Sofia City News
Sofia is the first Bulgarian city to win a project under the European Union’s Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) Programme, which provides urban areas in Europe with resources to test new solutions for coping with urban challenges.
With the INNOAR project, Sofia Municipality will test for the first time in Europe a new “green public transport on demand” practice. Instead of traveling on fixed routes, the new electric busses will create a road map based on the citizens’ demand submitted via a mobile application. The app will use artificial intelligence to refine the data analysis and create the most efficient route for each trip by gathering as many passengers as possible. The project involves big data analysis, AI, and cloud technologies.
The innovation will be tested in one of Sofia’s districts and will be implemented within three years. The project is expected to be introduced in the upcoming fall.
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The clients of the oldest market in Sofia, the Women’s Market, can now order online. The residents of Sofia can now order quality food, meat, dairy products, fruit, and vegetables from Bulgarian farmers and producers via the online deliveries platform www.e-pazar.bg. Plants will soon be included in the platform too, as well as many more organic and farm products. Deliveries are made only on the territory of Sofia city.
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Four iconic buildings have received Sofia Municipality funding for their restoration and the related construction fees and project supervision. All four buildings are cultural monuments: the National Student House, two buildings of the National Academy of Science on Moskovska Street – the Institute of Balkan Studies, and the former institute of Sociology, and a residential and commercial building on Positano Street.
The Cultural Heritage Programme of Sofia Municipality was launched at the initiative of Sofia Mayor Ms. Yordanka Fandakova. Its purpose is to support immovable cultural heritage owners and the preservation, restoration, and conservation of the buildings. This year 300 000 leva from Sofia’s annual budget were allocated for the programme. Regardless of whether they represent private, municipal, or state organizations, all owners of cultural heritage buildings in Sofia are eligible to apply.
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For a third consecutive year, the citizens and guests of Sofia can rent electric bicycles to the Vitosha mountain. This year, there are ten additional mountain bikes available for the fans of more extreme cycling.
Bicycles are available for rent at the car park in front of the National History Museum. Anyone interested in renting a bike can make a reservation by phone: +359 879 343 021 or via www.rentebike.bg. The service is planned to be available until the end of October.
