PwC study: CEE cities have established a strong strategic foundation for urban mobility, but implementation remains uneven. Bucharest stands out for its diversified financing sources

• 78% of cities rate the sustainable urban mobility plan (SUMP) as a high or very high priority, although only 17% have a dedicated budget. 
• 89% use or plan to adopt smart city and smart mobility indicators, while only 44% have an operational or advanced urban data platform. 
• 72% rely on EU funding as a strategic resource, but only 24% have specific financial instruments for SUMPs. 
• 44% don't yet have a formal air quality roadmap aligned with the new requirements. 
• Bucharest is updating its SUMP, while its air quality roadmap needs revision.

Bucharest, October 2026 Cities across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have established a strong strategic foundation for sustainable urban mobility, but implementation lags behind in all five areas analysed. 83% report an official SUMP or smart mobility roadmap, but few have the budgets, financial instruments and data platforms needed to turn these plans into funded, operational, and measurable actions. 

Of the cities that are already acting, 67% use advanced or integrated traffic-management platforms, while 61% promote active mobility. The findings come from the CEE Smart Cities Mobility Sprint 2026 report, produced by PwC based on interviews with local authorities in 18 cities, including Bucharest. 

Under the revised TEN-T Regulation (Trans-European Transport Network), 431 urban nodes will be required to adopt a SUMP by the end of 2027. At the same time, the revised Ambient Air Quality Directive sets stricter limits for 12 pollutants, to be met by 2030. 

“The CEE Smart Cities Mobility Sprint 2026 highlights how cities across CEE are transforming urban mobility and turning ambitious goals into practical solutions. Not every approach will transfer unchanged, but the evidence is clear: workable models exist across CEE. Our priority now is to learn from one another, adapt what works to local needs, and accelerate progress across the region,” said Anda Rojanschi, PwC Partner, CEE Chief Markets Officer. 

Where Bucharest stands 

Bucharest places a very high priority on its SUMP, which is currently being updated, while its air quality roadmap needs revision. Warsaw, Wrocław, Łódź, Gdańsk, Katowice, Rzeszów, Riga and Ljubljana have both a SUMP, or a formal process for preparing one, and an air quality plan.

Elsewhere, approaches vary: Bratislava addresses air quality through a regional programme, Košice is expected to update its plan, and in Prague and Zagreb the preparation of documents aligned with the new requirements depends on their implementation at national level. Belgrade and Lviv do not yet have an official smart mobility roadmap, although Belgrade does have an air quality plan.

On financing, Bucharest is one of the positive examples in the report, using bonds, loans, and dedicated credit lines. Łódź, the first Polish city to issue municipal green bonds, and Rzeszów fall into the same group. 

The report also includes Văcărești Nature Park among its case studies on the environment and urban resilience. Designated in 2016 as Romania’s first urban protected natural area, the park preserves approximately 183 hectares of urban wetland and supports 204 bird species. By protecting nature and improving access to green space, the park contributes to the city’s resilience and supports an urban environment conducive to active mobility.

Examples of planning and implementation

The report presents projects and solutions that illustrate how cities are translating mobility objectives into practice:

• Warsaw (Poland): a new SUMP with clear governance, a Clean Transport Zone and a detailed 3D model of the road network created using mobile laser scanning and AI.
• Wrocław (Poland): the only city in Poland to own and operate an in-house, citywide traffic-simulation model. It also has a dedicated Department of Citizen Participation.
• Riga (Latvia): an integrated mobility data ecosystem that cuts mobility-planning and modelling time by 10%. 
• Ljubljana (Slovenia): a SUMP adopted in October 2025 and a 20-year public-private partnership to establish and operate a public electric-vehicle rental and car-sharing system, including the deployment of 400 shared electric vehicles.

Strategic ambition, uneven implementation 

The report shows the gap between ambition and implementation in each of the five areas: 

• Governance and social: 45% of cities report insufficient national support, and only 12 have an identified public engagement champion. 
• Data, digital, and AI: only 33% have fully operational city-wide digital infrastructure, and 39% regularly use AI to analyse mobility data. 
• Funding and financing: the current financing model remains stronger at securing projects than sustaining long-term operation and maintenance. 
• Competitiveness, resilience and security: 83% aim to connect urban mobility planning with the needs of the construction sector and logistics operators, but most focus on cleaner vehicles rather than broader energy resilience. 
• Environment: modernising and electrifying public transport is the measure most frequently mentioned by cities for reducing transport-related air pollution, while access restrictions and parking reform often face political and public resistance. 

The way forward 

The report recommends translating SUMP and air-quality ambitions into a single measurable implementation programme, with clear indicators, responsibilities, and financing. Cities also need stronger national support, the capacity to combine diverse sources of funding and financing, and closer collaboration with businesses and academia. 

About the report 

The CEE Smart Cities Mobility Sprint 2026 is a follow-up to the CEE Smart Cities Mobility Index 2024 and was produced by PwC Central and Eastern Europe, together with PSNM (The New Mobility Association) and EIT Urban Mobility. The analysis is based on interviews with local authorities in 18 cities across 11 countries: Croatia (Zagreb), Czech Republic (Ostrava, Prague), Estonia (Tallinn), Hungary (Budapest), Latvia (Riga), Poland (Gdańsk, Katowice, Łódź, Rzeszów, Warsaw, Wrocław), Romania (Bucharest), Serbia (Belgrade), Slovakia (Bratislava, Košice), Slovenia (Ljubljana) and Ukraine (Lviv). The report is available here.