Extract from the interview with Mayor Mihai Chirica in Iasi, Romania on 25 June 2016

Duration: 15min

Kloss: How do you get people on bikes in Iasi?

Chirica: I think cycling is the solution that could solve the traffic problem in big cities – it’s not only a form of maintaining health or to relax , but a mobility solution for reducing traffic. We have a Mobility Plan for the metropolitan area that is in public debate right now – cycling is an important component.

Kloss: What are the goals of the mobility plan? When and how will it be realised?

Chirica: Goals are more bike lanes both for central areas and neighbourhoods, bike racks for the public institutions, promoting cycling in schools, offering an education for the other traffic participants in relation with cycling. Right now we have approx. 20-25 km of bike lanes most of them built on European funds. Unfortunately they aren’t all connected, but we will try to create bike lanes on the street and counterflow lanes on one-way streets.

Kloss: How much are the parking fees in the city?

Chirica: 2 lei, 1.4 lei/hour.

Kloss: Are there car free streets?

Chirica: The boulevard in front of the City hall was one of the most congested and now is car free.

Kloss: Do you have numbers of how many people use the car, the public transport, the bicycle?

Chirica: 5 800 000 sold tickets per month in public transport. I think 60% of the population is using public transport, most of the elderly people. 10.000 bicycles were bought in 2015.

Kloss: Do you like to ride the bike?

Chirica: I cycle in the city on weekends, and I walk a lot.