Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca on lower end of ranking of cities’ smart urban mobility solutions, report says

Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca are at an early stage in developing smart urban mobility solutions, according to the PwC "Smart Cities Mobility" Index for Central and Eastern Europe. As a result, the two cities are at the lower end in a ranking based on an index measuring urban mobility.

The index evaluates factors such as traffic management, environmental sustainability, public transport, and active mobility (e.g., walking, cycling), with cities rated from "incipient stage" to "best practice."

The two Romanian cities rank in the lowest category among 25 cities from countries like Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and more.

For Bucharest, there has been some progress in traffic management, environmental sustainability, and active mobility, with notable improvements in public transportation.

Cluj-Napoca shows more substantial progress in traffic management and sustainability but remains in the early stages of smart mobility initiatives, along with cities like Almaty (Kazakhstan), Belgrade (Serbia), and Sofia (Bulgaria).

At the top of the index, cities such as Bratislava, Warsaw, Prague, and Tallinn lead in smart mobility. In contrast, cities like Budapest, Riga, and Vilnius show positive but still developing trends.

One key challenge is traffic congestion. Cities like Bucharest and Kyiv experience high congestion rates.

Environmental sustainability also remains a concern, especially with air quality. Only Tallinn meets WHO air quality standards, while Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, and several other cities struggle with pollution.

On the positive side, cities in Poland and Ukraine are developing strong cycling infrastructures, with Wroclaw and Lviv leading in segregated bike paths. Public transport in cities like Prague and Brno stands out due to affordability and high usage rates, contributing to better mobility systems overall in those regions.

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