Suceava (Romania)
The city of Suceava is situated in the north east of Romania, 450 km from Bucharest and, along with its surrounding area, has a total population of 118,500. It is located in a mountainous region with a rich hydrographic network, many nature reserves and a wealth of cultural and historical monuments. The historical centre of Suceava features many orthodox churches and is included among UNESCO’s World Heritage sites.
The city is situated at the junction of two major European roads: European Corridor IX of the Transport Infrastructure Needs Assessment (TINA) network runs near the city. Since 1999, the region around Suceava has been involved in a government regeneration scheme to boost the local economy and promote foreign investment. One important aspect of this regeneration is the improvement of the transport network. Suceava began to introduce clean vehicles and improve the quality of its public transport services in 2000 within the ALTERECO project (Demonstration of Transport Alternatives to Protect the Ecology of Europe, supported by the European Regional Development Fund and the EU Phare programme). The municipality owns the local transport company, which operates public transport services in the city. The municipality of Suceava has formed partnerships with Merseytravel and CTP Naples in several projects in relation to measures to reduce the negative impacts of traffic and improve public transport.