HSE specialist Trofimenko: Perm and Kazan are leading in the greening of transport in Russia 
name Perm and Kazan. Konstantin Trofimenko, director of the Center for Research on Transport Problems in Megalopolises of the Higher School of Economics (HSE), stated this in the framework of the New Society project. The expert clarified that he gives estimates without taking into account Moscow, which can be considered a special case.
“Perm is indeed a very good example, they have arranged the tram operation well. Kazan is also one of the best cities in terms of the development of electric transport, ”the specialist said. Both cities followed the path of electrification, considering the environmental impact as one of the important indicators in transport reform. “Quite large reforms are coming in Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Chelyabinsk, but this has not happened yet,” Trofimenko added.
The specialist believes that trams and trolleybuses look like a more promising solution for electrifying the transport system than electric buses. They do not require the creation of special infrastructure that only wealthy cities can afford. Many regions are now thinking about the development of electric transport, reforms to modernize the transport system are underway with federal support, the specialist noted. The infrastructure has not been updated for a long time, and now it is important to correct the situation, stressed Trofimenko.
“Electric transport is typical for our country, and in the Soviet Union there was a good start in this regard. There is nothing supernatural about making high-quality electric transport in Russian cities. It is quite an ordinary task that city authorities should be able to solve, “the specialist concluded.
Converting public transport to electricity is part of efforts to green the economy. The need to gradually reduce the carbon intensity of transport was noted by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The country is already starting to implement a unified program to upgrade public transport. The priority will be given to the electric sector, with an emphasis on trams and electric buses, explained Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko.
The issues of greening transport have become one of the central topics of the New Society cycle – a large-scale project of Lenta.ru dedicated to changes that have already begun in Russia or will occur in the coming decades. They talk about the attitude of Russians to the environment, consumption processes, work schedules and the impact of society on climate change.