regional Government Resolution (DGR) No. 1827 of 2024 (and subsequent updates in 2025): “Determinations regarding resources allocated to the financing of public local transport (TPL).” This measure establishes the share allocated to each of the 6 Basin Agencies.
• Lombardy Region Budget Forecast 2026–2028: A document confirming the allocation of approximately €675 million in total for the regional transport fund.

2. Kilometers (KM/year) and Planning

Data on kilometer coverage are taken from Basin Programs (PdB) and Award Reports:

• TPL Agency Milan, Monza, Lodi, and Pavia: Report pursuant to Article 14 of Legislative Decree 201/2022 (updated January 2025), specifying mileage for interurban lots and the urban area of Milan.
• TPL Agency Brescia: Basin Program 2025, defining the single lot of approximately 33 million km.
• ART (Transport Regulation Authority) documentation: Opinions on tender frameworks (e.g., 2024/2025 resolutions) validating traffic data and mileage put out to tender.

3. Fare Revenues and Industrial Costs

• Historical data 2023–2024: Monitoring reports from the Lombardy Region (Regional Observatory of Public Transport), indicating the level of cost coverage through ticket revenues (the so-called cost-recovery ratio).

Note: The kilometers indicated in the tables may vary slightly between those “funded” (what the Region pays for) and those “put out to tender” (which may include additional kilometers financed by municipalities or provinces with their own resources).