As Rome’s tourist golf carts overrun the historic center, a reckoning nears

ROME (AP) — They have become one of Rome’s most visible symbols of overtourism: open-air golf carts weaving through the cobblestone streets of the historic center, packed with visitors who want to see St. Peter’s, the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon without covering the distances on foot. What began as a niche alternative to tour buses has turned into a full-blown tourist transport boom — and a growing headache for the people who actually live there.

Local media have described an “invasion” and said the city is being “held hostage” by golf carts. Residents complain that the carts park on sidewalks, block intersections and add to congestion in a center already choked with cars, vans, Vespas and delivery trucks. Some headlines have been harsh; the frustration behind them is real.

Luigi la Licata, who heads the residents’ association in the Monti neighborhood, said the arrival of hundreds of golf carts felt like the last straw in a district that had already reached its limit. “There has already been traffic here for a long time, because too many categories of vehicles are authorized,” he said. “The golf cart is the most obvious — and the latest — but there are many others.”

The numbers explain why. Booking data from Tripadvisor shows golf-cart tours in Rome grew 147% this summer compared with the same period in 2024. The city now has as many as 500 carts, according to industry estimates, and about one-fifth of them belong to Metur, an association of tour operators created last December to negotiate with the city and local residents.

Defenders argue that the carts are electric, quieter than vans and buses, and take up far less space. They also do not fill the air around ancient monuments with diesel exhaust. Ruth Sanderson, 50, from Manchester, England, booked a golf-cart tour as a birthday surprise for her husband during their first visit to Rome. “We can see the major sights in three hours and then just potter around for the rest of our stay,” she said.

But the experience can be messy. During a ride in late August, an Associated Press journalist watched a tour cart pull into a space reserved for car-sharing near the Spanish Steps — one of several illegal stops on a single route. The driver, Martin Halili, explained that there are no official stopping areas for golf carts, so drivers take whatever they can find. “We park where we can, as legal as possible,” he said.

Parking in central Rome has been difficult for years. The historic center has only about 4,300 legal on-street spaces, while residents own roughly four cars for every spot. An average of 50,000 vehicles enter the area every day. Into that crowded mix have rolled hundreds of golf carts, adding another layer of competition for curb space and patience.

Metur president Pascal van Duijnhoven acknowledged that overtourism is a legitimate concern and that his industry is part of the picture. “Maybe we are part of the problem,” he said. “But if we are, we should be part of it in a smart way. We believe golf carts can be part of the solution for Rome. But we need a hand from the authorities.”

Rome’s deputy mayor for mobility, Eugenio Patanè, is trying to restore order. In July, electric vehicles started paying to enter the historic center, just as gasoline-powered cars already did — a shift in policy from cutting emissions to curbing congestion. The number of authorized vehicles has dropped by roughly a quarter, to 350,000, and Patanè wants to halve daily entries.

Golf carts, however, have been harder to control. “Cities where this golf-cart phenomenon is expanding have very few weapons,” Patanè said. “We will be able to regulate a phenomenon that has now become rampant and, in some cases, worrisome.” He has asked the Lazio region to hand the city authority over passenger transport and tourism licensing, a step expected this month. That would allow Rome to set fixed tour routes, cap the number of carts and create a system for choosing which operators can run them.

Operators fear that kind of regulation would cripple their young industry. They also say enforcement has already become aggressive and uneven. Van Duijnhoven said police stopped vehicles belonging to Metur members 14 times in the second half of August. Some checks lasted an hour, and penalties ranged from long suspensions to fines of up to 4,000 euros ($4,600) for unlicensed guiding. The Associated Press saw an officer from Italy’s financial police spend half an hour inspecting a cart carrying a family from Florida near the Pantheon, copying down their information, while several private-hire vans parked illegally nearby were ignored.

Halili, who owns Wheel Tours, argues that taxi and private-hire drivers are waging a campaign against the newcomers. “They have waged a war against us, filing complaints and appeal after appeal, because they are a powerful lobby,” he said. “They have it in for golf carts.”

For now, the carts keep moving, zipping past tablecloths and souvenir stands, often stopping just long enough for a photo or a cappuccino. The central question is whether Rome can find a way to accommodate them without letting them add to the very overtourism that already strains the city. Clear routes, firm limits and consistent enforcement would be a start. Without that, the reckoning may only get louder.