Mayor of Budapest in Vienna

On 7 November 2023, the Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, visited Vienna with a five-person delegation to discuss sustainable mobility, city partnerships and innovative solutions.

The programme included a meeting with Mayor of Vienna and a test ride on Vienna's new cycle highway.

Test ride on cycle highway

In the morning, the delegation met with the Vienna Cycling Commissioner Martin Blum at Praterstern to visit the cycle highway. The City of Budapest is working on making the city centre accessible to cyclists. If the city government has its way, 80 percent of mobility options in Budapest should be sustainable by 2030 and the proportion of cycling should increase to ten percent. During the tour, Gergely Karácsony hopped on one of Vienna Mobility Agency's bikes and tried out the cycle route on Lassallestraße.

Strengthening relationships at mayors' meetings

This was followed by a meeting that until now could not take place in person due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig, met with his counterpart from Budapest at Vienna City Hall. Over lunch, they discussed the similarities between the two cities and how to tackle similar challenges, be it climate policy, skills shortages or urban planning. After lunch, they went to the roof of Vienna City Hall to visit the photovoltaic system, one of Vienna's many examples of sustainable energy generation.

Focus on innovative solutions

The last meeting of the day took place at Urban Innovation Vienna, the climate and innovation agency of the City of Vienna. The delegation from Budapest was introduced to the company and its working methods. During the subsequent discussions, it became clear that an exchange in the areas of energy and data management would be of great interest to both sides.