Zaragoza (Spain)
Saragossa (Zaragoza) is a city of 682,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the province of Saragossa and of the Autonomous Community and former Kingdom of Aragon, Spain. It is the fifth most populous city in Spain - with a complex transport system facing towards sustainability challenges.
It is famous for the Basilica of Pilar.
Relying on Internet-based data sources, it’s known that the modal split in 2004 in Saragossa was 17 percent pedestrians, 29 percent public transport and 54 percent private motor vehicles.
The Saragossa Urban Transport Company (Transportes Urbanos de Zaragoza, TUZSA) provides bus transportation services. The company has nearly 750 employees and owns a fleet of around 350 vehicles, which make approximately 115 million trips annually over 50 urban lines. Some of the buses are specifically designed to transport people with severe mobility difficulties and are used exclusively to provide door-to-door transportation.
In 2008, the city introduced the Bizi bike rental system. The resulting increase in bicycle use has meant that future revisions of Saragossa’s General Urban Plan will have to include improvements in cycling infrastructure and the implementation of measures to promote intermodality, in which the bicycle is regarded as an essential element of sustainable city life.
Another mode of transportation in use in Saragossa is the cable car, installed for the international exposition “Water and Sustainable Development” held in 2008. The cable car covers a distance of 1.5 km and is operated during weekends and on public holidays.
The city’s first tram-line is currently under construction.
Information on the more specific challenges associated with these efforts and the partners Saragossa collaborates with, is not currently available.
Summary finalized: August 2010