Inside the project EMOBICITY – "Increase of energy efficiency by Electric MOBIlity in the CITY", the Northwest Regional Development Agency is a partner, along with 4 other organizations from Greece, Portugal, Germany and Croatia.
The EMOBICITY project is financed by the Territorial Cooperation Program, Interreg Europe 2014-2020 and has a total budget of €1,071,804.00, of which the Northwest ADR budget is €162,374.00.
As a partner, ADR Nord-Vest ensures the implementation of the activities provided by this project:
- organizing the semiannual meetings of the Regional Committee of Representatives;
- the elaboration of press articles on the events held within the project;
- the activities for the development of the regional action plan, etc.
The Regional Committee of Representatives (CRR) is made up of representative actors from the region, specialized in the field of electric mobility, Local Public Authorities (LPAs), associations (APIA-Association of Auto Manufacturers and Importers), universities (UTC-N and UBB), public transport companies from the county seat municipalities and, last but not least, the regional manufacturer of electric buses (ATP TRUCKS from Baia-Mare).
In the context of the thematic concentration of non-refundable financial resources towards the first two policy objectives: a Smarter Europe and a greener Europe, in the proportion of 65% – 85% for the period 2021-2027, local public authorities in the North-West development region are very interested in purchasing non-polluting (green) means of public transport and in adopting policies aimed at discouraging the use of personal vehicles for trips from inside the town.
Thus, the first "Made in Romania" electric bus was presented in May on the occasion of specific events held in the cities of Cluj-Napoca and Baia Mare. A prototype is currently included in a test program by the transport company of the Municipality of Oradea.
The electric bus is manufactured in Baia Mare by the domestic company ATP Group and has a total of 83 seats, with optional partitioning solutions for up to 90 seats. 26 seats are provided, and the current range is 200 kilometers, with the possibility of being extended up to 360 kilometers. Named by the manufacturer UpCity, the bus has three doors and a low floor, according to European standards, to allow the access of the elderly and people with disabilities.
These initiatives are important for the municipalities in the North-West region, because they have the opportunity to test the technical characteristics of the electric buses and can learn directly from the operating costs, so that they can prepare their urban mobility projects in time and in detail.
Until now, the municipality of Cluj-Napoca has purchased through projects financed from European funds: 40 electric buses, 24 trams and 50 trolleybuses. Simultaneously with the purchase of non-polluting means of public transport, the municipality created approximately 4 km of lanes dedicated to public transport in the city center, with the aim of reducing the travel time of passengers and encouraging its use over personal vehicles.
Also, the municipality of Cluj-Napoca in partnership with the Public Transport Company adopted the program "Green Friday - Stop! Today the car is standing still". This program provides for free public transport on any line in the city, every Friday, both for the residents of the municipality and for tourists.
These initiatives are created with the aim of:
- to reduce chemical and noise pollution inside the city;
- to decongest road traffic in the city;
- to encourage the traveling public to use public transport;
- to reduce road accidents;