Thanks to this project, the city will test for the first time in Europe an innovative practice for "green public transport on demand"

Sofia is the first Bulgarian city to win an Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) project. The program is an initiative of the European Union that provides urban areas across Europe with resources to test new and unproven solutions to urban challenges. The INNOAIR project of Sofia Municipality and a wide coalition of partners was approved for funding after a serious competition with 220 projects from other European cities and regions.

Through this project, Sofia will test for the first time in Europe an innovative practice for "green public transport on demand". Instead of traveling on predetermined routes, the new electric buses will create a route map based on the demand of citizens submitted through a mobile application. The app will use artificial intelligence to refine data analysis in order to create the most efficient route for each trip by gathering as many passengers as possible. The project provides for big data analysis, the use of artificial intelligence and cloud technologies.
The innovation will be tested in one of the districts in Sofia. The project will be implemented over 3 years and is expected to start this fall.

The project budget is around 4.6 million euros, with 20% co-financing provided by each of the partners. The leading partner of the consortium is Sofia Municipality, and its members are: Sofia Development Association, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski ”, Plovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski”, Sofia Urban Mobility Centre, National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria, “Modeshift” and National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology.

INNOAIR project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative.