Detailed description (English): Nicosia Municipality participates as lead partner in the Interreg Europe project 'InnovaSUMP' (Innovations in Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans for low-carbon urban transport). The overall objective of the project is to facilitate the take up of innovative Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs), focusing on regions and cities of low SUMP involvement to date, by providing the necessary expertise and showing the benefits, thus generating high leverage and ensuring strong commitment to sustainable urban mobility with low carbon transport. The project comes as a response to the EU actions to support local authorities with low adoption rates of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) in the process of planning sustainable urban mobility measures and deploying innovative technologies and solutions.
Under this framework, Nicosia Municipality wants to be part of the EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK campaign by registering this specific MOBILITY ACTION and promote the idea of sustainable urban mobility. Nicosia Municipality has put the Nicosia small bus service on trial. The circulation of small busses is one of the important provisions of the Integrated Mobility Plan of the capital, which has been developed by the Department of Public Works of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works. The basic aim of the routing of small busses is to reduce congestion in the historic centre. The busses run on two routes named λ1 and λ2 and operate in circular routes.
The small busses circulate in the city centre by uniting the historic city centre with the modern urban centre from morning till late in the evening. They make frequent round trips, passing through all of the city's points of interest, with a very attractive schedule, covering the needs of young people, workers and all citizens of all ages. They are small, flexible and hi-tech: they provide convenient transportation, offer a range of new generation services, a real-time updated bus site and bicycle space. They have the ability to carry 21 people, 13 seated and 8 standing, have additional seats for people in need, as well as a ramp to serve people with physical disabilities.
This action also focuses on informing the citizens about the mobility-environmental problems they cause when they use their private cars instead of public transportation.
The Municipality participated in EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK 2017 and on 22 September between 17:00 -19.00 organised an event focusing on the promotion of the small busses. Especially for that day, there was a guide on the bus who presented the main historic monuments of the city. Also, in order to promote even further the busses and make them popular to the residents and especially to the young people, it was announced that all the people that would use the busses between 26 September-16 October, they would have the chance to win a bike after a draw.
Target group(s): The target group is the residents of Nicosia, drivers and the people that are moving to the city centre.
Objectives: Raise public awareness about alternative mobility ways, more environmental friendly and increase the use of public transportation instead of private cars.
Expected Outcomes: Change the public attitude about the means they select to move in the city centre and reduce the traffic jam in the historic centre.
Partner: Nicosia Municipality