Regions of West Balkans devoted to the developement of urban sustainable mobility
In the early days of June, regions from the Western Balkans gathered in Sarajevo to exchange experiences on the current state and future plans for sustainable urban mobility. The meeting was held under the ProSUMP project, organized by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and the Transport Community, with the latter introducing the topic of e-mobility to the discussions. Following the workshop, the Green Mobility Summit 2024 event took place, where key stakeholders presented the significance, implementation possibilities, and funding for e-mobility infrastructure.
The first day’s meeting focused on sharing experiences regarding sustainable mobility across six territories of the Western Balkans. The goal was to provide systemic support and the necessary knowledge to personnel for the development of sustainable urban mobility, funded by the Open Regional Fund for SEE – Energy, Transport, and Climate Protection. The Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region (RRA LUR) acted as a liaison among various municipal communities within the project and demonstrated numerous best practices from Ljubljana.
Achieving ambitious goals requires intensive collaboration between local administrations and national levels. Representatives from municipalities, local administrations, and ministries from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia discussed best practices in sustainable mobility, particularly in walking, cycling, and public transport (PT), during the workshop moderated by Klemen Gostič from the Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region. The final part of the workshop, initiated by the Transport Community, focused on greening public bus transport, aiming to improve infrastructure and promote the transition to zero-emission vehicles. Ognjen Todorović from Belgrade highlighted the city’s progress in electrifying its bus fleet while pointing out the issue of electricity sources, which still largely rely on coal. He emphasized that, in a city with a million vehicles daily, the priority is to encourage more frequent use of PT and shift towards active mobility. Marina Misajleski from Skopje showcased the city’s achievements in building cycling paths and plans to introduce BRT vehicles. In Albania, particularly in Tirana, efforts are focused on empowering local administrations to adopt sustainable mobility and increase PT usage. Sarajevo has seen significant investments in public transport in recent years, adding new tram connections and introducing free transport for students, although vulnerable groups in traffic remain inadequately protected due to insufficient infrastructure.
The topic of e-mobility was central on the second day during the major event, the Green Mobility Summit 2024, organized by the Transport Community. Tali Trigg from EBRD emphasized that the transition of PT to e-mobility is a marathon, not a sprint, and that it is crucial to share experiences with national governments about costly mistakes (lessons learned). Demonstrating the effects is key to promotion. The obstacles to implementing electric propulsion are similar across the Western Balkans. A common issue is the low demand to justify the economic electrification of public transport, with high costs and more than half of the population lacking access to PT in some areas, and fluctuating political will hindering successful project execution. Partners noted that progress requires closer cooperation between national and local levels and small steps, such as electrifying taxi fleets and subsidizing personal e-vehicle purchases.
At the conference, Klemen Gostič from RRA LUR presented participants with a broader picture of resilient mobility and numerous inspiring practices already known in Europe.
In general, in the Balkans, pedestrians are 25% more likely to be involved in vehicle collisions compared to northern countries, calling for decisive strategies and active implementation of measures to protect all traffic participants. The next meeting of the Western Balkans territories is scheduled to take place in Split, Croatia, focusing again on transferring knowledge to ensure it reaches the key personnel involved in paving the way for sustainable mobility, ultimately allowing residents of Western Balkan cities to enjoy a more pleasant and health-friendly environment. Allen O’Brian from Jaspers emphasized that this is crucial for cities: “Whether they like it or not, cities compete with each other and must develop for future generations, creating an attractive environment for investors and quality personnel, so they stay rather than leave, and even attract talent from abroad. Good traffic management and urban landscape are essential parts of this.”
-
ProSump Workshop on Development of Urban Sustainable Mobility, Sarajevo, June 2024
-
ProSump Workshop on Development of Urban Sustainable Mobility, Sarajevo, June 2024
-
Green Mobility Summit 2024, Sarajevo, June 2024
-
Green Mobility Summit 2024, Sarajevo, June 2024
-
project
ProSUMP: Regional exchange of knowledge and best practices of sustainable urban mobility planning with the countries of the Western Balkans