Stara Zagora with more modern and sustainable public transport

This week the Bulgarian municipality presented the results of a European project worth over 7.5 million euros

On 9 March, the Municipality of Stara Zagora presented the results of the second phase of a large-scale project for modernization and development of sustainable urban transport. The project is based on the creation of more efficient, integrated and faster public transport with less energy consumption, construction of more accessible secondary infrastructure of transport networks and introduction of environmentally friendly alternatives.

Smart traffic management

During the presentation, the deputy mayor of the city, Yordan Nikolov, said that the local government is doing everything possible to ensure Stara Zagora has one of the best public transport systems in Bulgaria and Europe. To achieve this, the city invests in technologies with lower pollution that do not have a detrimental effect on humans or nature.

Nikolov also stressed that the completed project is multi-component and includes the construction of a Traffic Control System. Part of it is the equipment of 37 intersections with completely new and more functional controllers, as well as the replacement of all traffic light sections with new LED ones and construction of two traffic lights at one of the busiest intersections. There are also four pedestrian traffic lights with a request button, equipped with controllers, which allows safe crossing by pedestrians.

This way, the system provides several opportunities for traffic management: through coordination between intersections, through flexible management, which works by regulating the duration of green time through the data from the installed traffic detectors. It is also possible to give priority to public transport vehicles equipped with modems that detect their location at all times.

An important part of the project activities is the construction of video surveillance at light-regulated and key intersections. "At all intersections, there is an optical connection, which is transmitted to servers located in the municipal administration’s building," said Atanas Pashov, head of Administrative and Information Services.

The municipal leadership clarified that thanks to the system, there is no more congestion of cars and green waves are functioning smoothly. Furthermore, a public tender for 33 new electric buses is currently underway.

The total value of the project is 7 530 774 euros, of which municipal contribution amounts to nearly 388 616 euros, and the rest is through a non-refundable European grant.