Tbilisi is in the midst of a major public transport reform, thanks to the efforts of Davit Jaiani, the Head of International Relations at Tbilisi City Hall. The reform began with the current mayor’s administration at the end of 2018 and has seen numerous trials to establish sustainable mobility in the city. “This is not just a new transport policy but Tiblisi’s first ever transport policy,” said Jaiani. “It’s the first ever strateigic, consolidated view on transport and urban mobility generally. Previously, these were mostly seen form the infrastructural perspective, and transport was more an add-on to the infrastructure department.” The city is focusing on public transport as the first priority, due to the increasing population and car ownership in the city. “We have statistics form last year that we have every year 7 or 8% growth in car ownership,” said Jaiani. “Unlike in other European countries, this ownership means an increase in car use. The absolute majority of car owners use their car five days per week, minimum. We cannot expand and expand these roads. We know that building new highways never helps anything, and it is well known to everyone that increased supply will lead to increased demand. That is why we went into developing public transport, and we had to take very bold and big steps, not only politically but also financially.” The reform has seen a full fleet of buses replaced, metro lines upgraded and the introduction of taxi licensing. “We have changed a full flete of busses, more than 700, change to new busses and micro-busses,” described Jaiani. “Now we have brand new busses, not second-hand. Tiblisi has two lines of metro, 22 stations, we had to change full network of power cables in the metro and also full change of the ventilation systems.” The city has also introduced hourly parking, with the aim of all parking being zonal within the next two years. “We have initiated first ever taxi reform in Tibilsi, there was zero registration or any kind of control of the taxis,” said Jaiani. “Now we have taxi licencing. We have the first ever zonal hourly parking in the city, going from the full 30,000 parking lots, we have decreased by 4 or 5 thousand, the remaining went into zonal parking, which means that cars have to pay hourly from the parking – except disabled people and local people living less than 100 meters away. This was the first ever parking reform for Tbilisi.” The city has also introduced requirements for the building permissions to have transport plans for their developments. “We try to have some figures for analysis, so that we know when you give building permits, you know what will be the situation when they are built,” said Jaiani. “This is not only their right, but also their need, that we provide transport for them, so that we do not see that all the new build developments people go with their car to the city centre so that all our work is in vein.” Tiblisi’s public transport reform is an ambitious project that is transforming the city and providing sustainable mobility. With the help of international partners, the city is making strides towards its goal of becoming a more sustainable and efficient city. The reform, spearheaded by Davit Jaiani, Head of International Relations at Tbilisi City Hall, is aiming to make the city more pedestrian and public transport oriented, with the addition of bike and bus lanes to major roads. “We are opening 10 corridors for buses which connect all the main districts throughout Tbilisi, allowing us to serve the city with 100 km of fast and comfortable public transport,” says Jaiani. The city has also divided taxis into two categories, white and b-category, and is supporting micro-mobility, such as electric scooters and mopeds, with the city administration offering support to companies running them. “Before, there were two heads, different goals, even conflicts. This has been drastically diminished,” Jaiani adds. “From the people’s angle, for them it is much more comfortable to talk to one agency, like one-stop-shop. When I need licensing, or other things, I do not need to run between different buildings. People know where to go, who to address, and there is one point of contact, and for us it is easier to run the unified policy.” The city is also developing a sustainable urban mobility plan, which offers a ten-year perspective of how Tbilisi will develop, with the aim of encouraging the use of sustainable urban mobility. “All this facilitates that more people are using sustainable urban mobility. This is just the beginning, we will have more results in a couple of years,” Jaiani explains. All the buses are Euro 6 emissions, mostly running on CNG fuel, as the city does not yet have electric infrastructure for charging. However, Jaiani predicts a 7% increase in the use of public transport in the next ten years, and plans to invest in electric. “I saw on-the-spot charging in Nantes last week where buses were charged at the bus stops, in just 30 seconds,” Jaiani says. The public transport reform in Tbilisi is sure to make the city more accessible, efficient and sustainable. With the introduction of new busses, bike and bus lanes, and micro-mobility support, the city is well on its way to becoming a more modern and connected place to live. Tbilisi City Hall is leading an ambitious public transport reform effort, with the aim of improving the quality of services and reducing the reliance on private cars. The reforms, spearheaded by Head of International Relations Davit Jaiani, are already having a noticeable effect on the city. “We do not want to approach this issue from the perspective that we are pushing people into public transport,” said Jaiani. “What we can see is that the city has not been offering them anything other than using their own cars. For example, when you need a car to go to your work because the buses never arrive at the bus station and when they arrive they are broken or they break in the middle of the road.” The reforms include the introduction of a one card system, improved infrastructure, and dedicated bus lanes. This has reduced journey times, while also making it easier and more convenient to use public transport. “People are using this because they see that it is much faster and more comfortable,” said Jaiani. “They can pay with their mobile phones, with the one card system, they don’t pay for another ticket for an hour and a half, they don’t have to park and pay for zonal parking. As we provide better services, his is the way that these perceptions, these social restraints which do exist, will be overcome.” The reforms have also had a noticeable effect on the quality of the service, with drivers no longer having to double as accountants and safety issues becoming more manageable. “We are still in the process of implementation. We still need additional buses,” said Jaiani. “We have the goal that anywhere in Tbilisi we will have 15 minutes maximum of waiting time. It was also very problematic that people never knew when the buses would arrive. All the schemes were different, different contracts and operators, you paid different operators for different tickets. Now we have one system that is regulated.” The reforms are already having a noticeable effect, with more and more people opting to take the bus for short trips instead of getting in their cars. “Most drivers are using their cars for 700m distances,” said Jaiani. “People are going to buy bread by car. Now these short trips are getting less and less. Now they see that infrastructure is more public transport oriented. I hear from lots of people that for these short trips they are more and more using buses.” Tbilisi City Hall’s public transport reform effort is proving to be a resounding success, with the city seeing improved services, reduced journey times, and a greater number of people choosing to use public transport.