BETTER AIR QUALITY THROUGH LOW EMISSION ZONES AND GREEN CORRIDORS

On March 29 2023 the first of a series of four knowledge transfer webinars organized by the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria under the INNOAIR project was held.

INNOAIR is testing an idea not yet implemented in Europe – introducing transport services and pilot solutions in two neighborhoods of Sofia, that provide citizens with travel alternatives, reduce car traffic and improve air quality.

The first event of the series was dedicated to the introduction and design of low emission zones and green corridors, the different sources of air pollution and the effect of changes in transport patterns throughout Sofia.

During the opening of the event, Svetlana Lomeva, director of the Sofia Development Association (SDA), emphasized that the webinars aim to share the achievements of the project, but also to check the interest in these solutions and, in general, support their development in other cities as well. In this regard, she also encouraged the participants to familiarize themselves with the new European Urban Initiative (EUI) program.

Mrs. Lomeva pointed out that this is the first Bulgarian project under the program, and the process leading to the emergence of Inoair is the result of serious efforts - formulating an innovative idea that has not been implemented elsewhere, identifying the specific need of the Capital, which will be addressed with the innovation, formulating specific solutions for the relevant urban problem and last but not least, motivating the municipality to participate in the project.

She briefly presented the four main areas in which innovative solutions are introduced, namely: 1) Green public transport on demand; 2) Congestion Charge Model; 3) Geospatial low-emission urban areas and 4) Green corridors for active transport.

Mrs. Lomeva pointed to green public transport as the main priority of the project and added that "it is the first time that the local government has introduced this innovation". From research experience, right now such a service is offered to a limited extent only by private companies. She drew attention to the fact that such innovations require a change in the regulatory framework, which is an additional challenge in the project implementation.

Among the other highlights in the presentation of the SDA director, was the role of citizens and their involvement in the implementation of such initiatives, as she emphasized that the key to success is for citizens to "become authors and ambassadors of these ideas". She talked about the various interesting solutions presented and implemented through the project's public and information days, civic competitions, hackathons and partnerships. Among them: a parking platform in Sofia, bicycle counting cameras, the design of the electric buses, the SofiaCoin mobile phone application and much more.

On the topic of low-emission zones, Dimitar Petrov, director of the "Traffic Management and Analysis" Directorate in Sofia Municipality, presented the path to their creation, as well as how the INNOAIR project supported their introduction.

"INNOAIR gave us the tools and motivation to convince the public and politicians that such a zone is useful for the city and moreover - necessary," he stressed.

Mr. Petrov pointed out that when assessing the quality of atmospheric air, a number of negative factors independent of the municipal administration should also be taken into account, among which the peculiarities of the capital's geographical position for the retention of harmful emissions. He also pointed to the serious urbanization of the territory, the large concentration of residents, as well as the number of registered cars - 800,000 private cars in the city alone.

All this was also a prerequisite for the search for solutions to the city’s pollution, including the development of the idea and strategy for the introduction of the low-emission zone. A great help in this process was the so-called White Book developed under the INNOAIR project, which reflects all aspects of the issue of the territory of Sofia Municipality, including the various options, locations and time periods for the introduction of the LEZ. Statistical data, as well as mathematical modeling of the traffic data from the installed cameras, were used to develop the scenarios, and they were processed by software to specify the distribution of emissions.

"So we have a pretty accurate forecast of what we expect from the introduction of LEZs in both areas," Mr Petrov said. He added that with the document adopted by the Sofia City Council, two zones with restrictions for category 1 cars are distinguished, and in the small ring the restriction starts from December 1, 2023 and applies only to the winter months.

"The goal is to achieve maximum effect with minimal discomfort for drivers and minimal impact on people's daily lives", he pointed out and emphasized that a number of measures are planned to reduce the negative effects for those living in the LEZ area, as well as for people in disadvantaged situation. Mr. Petrov also talked about the technical solution for the introduction of low-emission zones.

On the topic of green corridors and their role in improving air quality and mobility in the city, Mr. Metodi Avramov, director of the Directorate "Strategies, Innovations and International Projects" at the Urban Mobility Centrer, spoke.

Introducing the topic of green corridors, he shared with the participants information about the distribution of trips in Sofia by type of transport - 39.70% by public transport and 39.20% by cars. Mr. Avramov emphasized that "one of the main goals of the Plan for Sustainable Urban Mobility is that in 2035, road transport will account for only 20% of all trips" and added that the INNOAIR project, the renewal of the rolling stock, investments in public transport and in the infrastructure are aimed at this goal and reducing air pollution, traffic jams and noise.

Mr. Avramov pointed out that the green corridors are a natural upgrade of the main innovative solution of the INNOAIR project, namely on demand public transportation, in combination with LEZ. "On demand transportation will provide an opportunity for those who wish to use an electric bus, with which they can move to a main transfer point of public transport," said Mr. Avramov, pointing out that at its core this type of mobility should start and finish with traveling by electric transport. "The green corridors that link all types of electric transport are the natural extension of on-demand transport and, as a very innovative measure, will be upgraded."

It demonstrates the digital map of the green corridors https://livemap.sofiatraffic.bg/ which shows the movement of public transport in real time.

The first webinar ended with the presentation of Prof. Dr. Dimitar Atanasov from the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology. He shared with the participants the various sources of pollution in Sofia and the dependencies they have established, as well as the effect of reducing traffic in the various scenarios for improving air quality.

Prof. Atanasov pointed out that the most significant of the main sources of pollution is that caused by traffic and added that the so-called "background pollution" which is caused by sources outside the territory of the municipality, including dust from the Sahara desert.

He focused on the LEZ planning process and the use of the forecast scenarios for the effect on ambient air quality when introducing the restrictions, pointing out that data is essential for informed choice and achieving maximum effect.

Prof. Atanasov pointed out that "Before arriving at an assessment of the effect of low emission zones, it is necessary to make another division, apart from the origin of the emissions, according to whether they are changeable or unchangeable". Fixed emissions include background concentrations, emissions from the household sector and emissions from industry. Emissions from traffic in the LEZ are variable, and may change when certain restrictions are introduced.

Among the conclusions of the analyzes carried out, it can be stated that even with strict restrictions and a 50% reduction of traffic in LEZ, areas with average annual concentrations of fine dust particles exceeding the norm of 40 micrograms per cubic meter may exist, the reason being background pollution.

Prof. Atanasov also indicated possible solutions, as well as the next steps, including the methodology proposed in the NIMH report, by which this can be done.

INNOAIR project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative. This is the first Bulgarian project selected for funding by UIA.

FINAL INNOAIR CONFERENCE: URBAN MOBILITY INNOVATIONS FOR CLEANER AIR AND JUST GREEN TRANSITION

The INNOAIR project will be held its final conference on May 18, 2023, at Sofia Hotel Balkan. The event aims to explore the results and lessons learned from the project that for a third year in a row actively develops Sofia urban mobility and contributes to just green transition.

The conference will present and discuss the innovations, developed and tested in the framework of the project like the on-demand public transport, the introduction of low emission zones, a roadmap for the introduction of congestion charging and others. We will have the chance to compare the progress of Sofia with that of other cities and to identify ways to transfer successful models.

We will review the INNOAIR results from the standpoint of universities, of citizens using the new transport services, participants in student and citizen challenges and hackathons, businesses.

During the conference there will be a fair of other relevant projects implemented by Sofia Municipality and its partners in the area of sustainable mobility and air quality.

Immediately after the conference the participants will be able to take part in a site visit and gain first-hand impressions of on-demand public transport, low emission zones or the traffic control center with the analytic system for public transport timetable optimization – seats are limited, and participation is subject to preliminary registration.

You can register for participation here!     

INNOAIR project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative. This is the first Bulgarian project selected for funding by UIA.

THE INDONESIAN CITY OF SEMARANG WILL BE ON A STUDY VISIT TO SOFIA IN THE FIELD OF SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE EUROPEAN PROGRAMME IURC

The International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme, an initiative funded by the European Union, is organising a study visit to Sofia for representatives of the city of Semarang City, Indonesia, from 13 to 15 March 2023. The visiting delegation also includes representatives of Association of Indonesian Municipalities (APEKSI). The visit aims to promote cooperation between the two cities in the field of sustainable urban mobility. Previously, the Sofia visited Semarang City in June 2022.

The Indonesian city is interested in how to develop its public transport system, especially the tram transport which is considering to introduce, as well as in best practices of Sofia, such as charging facilities in public transport, the SofiaCoin mobile app created under the INOAIR project, measures to improve air quality, initiatives to encourage more citizens to use public transport.

The programme includes meetings with Mr. Barbalov, Deputy Mayor for Transport, representatives of Sofia Municipality, Sofia Electric Transport, Urban Mobility Centre, Sofia Development Association and other stakeholders and will include a number of visits to mobility related sights.

Sofia, one of the 100 European cities aiming to be climate-neutral by 2030, will share its experiences, achievements and challenges, innovations it is testing for the first time on a European scale, such as on-demand transport under the INOAIR project, and discuss opportunities for continued cooperation in the field of mobility with the forth most populous country with a rapidly growing economy.

About IURC

Funded by the European Union, the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme promotes cooperation between cities on sustainable urban development and builds partnerships between EU and non-EU cities. Participating local governments are enabled to implement pilot projects engaging research, civil society and business partners. IURC contributes to the objectives of the UN New Urban Agenda, the Agenda 2030 (SDGs), the Urban Agenda for the EU and the European Commission’s priorities for a “Stronger Europe in the World” with the European Green Deal and the NextGenerationEU (post COVID-19 recovery plan). IURC is implemented in nine countries in Asia and Australasia: Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Vietnam. In Bulgaria, IURC is pairing the Bulgaria’s capital Sofia with the two Asian cities, namely Sejong of Republic of Korea and Semarang City of Indonesia.

Wesbite: https://www.iurc.eu/       

ANOTHER INFO DAY ABOUT THE NEW PUBLIC ON DEMAND TRANSPORTATION SERVICE IN SOFIA WAS HELD THIS WEEKEND

During the weekend, another information meeting was held with the citizens of the "Manastirski livadi - West" district, which aimed to further explain to the residents of the area the pros and details surrounding the launch of the public on demand transportation service - a pilot project for the city of Sofia. The innovative concept, which is currently being implemented in the capital, is part of the Innoair project.

The information meeting started with a tour of the neighborhood with one of the electric minibuses, that are part of the service, in which the citizens who came were also able to get on and see exactly how the system will work. They learned about the taxation methods, how they can signal to the driver that they want to get off the vehicle at a location of their choice, and where all the drop-off and pick-up points will be.

After the tour, the residents of the neighborhood held a more in-depth discussion with the representatives of the civil organization "Manastirski livadi - West", the deputy mayor of Sofia Municipality Doncho Barbalov, and the head of Sofia’s "Transport" Directorate Ivan Nikolov, who answered their questions about the service.

The attendees were also able to get acquainted with the BUSINN mobile app, through which they will be able to order a minibus to pick them up, see the movement of the minibuses in real time and check for a nearby drop-off or pick-up point.

BUSINN is now available for download from the App Store and Google Play.

INNOAIR project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative. This is the first Bulgarian project selected for funding by UIA.

INFORMATIONAL MEETING ON THE INNOAIR PROJECT IN THE MANASTIRSKI DISTRICT WILL BE HELD THIS WEEKEND

On 12th February at 12:00 PM in the Mur green space in the Manastirski livadi district, an information day will be held with representatives of Sofia Municipality, at which the final project for the on-demand transport under the INNOAIR project will be presented.

The meeting will be attended by the new head of the INNOAIR project Doncho Barbalov - Deputy Mayor for Finance and Health and Acting Deputy Mayor for Transport and Urban Mobility and Ivan Nikolov - Director of the Transport Devision of Sofia Municipality. Within the framework of the meeting, the communication of the project will also be discussed for its maximum promotion.

For more information, follow the Facebook event: HERE

INNOAIR project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative. This is the first Bulgarian project selected for funding by UIA.