Skip to main content

Moscow wins international transport award for tackling traffic gridlock

The city of Moscow has been awarded the International Transport Forum (ITF) 2016 Transport Achievement Award for its exemplary approach to improving traffic conditions in the Russian capital. Following twenty years of almost uncontrolled development of urban traffic, Moscow introduced a rigorous and comprehensive set of policies to address the gridlock on its streets. These included paid car parking, development of public transport, ticketing, car sharing and taxi reform, development of cycling and envi
May 19, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The city of Moscow has been awarded the 998 International Transport Forum (ITF) 2016 Transport Achievement Award for its exemplary approach to improving traffic conditions in the Russian capital.

Following twenty years of almost uncontrolled development of urban traffic, Moscow introduced a rigorous and comprehensive set of policies to address the gridlock on its streets. These included paid car parking, development of public transport, ticketing, car sharing and taxi reform, development of cycling and environmental requirements for trucks.

Over the past five years, these measures have reduced the number of cars in central Moscow by 25 per cent and increased the average speed of traffic by 12 per cent, despite 600 new cars being registered in the city each day.

In 2013, Moscow traffic was ranked as worst in the world by the 1692 TomTom Traffic Index; the 2016 edition has moved it to fifth place.

The ITF jury recognised the “impressive achievement in improving overall traffic in Moscow.” In particular, the jurors highlighted “the effectiveness of coherent, coordinated initiatives and policy actions that facilitated this remarkable change.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Russia invests in ITS technology
    May 11, 2012
    Russia’s transport systems are developing on a grand scale with ITS central to the plans, thanks in no small part to a recently relaunched ITS Russia. Jon Masters interviews the organisation’s chief executive officer Vladimir Kryuchkov Over coming years many of the biggest deployments of new technology for transport are likely to be seen in Russia. For a political and economic superpower, the world’s biggest country has only recently started to harness ITS for the good of its transport networks. But the sca
  • EU aims to turn ITS theory into practice
    May 18, 2016
    Gareth Horton explains how the European Commission’s Transport Research and Innovation Portal can help expedite research and turn theory into practice. Over the next few years Europe’s transport systems face a number of challenges, such as improving urban mobility while at the same time protecting population health and accommodating the accessibility needs of an ageing but active population.
  • Intertraffic Awards 2022: shortlist announced!
    February 4, 2022
    Winners will be revealed at the opening ceremony of Intertraffic Amsterdam in March
  • Dr Hiroyuki Watanabe looks ahead to 20th World Congress in Tokyo
    October 24, 2012
    The 20th ITS World Congress will be held in Tokyo from 14-18 October, 2013. Dr Hiroyuki Watanabe, Chairman, Japan Organising Committee reveals some of the highlights that delegates can look forward to.