Europe honours Brighton & Hove’s transport initiatives

Brighton & Hove has been named runner-up in a Europe-wide contest to find the best city for sustainable transport initiatives.

The city scooped joint second place with Bologna in the ‘City of the Year’ category of the CIVITAS awards - billed as Europe's highest award for clean urban transport

Judges were impressed by measures to improve bus travel such as real-time sign boards and smartphone ticketing. 

City initiatives on cycling such as the Old Shoreham Road cycle lane also helped secure the win. 

Personalised travel planning, encouraging schools, businesses and individuals to use more eco-friendly forms of travel, including a trial of electric bikes, were also part of the winning bid.

Judges said:  “Brighton & Hove is doing very good work in terms of urban mobility.”

Lead councilor for transport Ian Davey said:  “We’re implementing locally ideas which are accepted internationally as best practice. We’re always hearing how much better transport works in Europe – everything from the trains to the cycle tracks. 

“So it’s good to get a European award showing how we’re raising our game to meet these higher standards of sustainable and effective transport.”

Funchal on the Portuguese island of Madeira won the City of the Year category for its integrated bus and bike system and a tourist kit encouraging visitors to use sustainable travel to tour the historic city.