Public Transport Mobility in Venice

Venice is a unique city built on a group of islands within a shallow lagoon and is internationally renowned for its extraordinary cultural heritage and distinctive urban landscape. However, the rapid and largely uncontrolled growth of tourism has led to overtourism, generating serious challenges such as congestion, rising living costs, and the displacement of residents from the historic centre. Unlike most urban contexts, where public transport systems operate alongside private motor vehicles, mobility in Venice relies almost entirely on pedestrian movement and scheduled water bus services. Public transport therefore plays a central role in everyday mobility, serving not only commuters but also residents accessing essential services and visitors navigating the city. The availability of large-scale datasets of ticket validations from the public transport system enables a comprehensive analysis of urban mobility patterns and supports the development of evidence-based policies aimed at promoting sustainable tourism and improving residents’ quality of life. This paper presents three datasets of ticket validations collected during different periods of 2023, encompassing iconic events such as Carnival and the Venice Film Festival, as well as major holiday periods like Easter and summer. The datasets, provided by the primary public transport company ACTV (Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano), include detailed information on ticket typologies, enabling the classification of users into categories such as tourists, residents, students, and retirees. In addition, we illustrate the results of selected analyses that demonstrate the richness and utility of these data for both researchers and city managers.