site.btaSofia Mayor Criticizes Delay of Report Proposing Changes to City's Transport Network

The Sofia Municipal Council's Transport Committee postponed a report proposing 24 changes to the capital city's transport network, which aim to improve connectivity between boroughs, make public transport more reliable and promote the use of electric vehicles, the municipal press office said on Tuesday.

The postponement was proposed by municipal councillor Andrey Zografski from the Save Sofia group as municipal councillors felt they did not have enough time to familiarize themselves with the document.

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev stressed that the postponement of the report puts EUR 141 million of European funding at risk, pointing out that Sofia will miss an opportunity to apply for this amount of funding under the Environment Programme, intended for investments in new electric transport and modernization of the urban transport system.

“Sofia had the opportunity to take the next step towards modernizing its transport – with new electric rolling stock and a better transport network. Instead, the report was postponed without any substantive arguments,” Terziev emphasized, adding that the report was submitted to the Sofia Municipal Council and distributed to the committees four days before the meeting, according to the established procedure.

Terziev called on municipal councillors to support the report at the next opportunity. “Sofia needs better transport, not blocking decisions. I hope next time we will see more responsibility towards the city and towards the people who rely on this system every day,” the mayor concluded.