In 2024, Drobeta-Turnu Severin recorded the highest increase in the total score of the T.R.A.I. Index, gaining 7.74 more points compared to the previous year (an aggregated score of four sub-indicators: traffic, urban landmarks, air quality, and real estate). Meanwhile, Zalău registered the largest decline in total score, dropping by 9.63 points compared to 2023. Regarding the “Voice of the Neighborhoods” component, Bistrița and Botoșani saw the highest increases, each gaining 2 points. On the other hand, Alexandria experienced a significant decrease of 12 points in its total score, based on the 13 subjective criteria evaluated by the city’s residents.
The T.R.A.I. Index integrates both objective data—sourced from Google Traffic, Google Places, Airly, and Storia—and subjective opinions from over 100,000 residents in areas covered by the platform, reflected in the “Voice of the Neighborhoods” score. The evaluated subjective indicators include safety, cleanliness, access to parking spaces and public transport, bicycle lanes, noise levels, running water, waste collection and gas services, sewage system, district heating, overall satisfaction, and the general cost of living.
T.R.A.I. Index in Bucharest: Minor Changes but Differences in Sub-Indicators
In the total score of the “Voice of the Neighborhoods” category, Bucharest remained relatively stable, with a slight decrease of just 1 point. Regarding objective indicators, a modest drop of 1.5 points was also observed. However, certain sub-indicators saw significant declines compared to 2023: the score for access to running water decreased by 5.18 points, while satisfaction with gas services declined by 4.82 points. On the other hand, access to parking spaces was the sub-indicator with the highest increase, rising by 3 points compared to the previous year.
Regarding neighborhood-level score evolution in the capital, Floreasca recorded the highest increase in access to bicycle lanes, with a jump of 24.55 points in 2024 compared to 2023, followed by Pipera (+13.35). District heating was more positively rated in Aviației (+13.96) and Pantelimon (+11.69). Additionally, access to parking spaces was better evaluated in Floreasca, where the score increased by 10.71 points in 2024 compared to 2023. On the other hand, Vitan recorded the biggest declines across multiple indicators: access to running water dropped by 16.42 points, access to public transport by 15.04 points, the sewage system score fell by 14.99 points, and gas service provision declined by 14.76 points.
“To gain a more detailed perspective on the quality of life in neighborhoods and cities across the country, we believe it is essential to analyze not just current scores but also their year-over-year evolution. This way, we can deeply understand how both objective indicators—such as traffic, urban landmarks, air quality, and housing prices—and residents’ perceptions of other aspects, such as safety, access to public transport, and the criteria under the ‘Voice of the Neighborhoods’ category, are changing. Evaluating these two dimensions in parallel helps us identify not only areas where real progress has been made but also whether certain changes are being felt and appreciated by communities,” stated Monica Dudău, Senior Marketing Manager at Storia & OLX Imobiliare.
Evolution of City Scores Based on Objective Data (Traffic, Landmarks, Air Quality, Real Estate) – 2024 vs. 2023
At the objective score level, the most significant fluctuations were recorded in traffic and air quality sub-indicators, measured using Google Traffic and Airly, while the scores for urban landmarks and real estate prices remained relatively constant. The traffic sub-indicator provides precise data on road congestion and travel speed relative to the maximum legal speed in a given area. Thus, a higher score indicates lighter traffic. In 2024, compared to 2023, Buzău saw a 6.57-point decrease in this indicator, while Giurgiu experienced an increase of nearly 9 points. In terms of air quality, Deva recorded a decline of 17.63 points, whereas Călărași showed a significant improvement, with a 20.74-point increase compared to the previous year.
Evolution of City Scores Based on Subjective Data (Voice of the Neighborhoods) – 2024 vs. 2023
In 2024, the perception of safety levels recorded significant declines in some cities. Deva experienced the largest drop in score, decreasing by 14.96 points, while Botoșani saw an improvement of 2.85 points. Regarding cleanliness, Alexandria had the most significant decline (-12 points), whereas Vaslui recorded a slight increase of 1.76 points. Access to parking spaces was a source of dissatisfaction in some cities, with Alba Iulia experiencing a decline of 16.88 points. In contrast, Râmnicu Vâlcea saw an increase of 5.06 points.
Residents’ perception of public transportation improved in Târgoviște, where the sub-indicator rose by 6.72 points compared to 2023. However, in Alexandria, the score dropped significantly by 13.14 points, indicating lower satisfaction with public transportation access. Regarding access to bicycle lanes, Botoșani experienced the largest decline, with a decrease of 10.87 points, while Focșani had an impressive increase of 25.07 points, suggesting a considerable improvement in cycling infrastructure. The biggest decline in noise level perception was recorded in Zalău, where the score fell by 9.57 points in 2024 compared to 2023. Conversely, Călărași had the highest increase in this indicator, gaining 6.72 points.
In 2024, the most significant drop in access to running water was recorded in Târgu Jiu, with a decline of 13.43 points compared to the previous year, while Botoșani saw the largest improvement, with an increase of 7.49 points. Regarding waste management services, Alexandria had the steepest decline (-14.49 points), while Botoșani registered an increase of 4.44 points. In terms of gas services, Zalău recorded the largest drop (-10.02 points), whereas Botoșani saw the highest growth, with an increase of 10.01 points. For the sewage system, Târgu Jiu again recorded the most significant decline (-14.56), while Botoșani showed the highest improvement, gaining 4.83 points. District heating services recorded the largest decline in Alexandria, where the score dropped by 20.25 points. In contrast, Brăila experienced the highest increase in this indicator, with a growth of 7.79 points.
Alexandria also recorded the most significant drop in overall resident satisfaction (-15.18 points), while Botoșani saw the highest increase (+3.51 points). Regarding the general cost of living, Alexandria had the sharpest decline, with a decrease of 14.78 points, while Brăila recorded the highest growth, increasing by 4 points.
About Storia
Storia is a real estate platform launched by OLX that aims to bring more clarity to the real estate market. It is a place where thousands of property owners, real estate agents, and developers present their offers. Storia seeks to support those looking for the right home by providing valuable tools and information about the real estate market, helping them make informed decisions.
About T.R.A.I. – Voice of the Neighborhoods
In 2022, Storia launched the T.R.A.I. Index, an initiative that provides insights into living conditions in neighborhoods across Romania, measuring the standard of living beyond the four walls of a home. T.R.A.I. gathers relevant data from experts, such as air pollution levels, traffic intensity, the density of points of interest, and the average cost per square meter of real estate, offering a comprehensive view of each neighborhood’s well-being.
In 2024, the index was updated with the “Voice of the Neighborhoods” section, integrating subjective data about neighborhoods, collected directly from residents of each evaluated area.
The platform offers users new features, allowing them to receive personalized data, filter results based on the evaluation criteria that matter most to them, and even compare neighborhoods to see which ones score best on their selected criteria. The T.R.A.I. platform is continuously updated, so all Romanians who wish to evaluate their neighborhoods can complete the questionnaire at trai.storia.ro/chestionar/. This way, the index will be refreshed not only with new data on the neighborhoods and cities already on the platform but also with information about areas not yet included, once the minimum number of responses per zone is collected.
