Opposition to construction Many local politicians have criticised the project's 78-million-euro construction cost as well as its protracted planning and construction phases, which spanned a quarter of a century. Some considered the project to be outdated. Responding to demands that the project be stopped in March 2013, the general manager of Rimini's mobility agency estimated that it would cost 51 million euros. Opponents likened the project to a . At a protest at a construction site in 2014, a protestor produced an anonymous document claiming that Agenzia di Mobilità (AM), the agency overseeing the construction works, was filling excavation sites in Riccione with untreated sludge, and she asked representatives about the veracity of the claim. The protestor was sued by AM for defamation; in November 2019, the Court of Rimini overturned her initial conviction, citing her protected constitutional right to critique. The demolition of properties to make way for the line attracted local opposition. The project required 680 expropriation decrees, Via Serra in Bellariva was particularly affected, becoming a flashpoint of community opposition. In total, 96 appeals were filed against expropriation orders, all of which were won by PMR. The approval of the Metromare system in 2011 by then-mayor Fabio Ubaldi created a climate of disapproval among many local residents. Following a request from Riccione's municipal administration, in April 2013, its financial commitment to the project was limited to 6.28 million euros. The June 2014 municipal elections saw the election of centre-right Renata Tosi as Mayor of Riccione. who campaigned to block the line from reaching the and cancel the entire project, An open letter from Riccione's hoteliers association warned against the disfigurement it would create. this was rejected by the project's coordination committee, leading to the direct intervention of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. Both the regional administrative court and the
Council of State rejected Riccione's appeal against the committee's decision. In September 2015, an engineer hired by Tosi's administration concluded that the proposed route would not reduce journey times by using smart traffic lights, and could reduce construction costs by 7 million euros. The coordination committee rejected the engineer's findings, projecting that the proposal would increase journey times and construction and operating costs while decreasing road safety. Community tension shrouded the felling of over 200 pine trees in Via Portovenere. In April 2014, a demonstration outside the town hall decried the felling. In June, Tosi attended an occupation of the construction site and issued an injunction to halt the works, which was later overturned. and the felling was supervised by around 70 police officers. For her part in the protest, the carabinieri charged Tosi with complicity in the interruption of public works, criminal damage, and abuse of public office. Via Portovenere returned to local news in April 2015 after residents were given short notice to evacuate their courtyards and garages for works on the line. In October 2014, AM threatened Tosi's administration with legal action for failing to regulate traffic flows to allow works in Riccione to proceed. The works had already been postponed by one month on the municipality's request. Tosi believed that the threat was politicised to bend Riccione against backing down. Local politicians described the move as anti-democratic and authoritarian. In May 2015, AM and the municipal administration further clashed on the closure of an underpass in Via Puccini. In May 2015, over a thousand residents formed a
human chain protest at a construction site in Viale Rimini, where 89 trees were felled. After a municipal ordinance to stop works in Viale Rimini was overturned in August 2015, the municipal administration accused the regional administrative court of a "now prejudicial attitude" against its concerns. The administration also protested against the felling of trees in Via delle Magnolie, citing conservation laws. Local politicians criticised Tosi's administration for its stubborn opposition to the project and causing unnecessary, costly delays. In January 2021, the preliminary hearing judge of the Court of Rimini indicted Tosi for abuse of office, relating to ordinances she issued to obstruct Metromare's construction. PMR had sued Tosi for civil damage claims of 2.35 million euros. Tosi, who retired at the 2022 municipal election, was acquitted at the trial in July 2022.
Uninvolved municipalities In October 2015, Cattolica's municipal administration protested against invoices produced by AM totalling 72,000 euros for the planning phase of Metromare's southern extension. In March 2021, the administration of
Bellaria – Igea Marina, north of Rimini, protested that the municipality was asked to absorb an increase in provincial transport costs that they attributed to Metromare. The councillors reaffirmed that the project had increased the investment gap between Rimini's northern and southern suburbs, and that Metromare was prioritised for regional funding. The municipality said that it was initially agreed that areas that would not benefit from Metromare would not be asked to contribute to its construction, but that this was later rescinded on the justification that the project was a coastal service. and the contract passed to ATI, a group formed by transport vehicle manufacturers
Van Hool and
Kiepe Electric. The first APTS Phileas trolleybus for Rimini had already been completed and was delivered in 2014, Local politicians criticised the replacement buses as polluting and incompatible with the platform for wheelchair users. Some also accused the provisional launch of being an electoral stunt ahead of the regional elections. Riccione's municipal government formally objected to the provisional launch of the Metromare using alternative means, At a hearing in Rimini's municipal council in October 2019, a councillor objected to the provisional launch going ahead without Riccione's consent, while another asked why the provisional launch was necessary given the existing alternative provided by the route 11 trolleybus. In January 2020, Start Romagna drivers cited the dangerousness of the Metromare among their reasons for striking. The event of a bus collision along the track was simulated in an emergency exercise later that month, which Riccione politicians said should have been carried out before the launch. After the COVID-19 pandemic closed Metromare, Riccione's municipal government voted against resuming services until the trolleybuses could enter service. The first trolleybus arrived on 12 June 2020. Testing began in July 2020 and the vehicles were approved in September 2021, entering service the following month. To reach the airport, passengers descending from the Metromare need to go south along the Via Cavalieri di Vittorio Veneto, past the roundabout with Viale Losanna/Viale Felice Carlo Pullè, then northwest along the busy SS16
Via Flaminia state road. Moreover, at the time of Metromare's launch, the SS16 could not be crossed by foot near the airport. In September 2020, the Mayor of Riccione proposed a direct connection from the airport to the city's southern spa district. The municipal council launched a feasibility study into the moving walkway in September 2023. The suggestion was derided by local politicians as fanciful and much costlier than a shuttle service. A feasbility study concluded that the covered walkway would cost 13.7 million euros, with annual operating costs of 288,000 euros. In September 2021, the municipal council approved the replacement of the three-way directional interchange between the SS16 and the Via Cavalieri di Vittorio Veneto with a roundabout. The project would include lit segregated pedestrian walkways and a pedestrian crossing of the SS16 controlled by traffic lights.
Future of the route 11 trolleybus Metromare's route in Rimini parallels that of Start Romagna's
route 11 trolleybus, which runs from Rimini's railway station to Riccione's Piazzale Curiel along the principal seafront avenue. but this decision had been postponed by 2008. Several Rimini and Riccione municipal councillors have expressed concerns about the future of the trolleybus line given the competition provided by Metromare. In the provisional phase, usage data suggested that the lines had distinct user bases. The summer 2022 timetable had an 18-minute headway on route 11, compared with 12 minutes in recent previous summers.
Security In April 2022, a candidate in Riccione's municipal elections said that the Metromare was "at the mercy of criminals and drug dealers" by night. There are ninety-eight
CCTV cameras along the route and emergency intercoms at each station. == Incidents ==