Connecting People and Places in the Danube Region through Sustainable Mobility Solutions

Sustainable mobility is a cornerstone of resilient, inclusive, and climate-neutral societies. It shapes how people access jobs, education, services, and public spaces, while at the same time reducing environmental pressures. As the transport sector remains one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and urban air pollution, the shift towards cleaner, safer, and more efficient mobility solutions is critical. Promoting walking, cycling, public transport, and well-integrated multimodal systems not only helps reduce emissions and congestion, but also improves public health, strengthens social inclusion, and enhances the overall quality of life. In this way, sustainable mobility plays a vital role in creating more liveable cities and regions for both present and future generations.

Through targeted funding, the Danube Region Programme (DRP) enables local and regional communities to rethink how people move, interact, and experience their surroundings. By supporting innovative approaches to active and low-carbon mobility, the programme helps transform transport systems in line with European and macro-regional priorities for greener, more inclusive, and people-centred mobility.

Several DRP-funded projects are actively contributing to this transition, demonstrating how sustainable mobility solutions can be adapted to diverse urban, rural, and cross-border contexts across the Danube region.

The Active2Public Transport project promotes a multimodal shift by better integrating public transport with walking and cycling. Its aim is to enable longer and more efficient journeys without relying on private cars. Through pilot actions, the project tests a range of climate-friendly solutions, including temporary street transformations, bike parking and storage facilities near public transport hubs, and bicycle carriage solutions on board buses. These measures make it easier for citizens to combine different modes of transport and adopt more sustainable travel habits.

Focusing on urban environments, Citywalk 2.0 addresses the dominance of car-based mobility by encouraging a transition towards walking and cycling. The project explores how streets can be redesigned to prioritise pedestrians and cyclists, creating safer, more attractive public spaces. In parallel, it works to influence travel behaviour by raising awareness of the benefits of active mobility, supporting cities in reducing energy-intensive transport patterns and improving everyday urban life.

The Inclusive Border Cycling project, included in the 2025 EUSDR Flagship Projects list, demonstrates how cycling infrastructure can serve both mobility and social inclusion objectives. By developing inclusive, community-driven cycling trails in rural and border areas, the project promotes sustainable tourism while strengthening cross-border cooperation. These trails are designed not only as transport routes, but also as shared spaces that encourage community engagement, accessibility, and economic opportunities in peripheral regions.

With a strong focus on long-distance cycling tourism, TRANSDINARICA2 builds on the existing 3,364-kilometre cycling route stretching from Slovenia to North Macedonia. Although the route is already internationally popular, local communities along the trail have so far benefited only marginally from its success. The project seeks to change this by enhancing the social and economic impact of the route through better integration with local services, businesses, and tourism offers. In addition, it aims to improve accessibility by connecting the route to the Alpe Adria cycling corridor, further strengthening its role within the European cycling network. 

Together, these projects illustrate how sustainable mobility can act as a powerful driver of environmental protection, social inclusion, and regional economic development in the Danube region. By promoting active travel, multimodal solutions, and community-centred mobility planning, they contribute to reducing emissions while improving the quality of everyday life.