This fall, Rome launched Roma Corre in Bici, a new program that rewards eligible residents for cycling. To receive this incentive, cyclists must work for a participating employer or be adult students at a participating educational institution. If eligible, participants can register through the Wecity app, a digital platform that calculates reimbursements of €0.30 per kilometer, up to €30 a month, which are directly deposited into a participant’s bank account. Currently, municipal employees and students at several universities are eligible, but those who are unsure can reach out to their company or school for verification. Despite the city’s growing investment in bike infrastructure and incentives, bicycles remain a relatively uncommon way to commute in the capital, with recent workplace mobility surveys putting bicycle use in the low single digits.Interviews were conducted across Rome to understand why so many residents are still reluctant to bike and whether their concerns could be assuaged by the new policy, which offers eligible cyclists up to 30 euros per month.Through interviews across the city center, a few common concerns emerged. The most prevalent was that many residents felt Rome’s roads simply were not designed with cyclists in mind. Rome’s extensive network of cobblestone streets, known as sampietrini, is part of what makes the city still feel eternal and unique, but those same cobblestones can create an additional obstacle for cyclists. Several interviewed residents said the uneven surface made them feel less comfortable riding through the city. As one woman explained, the cobblestones made her nervous about riding her bike in the street, especially as someone who does not typically ride long distances. These concerns are made even more salient by residents’ anecdotal experiences of seeing people on electric scooters fall off or lose control because of uneven surfaces. One resident who moved to Rome from the United States specifically mentioned this concern and insisted that, if she ever were to bike, she would opt for a helmet because of the “almost certainty” that someone could end up thrown off their bike. Those concerns are not entirely unfounded. At Policlinico Umberto I alone, researchers recorded 411 e-scooter-related emergency department visits between 2020 and 2022, equivalent to roughly one case every three days. While scooters and bicycles are not identical, the findings highlight the risks associated with navigating Rome’s streets on two wheels. Sampietrini are not the only concern. Many interviewed would-be cyclists were worried both about the physical condition of the roads and about the traffic moving across them. Rome’s dense streets often require cars, scooters, pedestrians, and cyclists to occupy the same limited space, creating an environment that some residents perceive as unpredictable and difficult to navigate by bicycle. One pedestrian described that feeling almost immediately. “The driving here is one of a kind,” he said. “I am always ducking out of the way of a car.” His experience as a pedestrian reflects a broader concern raised by several interviewees. While there is no evidence that Italy has particularly “bad drivers,” the perception of dangerous or unpredictable driving can be just as powerful in discouraging people from cycling. This creates a central challenge facing Roma Corre in Bici. Incentives can only go so far if residents believe the underlying infrastructure remains unsafe. Finally, there is the question of convenience. Many interviewees described public transportation as their default way of moving around the city. Rome’s metro and bus systems provide an established alternative to driving and are especially useful for residents traveling longer distances. A resident traveling across several neighborhoods or commuting into the city center may find a bus or metro journey more practical than cycling. In those cases, the bicycle has to compete not only on cost but also on speed. It would be easy to interpret these concerns as evidence that Roma Corre in Bici is unlikely to succeed. But experiences elsewhere suggest the picture is more complicated. Bologna introduced a similar Bike to Work incentive program in 2020, offering participating workers payments based on the distance they cycled. Those eligible riders could receive up to roughly 35 euros per month. The program is considered a success, and local officials just renewed its funding for a 6th year. But in Bologna, those financial incentives did not operate in isolation. The city and the surrounding Emilia-Romagna region simultaneously invested in cycling infrastructure. That distinction may prove important for Rome. Financial incentives can encourage residents to reconsider how they move through the city, but they cannot by themselves assuage nervous would-be cyclists. If Roma Corre in Bici is paired with sustained investment in protected bike lanes and other cycling infrastructure, it could help shift commuting habits over time. Without those changes, however, many Romans may remain reluctant to trade their bus passes or car keys for a bicycle.