In 1903, the Municipality of Venice approved the direct management of the mainland services to ACNI (Azienda Comunale per la Navigazione Interna) the then ACNIL, which began its operation in 1904.

This happened following the cessation of the tram service by the Compagnia Italiana Grandi Alberghi (CIGA) who managed the island up until that point.

Following this, a program aimed at repairing and replacing the boats as well as updating the ancillary parts of the service (landing points, piers and pontoons) was put into place.

The case was referred to the European Court of Justice, whose ruling issued in 2004 laid down guidance on fair methods for attaching weightings to evaluation criteria and sub-criteria after the publication of contract documents.

[2] The main public transportation means are motorized waterbuses (vaporetti), which ply regular routes along the Grand Canal and between the city's islands.