Blog entry

More buses, but is the system better? Evaluating Bishkek’s public transport network

Over the past few years, the public transport fleet in Bishkek – Kyrgyzstan’s capital city – has changed visibly. In a city where privately operated minibuses, known as marshrutkas, dominated for years, new gas-powered buses and electric buses are now in service.

Today, the municipal fleet includes around 1,600 vehicles. Of these, 424 were purchased through grants and loans provided by international financial institutions, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Germany’s development bank (KfW).

At first glance, this appears to be a clear move towards more sustainable urban mobility. However, an analysis of Bishkek’s public transport system, conducted by local researchers with support from CEE Bankwatch Network, suggests that fleet renewal alone has not made public transport genuinely attractive or efficient.

Modernisation, but to what end?

According to an official survey commissioned by the Bishkek mayor’s office as part of the city’s 2050 General Plan, only 38% of residents selected public transport as their primary mode of travel, with 41% of residents travelling by car. The rest walk or use personal mobility devices. These figures point to a deeper structural issue: the reform has focused primarily on replacing vehicles, while the system itself remains in need of fundamental improvement.

The analysis identified several key barriers that may prevent residents from shifting from cars to public transport. First, only 18% of the fleet can be described as fully comfortable, inclusive, safe and environmentally friendly. Many buses lack air conditioning, not all interiors are fully inclusive, and part of the fleet still fails to meet modern environmental standards.

Second, pedestrian access to stops remains limited. GIS analysis shows that only 25% of Bishkek’s built-up area lies within a 500-metre walking distance of existing stops. This means that many residents must already incur additional time and effort costs at the very first stage of their trip, making public transport less competitive compared to cars.

Third, the city still lacks a connected bus priority system. Dedicated bus lanes cover only 2% of the total route network length. Passengers lose time in traffic congestion alongside motorists. Because of traffic jams, service intervals are disrupted, travel times increase, and travel itself remains unpredictable.

International practice in public transport development recommends three types of measures known as the ‘avoid–shift–improve’ approach:

avoid – reduce the need for trips through better urban planning;

shift – switch demand to more sustainable modes of transport;

improve – upgrade vehicles and technologies.

However, the changes in Bishkek primarily focus on the third measure: fleet renewal. Yet even the most modern ‘green’ buses do not, on their own, solve passengers’ problems, shorten travel times, or make public transport a more attractive option.

Beyond new buses

For public transport in Bishkek to truly become more convenient and attractive, the city must adopt a more comprehensive approach, including:

developing a polycentric urban structure to reduce the need for long-distance travel;

optimising excessively long routes and introducing a free transfer system;

increasing pedestrian access to stops, particularly in residential districts and peripheral areas;

creating a connected network of dedicated bus lanes; and

integrating buses with rail, cycling, and pedestrian infrastructure as well as car use.

In summary, while investment in greener and more modern rolling stock is necessary, it remains insufficient. Unless the city implements these changes, it will be left with a system that is modern in form, yet fundamentally ineffective – one that ultimately fails to compete with the speed, convenience and reliability of the car.

Power to the people: How distribution grid improvements can speed up energy transformation in the Western Balkans

The transformation of the energy sector in the Western Balkans is progressing at different speeds. Much of the system still relies on outdated fossil fuel plants and large-scale hydropower production. However, all countries in the region have started to see an influx of intermittent renewable energy. While there are exceptions, this new capacity generally consists of utility-scaleinstallations directly connected to the transmission or distribution grids, functioning as additions to the existing centralised system. 

Yet the system can only absorb so much intermittent production at present. Transmission system operators in Western Balkan countries typically estimate that around a third of grid connection requests can be accommodated without compromising the stability or security of supply. They also identify the connection of multiple utility-scale photovoltaic plants to the distribution grid as a cause of excessive voltage variations and increased power losses.

While power transmission systems have their own issues to resolve, investment in the distribution grid needed to speed up the transition is lagging behind. Most of the infrastructure was built in the last century and has hardly been upgraded, despite legally binding obligations. 

Distribution grid losses are significantly higher in most Western Balkan countries than in EU Member States. Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country in the region with losses below 10%. However, losses in Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia are around 11 to 14%, in Albania almost 20%, and in Kosovo above 20%. Part of the issue lies with the non-technical lossescaused by outdated energy consumption metering and billing systems. 

The current situation does not allow for sufficient capacity to enable more prosumers and energy communities to connect. To achieve this, the grid needs to be flexible and capable enough to redistribute electricity in real time from many small producers to wherever it is needed most at that moment. 

Enabling households and small and medium-sized enterprises to actively participate in the energy system by generation as well as consuming electricity is a necessary step in the energy transformation. This will motivate them to invest more in energy efficiency and to proactively contribute to policy development. 

The benefits will be shared by everyone. The more prosumers and energy communities that join the system, the lower electricity prices will be. Lower losses and modern metering and billing systems will benefit the system operators. And finally, more stable national systems will lead to stability in the regional and European electricity markets. 

This is why financiers, such as development banks and the EU, must prioritise investment not only in electricity generation, but also in improving the distribution grid. This is the only way the system can move away from large-scale, climate-damaging, centralised power plants and truly embrace an energy-efficient and renewable future for all. 

Community energy gathers momentum in Estonia

At a time when the energy crisis, climate goals, and security issues are becoming increasingly intertwined, community energy presents a strategic yet significantly underutilised opportunity for central and eastern Europe to build a more resilient energy system. As the EU transitions to clean energy, community-based energy solutions are becoming an increasingly important grassroots driver, one that links climate goals with local development and social cohesion.

Estonia’s Energy Sector Development Plan (ENMAK) adopted earlier this year, has taken the first steps towards mapping the potential obstacles and opportunities for community energy at the national level. Unlike in many other EU Member States, the development of community energy in Estonia has yet to become a separate strategic goal, largely due to a lack of state support.

Supporting community energy initiatives and promoting their wider adoption would bolster the functioning of Estonia’s local energy sector, the transition to renewable energy, and its overall resilience. At the local level, this strategy would in turn help communities cope with a variety of challenges, from ensuring energy security to creating new opportunities in areas like transport and the energy supply of public buildings.

What motivates Estonian communities to generate energy together?

Despite the scarcity of subsidies, a few trailblazing communities in Estonia have taken the initiative to produce energy locally. Energy cooperatives are today rarely formed out of convenience, but out of necessity. When an existing solution no longer works or becomes too expensive, alternatives have to be found. The effects of high electricity prices, an unreliable heat supply, or poor infrastructure – all of which are keenly felt during a harsh winter – tend to motivate communities to come together and act.

The experience of Seto Aiad, a gardening cooperative in the village of Obinitsa in the southernmost part of Estonia, is an example of how economic pressure can provide the impetus for action. Faced with high electricity costs for keeping their cold storage facility running during the summer, the members were left with no other option but to establish an energy cooperative. With an eye on long-term sustainability, this local initiative is taking a far more climate-friendly approach than simply relying on transporting oil shale energy, much of which is lost on its journey from the other end of the country in Ida-Virumaa, the country’s just transition region.

Even within Ida-Virumaa itself, which has been mass-supplying electricity to households for the past century, the transition to community energy has begun. In the village of Savala, the community is now working together to renovate six apartment buildings, with the logical next step of generating the electricity consumed on-site.

However, these pioneers often face significant challenges. There are no guarantees, and collaborative investment in the community and local life has yet to sufficiently take root in wider society. Leaders of the Kääpa village energy cooperative in Jõgeva County in the east of the country have found that, even when the community does show interest and the idea of shared energy seems exciting and sensible, people become much more cautious during the implementation phase.

And this is precisely why success stories that can be later replicated in other villages and regions are so crucial, as they build confidence and reduce the fear of getting started. Community energy has the potential to play a significant role not only in gardening and consumer cooperatives, but also in other forms of collective action where networks of cooperation and trust already exist. Where people are accustomed to making decisions together and sharing responsibility, energy cooperation is a natural next step.

Looking to the future

Beyond inspiration and determination, the wider adoption of energy cooperatives requires systemic support. Currently, the development of community energy is being held back by a lack of awareness, limited infrastructure and financial complexity. Until Estonia introduces the targeted subsidies that are widely available elsewhere in Europe, energy cooperatives will continue to have to make a large initial investment using their own funds, which rules out many potential participants from the outset.

Another major bottleneck is Estonia’s electricity grid, historically designed for one-way electricity transmission of power from large producers to consumers. But this structure does not sufficiently support distributed and community-based production or allow for flexible electricity distribution. As a result, current initiatives often have to focus on ensuring that as much of the energy produced as possible is consumed locally.

Community energy is more than just a niche solution in Estonia – it’s a transformative opportunity to shape a fairer, cleaner and more resilient energy system. To support this shift, steps need to be taken on multiple fronts. At the national level, the government can send a clear signal by making community energy a strategic priority, creating simple and understandable support measures, and adapting the grid and regulatory framework to better suit distributed electricity generation. Even modest, targeted start-up grants or financial guarantees would help cooperatives overcome the most challenging initial phase.

Local governments can also take the lead by mapping regional opportunities, launching pilot projects, and bringing together interested parties, including residents and businesses. At the community level, the most important thing is to start a conversation about how shared needs can be met collectively while keeping an open mind. From this point of strength, communities can seek out partners and expert advice. As the above success stories show, growth only occurs when people dare to learn and experiment together.

True electricity market integration requires environmental compliance

Before the EU’s CBAM definitive regime began on 1 January this year, many stakeholders questioned whether CBAM should be delayed in the electricity sector. Some even questioned whether electricity should even remain included at all. After all, the Energy Community Treaty has for 20 years promoted integration of the Western Balkans’ energy markets with those of the EU, rather than adding new barriers.

Although CBAM is likely impacting this process to some extent – it’s too early to tell how much – much of the debate currently focuses on its negative impacts, without acknowledging the positive potential of CBAM to drive forward alignment with EU energy and climate policy. The right of Western Balkan renewable energy producers to export electricity to the EU unhindered is also often taken as a given in the debate.

Our new position paper, signed by 63 civil society organisations, therefore seeks to highlight another side of the story: that electricity market integration is desirable, but it must go hand in hand with environmental and climate compliance in the electricity sector.

Not playing by the rules

The Western Balkans’ deadly coal power plants are notorious, but it’s not merely a question of fossil fuels versus renewables, but also a wider lack of environmental governance. Despite being a biodiversity hotspot, the countries fail to properly protect their valuable natural areas, and to properly apply basic EU safeguards like strategic and project-level environmental impact assessments. Appropriate assessments under the Habitats Directive and water impact tests under the Water Framework Directive are barely applied at all.

Western Balkan governments want to participate in the EU energy markets without playing by the rules, and this isn’t fair to their people, nature or others who do play by the rules.

The Energy Community Treaty was designed to avoid this situation. And while it has contributed significantly to moving forward the Western Balkan countries’ legislative alignment with the EU, its environmental safeguards are lagging behind. It also lacks financial penalties, allowing its Contracting Parties to procrastinate for years on compliance.

Finally, deadlines with consequences

CBAM has therefore been a breath of fresh air, finally providing clear deadlines for the countries to either face its consequences or gain exemptions for electricity by applying EU energy and climate law, including emissions trading schemes equivalent to that of the EU by 1 January 2030.

Progress has been slow, but Serbia, Montenegro and Moldova have transposed the legislation needed for electricity market coupling – the first precondition for exemption from CBAM. Montenegro has also recently committed to carbon neutrality by 2050.

The EU must therefore not give up on CBAM in electricity, but rather use it to the maximum to help move forward compliance with EU energy and climate policy. More broadly, the European Commission must make sure the exporting countries finally comply with all the relevant EU rules, including environmental safeguards.

The way forward

Western Balkan governments may not realise it yet, but the Commission would be doing both the EU and the region a favour by applying the CBAM exemption criteria and reductions in CBAM charges strictly. Insisting that the countries meaningfully advance on decarbonisation in order to gain CBAM exemptions for electricity will help to make up for the lack of enforcement mechanisms in the Energy Community Treaty, and introducing carbon pricing would help them mobilise resources to fund a just energy transition.

More broadly, the Commission also needs to apply joined-up thinking. Access to EU funds for energy must be conditioned on enforcement of the Energy Community Treaty, and full transposition and enforcement of nature and water protection safeguards in the countries, to improve renewable energy sustainability.

The EU also needs to avoid creating uncertainty about its own policy directions. Recent calls by Italy’s government and others to suspend the ETS are totally irresponsible. They largely result from countries’ own misguided investments in gas, and would increase the EU’s dependence on imported fossil fuels, and vulnerability to price shocks like the current one.

Although the Western Balkan countries need to mobilise their own resources for just transition via carbon pricing, the EU also needs to show it is serious about supporting a just transition in the region by earmarking financial support for carbon-intensive regions in the next EU long-term budget. Only this way can we ensure a level playing field in the electricity sector and a more socially and environmentally sustainable energy transition.

How a pioneering Slovak town is modernising its district heating system

How Slovakia’s coal phase-out changed the game

Partizánske is a mid-sized town in western Slovakia, located along the Nitra River in the Upper Nitra region. It was founded in the 1930s as an industrial town connected to the nearby Nováky coal power plant. Home to roughly 20,000 residents, the town has its own municipally owned district heating system, which today is powered by 66% fossil gas and 34% biomass.

In December 2018, the Slovak government announced that coal would be phased out by 2023 at the latest, giving the Nováky plant a five-year countdown until shutdown. This meant that all municipalities connected to the plant needed to find a new heating source. However, unlike some neighbouring towns, Partizánske was no longer directly dependent on domestic brown coal for its district heating.

Yet the national coal phase-out changed the outlook for the entire region. With coal leaving the energy mix, district heating systems across the region would have to reinvent themselves. By December 2023, all of the municipalities had successfully developed plans for replacement systems for all of the affected households across the region.

However, the reinvention couldn’t stop simply at transitioning to gas. With the EU’s target of complete decarbonisation by 2050, the transformation of these systems had to go further. This meant municipalities had to start planning how to modernise their district heating systems using sustainable, renewable and modern technologies.

Planning for the future

Partizánske started by working with the Slovak non-governmental organisation Friends of the Earth–Centre for Environmental Public Advocacy (Friends of the Earth–CEPA). It developed an in-house pre-feasibility study, outlining a structured plan for transforming the town’s district heating system. The study mapped:

heat consumption across individual buildings and zones;

the technical condition of boiler rooms;

equipment efficiency and emissions;

operating costs;

precise pipeline routing;

collisions with underground utilities; and

terrain constraints;

Three core ideas emerged: interconnecting of the two currently separate heating systems, utilising geothermal resources and, in the long term, recovering waste heat from the town’s wastewater treatment plant. The next step was to consult external experts to assess the viability of these conclusions.

In February 2023, Partizánske reached out to the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EIB’s advisory services typically focus on larger infrastructure projects in major cities. Yet the 2022 launch of the Technical Assistance for Regions Undergoing a Green Energy Transition (TARGET) programme by the EIB and the European Commission opened the door for regions like the Upper Nitra region that have been historically dependent on fossil fuels like coal, peat, and oil shale.

As the municipality increasingly demonstrated readiness, clarity and technical preparation, interest grew. Eventually, a formal technical assistance agreement was signed in August 2024 under the Energy Efficiency and Energy Advisory Division of the EIB’s Energy Department. By September 2024, the terms of reference had been approved, with external experts procured up until March 2025. A kick-off meeting followed in April 2025, and the final feasibility study was published in February 2026.

The technical assistance confirmed the conclusions of the earlier Friends of the Earth–CEPA study: the need to interconnect the existing heating systems, and the potential to use geothermal energy and recover heat from wastewater. This endorsement will help the municipality apply for funding, as it gives investors and partners confidence in the viability of the planned project, which the EIB estimates at around EUR 6.1 million.

Next steps

With this feasibility study now complete, Partizánske is moving forward by preparing a technological concept. This will define specific technologies, required capacities and preliminary cost estimates, helping the municipality to secure building permits and negotiate financing, including an application to the Slovak Environmental Fund’s district heating modernisation financing schemes from the EU’s Modernisation Fund.

Other immediate major structural decisions have already been agreed. The current four-pipe system will be replaced with a two-pipe system, simplifying infrastructure and improving efficiency. Boiler rooms in critical or emergency condition will be prioritised and integrated first.

Additionally, Partizánske is now preparing a communications strategy aimed at residents, with the goal of building long-term public support through clear, accessible information – a particularly important step as municipal elections approach.

This pathway shows that even small municipalities can use EUservices such as the TARGET programme. Thanks to thorough preparation and municipal readiness, Partizánske is set to become a first mover in Slovakia in decarbonising its district heating system. This approach has potential for replication across Europe, where additional EU support programmes are available through the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), the Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions (JASPERS) programme, Horizon Europe, and networks like the EU Covenant of Mayors.

Can the EU’s Social Climate Fund reach vulnerable households in Estonia?

Like other EU Member States, Estonia has submitted its social climate plan to the European Commission. The plan, which has recently undergone changes based on the Commission’s recommendations, is expected to focus primarily on building renovation and energy efficiency measures, while also addressing the broader complexities of energy and transport poverty.

The Estonian Green Movement is currently working closely with national decision makers to answer a fundamental question: How can the Social Climate Fund – one of the EU’s first major instruments linking climate policy with social justice – best reach vulnerable households?

To find an answer, we hosted a round-table discussion on 13 January 2026 in Tartu. The event brought together regional and national representatives to identify and evaluate successful solutions and innovative measures adopted in countries across central and eastern Europe.

Regions left behind

While Estonia has made major strides in the renovation of multi-apartment buildings in recent years, the benefits have not been distributed equally. A clear gap remains in regions with high levels of energy poverty, such as in Ida-Virumaa – Estonia’s just transition region – as well as in the south-east of the country.

Our recent round-table event focused on these weaker regions, identifying two key bottlenecks: first, regional authorities urgently require greater technical assistance and knowledge; second, the current ‘first-come-first-served’ approach to funding often leaves regional authorities with less administrative capacity behind. Participants also agreed that future measures must be intentionally designed to target vulnerable households.

In these regions, the high proportion of older people are typically reluctant to invest in large-scale building renovations. Additionally, many of the regions’ five-storey multi-apartment buildings contain as few as 10 households, making the individual financial outlay required to renovate a property prohibitively high, which also discourages residents from the idea of renovating in the future. However, regional officials noted that the existence of a renovated roof is often a sign that an apartment association is cooperative and potentially open to a deep renovation.

While Estonian cities offer examples of neighbourhood-based initiatives successfully tackling building renovations – notably the SOFTAcademy project in Tallinn – regional authorities indicate that these urban models are difficult to replicate in rural areas.

Finally, the language barrier must also be taken into account. According to 2021 statistics, 73% of the population in Ida-Virumaa are native Russian speakers. All of the regional authorities agreed that information must be accessible in Russian to be effective. Success in these areas also depends on informal engagement and sharing information among the local community. Establishing a ‘friendly connection’ at the regional level is not only possible but essential for building trust.

A fairer way to fund renovations

Researchers at the Centre of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Tartu recently released the results of a new data-driven model aimed at improving how renovation subsidies for apartment buildings are allocated in Estonia. Already tested in Tallinn’s Annelinn and Karlova neighbourhoods, the model seeks to direct financial support towards households experiencing the highest rates of energy poverty.

According to the model’s creator, Mariia Chebotareva, Estonia’s existing renovation support scheme focuses solely on the technical parameters of buildings and fails to reflect the socio-economic status or financial capacity of households. The new model seeks to address this gap by combining socio-economic data with building-level technical parameters. Using specific datasets, the model generates a ranking of apartment buildings based not only on their energy efficiency, but also on the risk of energy poverty among households.

This innovative model is a first for Estonia. If implemented, it would replace the existing performance-based approach – aptly described in the Estonian language as a ‘race of nimble fingers’ – with a more socially just system. Though the researchers note that accessing and integrating the data required will be a challenge, simplifying the system for regional authorities could help them better identify and support those most at risk.

Making EU money work

Ensuring that EU funds deliver equitable benefits to the regions and people of Estonia is crucial. The model introduced by the Centre of Applied Social Sciences has the potential to become a ‘best practice’ in Estonia and inspire similar models across central and eastern Europe. At the Estonian Green Movement, we’re committed to making sure that EU policy translates into real benefits at the local level – and that those who need the most support are not overlooked. As the cost of living in Estonia continues to rise, the design and implementation of future measures is now more important than ever.