Between October 23rd and 25th, the Annual Meeting of the Bulgarian Municipalities was held in the Albena resort near Varna. Sofia Municipality was represented by a team led by Mayor Yordanka Fandakova.

The Executive Director of the Urban Mobility Center Dimitar Dilchev was part of the delegation, taking part in a thematic panel discussion dedicated to the crises affecting municipal transport in the country.

During the discussion, the director of the UMC presented the INNOAIR project. He stated that the idea of the project is innovative and aims, in addition to facilitating citizens, to improve traffic and reduce air pollution in the city. Dilchev also talked about the latest electric “on call” minibuses, which were introduced just over a month ago. They are currently in a trial period, but within a few months the service is expected to officially launch in the southern districts of Sofia.

During the discussion, Dilchev also told the participants about the electronic ticket payment system in the capital. He also commented on the need for innovation and high-tech solutions in the sector. Dilchev pointed out that the aim of the Center is to open the market for different distributors who can get involved in the sale of those kinds of documents through IT solutions.

In November a hackaton named “InnoAirChallenge: Just Green Transition ad Urban Mobility” will be held that is a part of the INNOAIR project. Its main goal is to tackle the main challenges linked to the green transition in the urban mobility sector with innovative solutions.