Chauffeured car count complete

(ANSA) - Rome, March 1 - The civil service ministry said Tuesday it has completed a nationwide count of chauffeured cars provided to public officials, with 204 local administrations reporting 1,434 such vehicles in February. The ministry said the nationwide fleet of such cars was cut by a third, from 66,619 vehicles in 2014 to 23,203 in 2015. Civil Service Minister Marianna Madia said in early February that the government has cut ministry chauffeured cars by two-thirds, from 159 in 2014 to 59 in 2015. The ministry had set a February 29 deadline for local administrations to update their spending data, after which they would be banned from spending more than 50% of a 2013 cap on chauffeured car purchases, maintenance, and rentals.
    In December, the Lower House budget committee approved an amendment to the budget bill extending to December 2016 a ban on the purchase of chauffeured cars by the civil service, independent authorities, and CONSOB financial markets watchdog agency.
    Premier Matteo Renzi in 2014 announced the plan to cut the fleet of siren-blaring 'blue cars' which regularly irk motorists and pedestrians around Italy.
    The sleek cars have become an embodiment of what voters see as the undeserved privileges of government officials and public-sector managers.
    Successive governments have vowed to shrink the fleets, but the first real drive began in late 2012 amid widespread voter disenchantment.