Bucharest continues to be one of the most congested cities in the world, according to the TomTom Traffic Index for 2021. With an average congestion level of 50%, the Romanian capital ranks eighth at the global level and sixth in Europe. It is also the city with the worst car traffic in the European Union. Bucharest drivers lost an average of 115 hours in traffic jams last year. The level of traffic congestion was estimated at 50%, increasing by 8% compared to 2020, but decreasing by 2% compared to 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, which imposed numerous travel restrictions and made remote work more popular, Economedia.ro reported. According to TomTom, a 50% congestion level means that, on average, travel times were 50% longer than during the baseline non-congested conditions. This means that a 30-minute trip driven in free-flow condition will take 15 minutes longer when the congestion level is at 50%. May 20 was the most congested day in Bucharest in 2021, and the day of the week with the worst rush hour was Thursday between 17:00 and 18:00. Istanbul tops the ranking of the most congested cities in the world, followed by Moscow, Kyiv, Bogota, Mumbai, Odesa, Saint Petersburg, Bucharest, and Novosibirsk. The 2021 TomTom Traffic Index details the traffic trends seen in 404 cities from 58 countries last year. (Further details are available on : https://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/traffic-index/ranking/)
The 2025 edition of the year’s first major film fest in Europe (and one of the biggest worldwide), the Berlin International Film Festival, took place between 13 and 23 February. My notes come with a bit of delay, as I was also hit by the festival flu that got so many of us sniffling and […]
In the absence of current negative influences, Romania’s economy could have an annual growth potential of 3-4%. Political instability and global geopolitical risks are dampening growth. Economic growth in 2024 was driven by wage increases and accelerating consumption, satisfied however largely through imports. Due to a decline in domestic economic competitiveness, net exports contributed negatively […]
The Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) announced on Thursday, March 13, the launch of a new financial education section on the BVB Research Hub platform, dedicated to retail investors. The capital market operator said that it started this project out of the need to increase the level of financial education and promote the investment culture. It […]
The Romanian governing coalition's presidential candidate, Crin Antonescu, announced on Thursday, March 13, that he is launching a podcast designed to popularize his candidacy before the May elections. Antonescu, who is backed by the alliance made up of the Liberals (PNL), Social Democrats (PSD), the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians (UDMR), and the minorities, stated that he will […]
Some 4,500 teachers will learn about rights and responsibilities online, accessibility, inclusion, online well-being, and ethics as part of Incubatorul Civic Digital (ICD - The Civic Digital Incubator), a digital citizenship and democratic culture project implemented by Institutul Intercultural Timișoara, Asociația TechSoup and Școala de Valori. The project, which offers free training, is aimed at […]
Mihaela Murariu, Attorney at Law at Grecu Partners Business Law Firm, analyzes the impact of Artificial Intelligence on personal data protection. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a ubiquitous technology, used in more and more fields, from marketing and healthcare to recruitment and financial services. However, the widespread use of AI raises numerous questions about privacy […]
