European Mobility Week in Vilnius: active entertainment, free public transport and mobility progress

September 16 the mobility week celebrated all over Europe starts, and Vilnius, which welcomes it, invites you to move harmoniously, to try various ways of traveling around the city. A company that monitors the habits of Vilnius residentsCommunication services" shares one of the more prominent trends in mobility - more and more citizens are choosing bicycles to travel to work and elsewhere, electric scooters.

"Indeed, it can be said that Vilnius celebrates mobility week all year round. We actively encourage citizens to choose more sustainable ways of traveling, we try to ensure the smoothest possible experience when traveling in various ways - whether it is a bus, a car, a bicycle or a scooter. In addition, we educate how more harmonious mobility creates a more pleasant environment for everyone, a cleaner and more spacious city, we communicate directly with schools, universities, business companies, and various communities. 

It is encouraging that the citizens are more and more inclined to move harmoniously. For example, comparing the flows of cyclists between April and August, this year we calculate 66 percent. more cyclists. Vilnius residents choose scooters and bicycles much more often not as entertainment, but as a daily means of transport - this is an important change in behavior. Of course, the period of the pandemic also had an impact on mobility habits," says Modesta Gusarovienė, head of "Susiekimos pasłość" SĮ.

Mobility Week is celebrated every year across Europe and is initiated by the European Commission with a different theme. This year the theme of Mobility Week is "Mobility - Zero Pollution".

September 18 Vilnius invites you to the event "JUDU vitamin" - a special entertainment and educational space will be located at White bridge, next to the new pitch. Here, the participants of the event will learn news about the progress of mobility in Vilnius, get acquainted with bicycle paths and routes, the rules of the "Scooter Bible", they will also be able to try an interactive game, capture themselves at the "live" photo wall, have fun in the active scooter zone, become part of the diary of those who celebrate in Vilnius, eat JUDU vitamins. More information about the event here.

Car-free day - free public transport for everyone

The culmination of European Mobility Week is International Car Free Day, which is celebrated on 22 September. On this day, residents of Vilnius and guests of the city will travel for free on all buses and trolleybuses in the capital. This is how Vilnius greets passengers, and encourages those who normally move differently to try the record-new renewed public transport.

Also, Car Free Day public transport controllers will abandon regular minibuses, and while maintaining order around the city, they will also travel only by buses and trolleybuses.

In a few years, Vilnius purchased more than 350 new buses and trolleybuses, including the first electric buses operating in the central part of Vilnius. 50 economical, modern design and comfortable new buses were delivered this summer. After the completion of this phase of renewal in September, the capital's public transport will stand out across Europe - more than 70% will run in the city. new buses.

Mobility in Vilnius is a priority and constantly improving area

Many activities take place in the capital so that people can move around the city comfortably, regardless of the way they choose - by public transport, by bicycle, by car, on foot, by scooter or otherwise. The city aims to balance travel options so that there are more alternatives on the overall city mobility map. Harmonious mobility on bicycles, on foot, and scooters is also related to cleaner air, calmer traffic, more space and flexibility for people in the city itself.

The goal of Vilnius, which is also provided for in the Sustainable Mobility Plan, is that by 2030 a third of the travel methods each consisted of trips on foot, public transport and car, another 7,5 percent. - by bicycles, and the remaining few percent - by other means of mobility.

Currently, almost 100 km are counted in Vilnius. quality bike paths. More than 20 km of connections are planned to be built in the near future. Until 2023 it is planned to build the remaining missing connections and have a completed network of main bicycle paths in the city, so that the largest part of Vilnius residents can cycle from home to work and elsewhere without interruption.

In addition, in the last few years, more than 2 thousand have been installed throughout the city. of new bike racks to which bikes can be safely locked, several hundred more will be installed this year. There are also more and more pedestrians in the city - last year in Vilnius, almost 20 km of sidewalks were repaired for comfortable movement on foot, another 17 km of them were newly built, and the next plan is the renovation and installation of another 34 km of sidewalks. It is estimated that the total investment in the improvement of bicycle and part of the pedestrian infrastructure this year alone will amount to about 6,5 million. euros.

As one of the specific solutions for more sustainable mobility in the city, this is the loop traffic regulation introduced in the city since the beginning of July. This means there is still a chance In the old town access by car to all homes, workplaces and attractions, but reducing transit.

Two months after the introduction of loop traffic, Vilnius city municipality asked the residents of Vilnius and catering businesses operating here how they value the loop traffic. The results are encouraging - the idea has worked, both residents and businesses recognize this.