INNOAIR — On-Demand AI Electric Transit for Cleaner Air

INNOAIR (UIA reference UIA05-202) was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions initiative and led by the Municipality of Sofia (July 2020 – June 2023). The project introduced four interlocking measures to reduce road-transport emissions: (1) Bulgaria's first AI-dispatched on-demand electric public-transit service — a fleet of five electric minibuses serving the suburban Manastirski Livadi area using a smartphone app and machine-learning algorithms that dynamically aggregate real-time passenger requests and compute the most efficient combined route, replacing fixed-schedule diesel buses; (2) green mobility corridors prioritising cycling and electric vehicles; (3) a congestion-charge pilot; and (4) the preparation and geospatial modelling of low-emission zones (LEZ). The project was managed by a public-private consortium including the Municipality of Sofia and the Sofia Development Association. Critically, following project closure in June 2023, the on-demand e-bus service was extended from Manastirski Livadi to three additional neighbourhoods — Malinova Dolina, Vitosha, and Gorna Banya — without new EU co-financing, demonstrating operational and financial sustainability. More than 70 local and regional authorities from Bulgaria and across Europe attended INNOAIR dissemination events. The groundwork laid during the project directly fed into Sofia's ongoing citywide implementation of low-emission zones, phased through 2025 and beyond.

Read the full analysis: https://innoair-sofia.eu/en/