Getting Around in Sofia - The Public Transport Way - Buses

Bus Number 94 in Sofia

I like walking.

It’s lucky for me that I live fairly near the centre of Sofia near all the so called main sights

But like everybody else there are times when I need to get about the city on some form of transport.

Now, lots and lots of people use cars but when you see what the traffic’s like as it grows every day I can’t personally think of using a car to go around in Sofia and so I take public transport.

I don’t know about you, but I find public transport systems very intimidating. When I’m in a foreign country or, sometimes, in a different part of a country I know well, I get quite frightened. I see these buses, trams, trolleys and it all seems too much for me.

So, I thought I’d have a bit of a look at the Public Transport system in Sofia - the part that is above the ground. I say above the ground because Sofia is at last building a metro or underground railway network. A few stations are operating but it’s well behind schedule. One day the metro should be a great asset.

If you want to get about Sofia easily and cheaply, and you can’t walk, then in my view then it’s best to hop on - hop on what?

Well you have a wide choice because here in Sofia you have buses, you have trams and trolleybuses. And they all operate in more or less the same way.

First of all you need a ticket. This is quite a confusing mix because there are all sorts of tickets, day tickets, monthly cards, single tickets and so on.

As far as I’m concerned the type of ticket I buy is, almost always, a small book of tickets with 10 tickets in the book. This is cheaper than single tickets but it’s important to remember that you can’t share the book. The tickets are numbered and must be used in sequence. So two people need two books.

These books are called “Taloni”.

Taloni before and after punching

So, when you are near a bus stop there’ll usually be an official kiosk selling tickets or you can buy them from the newstands or even from little old ladies selling them on the street. All you have to do is say “Taloni”.

Once you get your Taloni you can simply get on a bus. You tear off one of your tickets and you punch it in one of the machines provided - making sure you clip the end with the arrow on it.

Ticket punching machine on a bus in Sofia

The machines are located all down the sides of the vehicle. If you don’t have a punched ticket you can be inspected and fined.

Let’s have a look at the buses of Sofia. Over the years I’ve lived here, they’ve changed quite a lot and now there are many different types. The standard bus is still the concertina style - that is two compartments joined in the middle so they can turn round corners. How do you know where you’re going?

It tells you on the stop and the front. The 313 is a useful bus as it goes to the Central Railway Station.

We’ll see in more detail later.

……

News flash from Bulgarian News Agency Novinite:

Sofia to Welcome July Morning with Most Expensive Transport Tickets

30 June 2008, Monday

People in Sofia will pay BGN 1 for a regular ticket for one trip in the public transport of the Bulgarian capital since July 1, as decided by the Sofia Municipal Council about two weeks ago.

The proposal for the 43% increase over the current price of BGN 0,7 was filed by the Deputy Mayor Velizar Stoilov and the municipality’s Transport Commission Chair Radoslav Toshev, who say the measure is motivated by the rising fuel prices.

The ten-trip ticket will cost BGN 7,5 up from the current BGN 6, while a monthly ticket is to cost BGN 50.

The new measure provides for no changes in the prices of the monthly tickets for students, retirees, disabled people and orphans.

I'm John Rocha, Blog Master of Bulgarian Vistas.

I like to write from experience about living in Bulgaria, holidays in Bulgaria, Bulgarian food,

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