Cities

Graz

Austria CIVITAS TRENDSETTER

With 240,000 inhabitants, Graz is the second largest city in Austria. It is the capital of Styria and the province’s cultural, economic and university centre. The city council has a clear transport policy based on the concept of “Sanfte Mobilitat”, or gentle mobility.

The City of Graz has a radial public transport system with harmonised tariffs, uniform tickets and harmonised timetables for the city and the province as a whole. Graz was the first city in Europe to implement a speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour for the entire city (with the exception of major roads). The city centre features many pedestrian zones and the city administration has dedicated great efforts to promoting cycling. Graz was the first Austrian city to open a mobility centre. The city has also started to convert the public bus fleet to run on more environmentally friendly bio-diesel. There is still great potential in the field of transportation for sustainable development.

The main problem facing Graz is the rise in car use due to the growing movement of people from the city centre to the city outskirts, with the accompanying environmental problems. Information technology measures will be introduced to make public transport more user friendly and the services more attractive.
The objectives of the city’s transport policy are to: