“Safe and Healthy with Sustainable Mobility” – the motto of the European Mobility Week, which has been the driver behind many activities under the INNOAIR project since the very beginning of it.

The citizens of Sofia showed great interest in the events that took place as part of the European Mobility Week, and during them also towards the INNOAIR project.

At the beginning of the mobility week, on September 16, a new campaign with a cause started in the capital – “1 car less”. The campaign actively promotes the use of public transport, pedestrian and bicycle transport, scooters, and other alternatives to the car. It is held on social networks and is the publication of selfies with the text #team1carless on the day when the publisher does not use a car. Everyone involved in the campaign challenges two more of their friends to do the same. The campaign was launched by the INNOAIR project manager – Kristian Krastev and is successfully attracting more and more celebrities to the green cause.

On the day of Sofia, September 17, INNOAIR took part in an interactive training for road safety, organized jointly with the Pancharevo District, Sofia Municipality and the Council for Child Traffic Safety in Sofia. The kids learned that cycling is good not only for them but also for the environment and that they should not lose their incentive to keep riding when they grow up. And their parents got acquainted with the forthcoming introduction of green public transport, the route of which will be determined by consumer demand, as well as with the system for “loyal green citizens”. It will be a mobile application for measuring the distance traveled by pedestrians and cyclists. The most active users will receive appropriate incentives, and the most used bicycle and pedestrian routes will have priority in the investment program of Sofia Municipality.

September 21 was an open doors day at “Stolichen Avtotransport” EAD, where citizens had the opportunity to view an exhibition of vehicles. In addition, on the same day, after pre-registration, those interested also visited the training simulator for engine drivers at the “Zemlyane” depot. Both events gave the opportunity to transport lovers to “peek in the kitchen” of “Stolichen Avtotransport”.

On the last day of the European Mobility Week, September 22, a bike event “Bike Hike” was traditionally held, organized jointly with the Embassy of Denmark in Bulgaria. Before leaving on the designated route, all those present learned more about INNOAIR and the upcoming introduction of the Green Corridors in Sofia. Green corridors will allow citizens to find how to reach a certain point in the center of the city with the least impact on air quality and in the most environmentally friendly way, using green transport. At the same time, a retro tram was running through Sofia, which is an attraction for Sofia’s citizens. While driving in a vehicle from the last century, passengers learned more about the future of public transport in Sofia in the face of green public transport on demand, which INNOAIR will introduce in the capital by the end of 2023.

The European Mobility Week in Sofia is organized by INNOAIR project partners – Sofia Municipality and Sofia Urban Mobility Centre and with the support of 12 other institutions and private companies. You may see the full program HERE.

INNOAIR project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative.