Public Transport in Sofia


Traveller Essentials

If we journey back in time, in ancient Sofia, we will discover that the main means of transportation for the residents was horseback riding. The contemporary civilization comes with perks.

© Wikipedia

The first automobile enters Sofia in 1896. “Did you see the chariot without horses?” was the reaction of the locals. Nowadays, as all big cities, Sofia is jammed with automobiles, and this problem is solved only by comfortable and clean city transport. The best way to move about Sofia these days is provided by the public transportation system – regular buses, minibuses, trolleybuses, trams and Underground metro. While the lovers of retro transport will prefer trams for they are ecological and vintage – to dynamic tourists we have to recommend the metro, which is also ecological, but as fast as the wind. Below are the prices in levs for Sofia’s transportation devices and their wonderful virtues:

1. A ticket on any bus, tram or trolleybus within the city costs 1.60 for a single ticket, and 1.20 if you buy a strip of 10 tickets, which can be used by one person only. All the tickets must be validated by inserting them in a small machine on board, once punched tickets are nontransferable. If you don’t validate your ticket – you are not a regular passenger and you risk on-the-spot fines by inspectors – and unwary foreigners are their favorite target. An extra ticket is owed, if you carry some oversized luggage (anything exceeding 60 cm x 40 cm x 40 cm). With the busy lines, you have to keep in mind the popular joke: “Nothing brings people closer together than a Sofia bus…” especially during the rush hour.

2. Private minibuses, familiar as marshroutki are a good alternative option to public transport, but they will cost slightly more.

Тypical metro station
Тypical metro station © Alexander Savov, Bulphoto

3. The Underground (Metro) costs 1.60 levs for a single ticket, and you can also buy a strip of ten tickets for 12.00 levs. Sofia’s metro is a dream come true for many of the capital residents. It was a huge investment but now its construction has brought a significant traffic relief in Sofia.

4. A daily card of 4 levs allows you to use all the lines of the public transport, including the metro in the course of one day. For the price of 10 levs you can buy a three-day card and travel without restraint in the course of three calendar days, which is a great option if you want to visit a lot of attractions.

5. The card for the night transport is sold and validated by a controller on the spot in the vehicle. With one card, you can travel the entire night, all the routes.

6. There is a new modern, technological system, which allows the passengers to buy tickets with their mobile devices. It is the bright future of transportation payments. The daily card and the night card for all the routes of the public transportations can now be bought and used via a smartphone. What is necessary is your registration at sofia.mpass.bg. Unfortunately, so far the service is only in Bulgarian. With this new way of buying tickets you need only a mobile phone and this saves you time to look for card sellers.

Public Transport in Sofia
Public Transport in Sofia © Alexander Savov, Bulphoto
© Alexander Savov, Bulphoto

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Transport in Sofia , metro