Transport sharing in focus of European Mobility Week
Ljubljana, 16 September - More than 70 Slovenian municipalities have joined the European Mobility Week, which starts today for the 16th year running, focusing on the promotion of transport sharing as a way to reduce unsustainable modes of transport.
The Slovenian Statistics Office (SURS) has found that car pooling is becoming increasingly popular among commuters and students in Slovenia.
Speaking to the press earlier this week, Infrastructure Minister Peter Gašperšič stressed the importance of sustainable mobility, pointing to smart phone apps that make it easier to use various transport sharing schemes.
Also taking part at the press conference were the mayors of towns that received the national European Mobility Week Awards, which were first given out five years ago.
Most of them said biggest problems their towns faced in promoting sustainable mobility was the resistance they encountered when closing parts of towns for cars.
Slovenia has been taking part in the European Mobility Week project since its inception in 2002.
The Infrastructure Ministry joined in 2013 and since then the number of participating municipalities increased from 34 to 71, according to Polona Demšar Mitrovič, the national Mobility Week coordinator.
Nevertheless, despite the various transport sharing possibilities, cars remain the most popular form of transport in Slovenia and the EU, according to SURS.
The number of cars in Slovenia increased by 11% in the past decade to over a million in 2016. Slovenia ranks the ninth EU country in terms of the number of cars per 1,000 residents.
What is more, Slovenian households have the second highest transport expenditure in the EU: data from 2015 show that 16% of family income was spent on transport.
Moreover, the age of cars driving in Slovenian streets has been increasing since 2000, from 6.8 years in 2000 to 9.7 years in 2015.