Transport in Belgrade

This article deals with the system of transport in Belgrade, both public and private.
Belgrade has an extensive public transport system, which consists of buses, trams, trolley buses and trains operated by the city-owned GSP Belgrade and several private companies. All companies participate in Integrated Tariff System (ITS), which makes tickets transferable between companies and vehicle types. Tickets can be purchased in numerous kiosks or from the driver. They must be validated inside the vehicle and are valid for one ride only. On February 1, 2012, BusPlus, a modern electronic system for managing vehicles and transportation tickets in public transport was introduced, a system based on a vague contract which does not explicitly state the profit made by Apex Technology Solutions, and the giveaway of advertising space on bus stations. It was replaced by a new payment system called Beograd plus in 2023, and the payment systems were entirely discontinued since January 1, 2025, making Belgrade the first capital in Europe to use free public transport.
The main Belgrade Bus Station is located at Železnička 4, which is closed since 29 September 2024, and currently being demolished. It was replaced with a new bus station in New Belgrade.
City public bus transportation is operated by 4 main carriers:
Excluding electric buses, minibuses and seasonal lines, there are 223 regular lines and 23 night lines. Night lines are 15, 26, 27, 29, 31, 32, 33, 37, 47, 51, 56, 68, 75, 101, 202, 301, 304, 401, 511, 601, 603, 704, 706.
Night lines that are abolished are: 7, 9, 11, 48, 96, 304, 701.
Each of the regular lines is operated by GSP and by one of the other carriers. Since November 27 all night routes are operated by GSP Beograd.
Private carriers were introduced in 1990s after many strikes in GSP, which had the monopoly till then. There were many unsuccessful efforts by the city after 2000 to unify them into the same ticket system. Finally, in 2004 it was agreed that ITS (integrated tariff system) will be introduced. These 6 companies will carry the public transportation till 2012, when the City Government will decide whether GSP is going to remain the only transport company.
The lines are usually denoted by their number, but sometimes letters are added as a designation. Lines serving the city have numbers up to 100, while lines reaching the suburbs or exclusively serving those are indicated by numbers over 100. Line 95 is the longest line in the city proper: connecting Borča to Block 45, it goes across the Danube via Pančevo Bridge and across the Sava via Branko's Bridge. Line 583, which reaches to the village of Trbušnica is the longest in the city's metropolitan area. Line 95 is more than 20 kilometres long, while line 583 stretches on for 73 kilometres. In contrast, line 66 is the shortest one, at just 700 metres.
There are two electric "EKO" bus lines in Belgrade, served by vehicles produced together by the Israeli-Bulgarian Chariot Motors and Chinese Higer Bus Company and Aowei Technology. Those are painted with a distinctive green color and are recharged in 10 minutes at the termini. The first buses entered service on 1 September 2016.
In addition to those, there is a Vrabac (Serbian: vrabac, meaning "sparrow") line of electric minibuses serving the pedestrian streets in the centre of Belgrade. Those are free to passengers and painted with a blue color. The line is circular and has eight stops, going from Obilićev venac to Studentski trg, then Kosančićev venac and back to Obilićev venac.
In addition to regular lines, six seasonal ones exist. Five of them, operating under the names ADA-1 through ADA-5, provide public transport to Ada Ciganlija, known as the Belgrade's sea. Those begin working on the last Saturday of June. The sixth one, line 400, goes from Voždovac to the peak of the Avala Mountain. It starts operation on May 1. All six lines work until September 1.
The first tram line was introduced in 1892. The current extent of the network track has been unchanged since 1988, though with some re-routings of the tram lines. Trams and trolleys are operated exclusively by GSP Beograd. Trolleybuses are confined to the right bank, while the tram network reaches the left bank, too: lines 7, 9, 11 and 13 terminate at Block 45. Lines 7 and 9 use the Old Sava Bridge, while lines 11 and 13 go via the newer Ada Bridge.
Belgrade has 11 current trams (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14). Tram line 2 (dva) is a circular line around the downtown, so often downtown is referred to as krug dvojke (the circle of line 2)
All the revenue service track is constructed as parallel double track with terminal loops. There are 8 revenue service loops in the system: Kneževac, Omladinski stadion, Kalemegdan, Ustanička, Tašmajdan, Block 45, Banjica, Banovo brdo. There are further 9 auxiliary loops: Pristanište, Slavija, Autokomanda, Trošarina, Radio industrija, Gospodarska mehana, Topčider, Railway station, Rakovica. Only the first three are actively used for cutting short during the schedule disruptions. The loops Slavija and Autokomanda are located in roundabouts and are normally used for the revenue thru-traffic. Other auxiliary loops are used only as alternatives during the closures. The last two loops (Rakovica and Railway Station) are defunct. The track at Rakovica is disconnected from the main line. The loop at Railway station was recently reconstructed but is completely out of use due to unworkable design. The circular line 2 does not use loops at its terminus at Pristanište. It makes the service stops on the main line instead.
There are 3 tram depots in Belgrade. Sava is the central active service depot built in New Belgrade in 1988. Dorćol ("Lower depot") is the historical electrical cars depot from 1894 which is used only for auxiliary and overhaul purposes. It is co-located with the active service trolleybus depot. The two single-track lines leading to it are the only exceptions to otherwise parallel double track network in the system and are not used in the revenue service. The third "Upper depot" is the historical horse-drawn cars depot from 1892. It retains its track but was recently disconnected from the main line. The depot is completely void of trams and is now housing only the overhead wiring maintenance unit. The plans to adapt it into the public transportation museum have never materialised.
The first trolleybus line was introduced in 1947 to replace trams on the central corridor Kalemegdan-Slavija. The network extent is unchanged since late 1980s, though with minor relocation of the central terminus from Kalemegdan to Studentski trg in late 1990s. Belgrade has 7 current trolleybuses (19, 21, 22, 28, 29, 40 and 41).
There are 4 revenue service terminal loops in the system: Studentski trg, Konjarnik, Banjica 2, Medaković 3. The peripheral termini Učiteljsko naselje, Kruševačka and Zvezdara have no purpose-built loops: the trolleybuses are circling around the city block instead. Additionally, there are 3 auxiliary loops in the system: Slavija, Crveni krst and Banjica 1. The auxiliary loops are actively used for cutting short during the schedule disruptions (the line number carries the suffix "L" on the departures to be cut short). Crveni krst and Banjica 1 can be used only in the direction towards the peripheral termini, Slavija can be used in both directions. Due to the insufficient number of correct trolleybuses on line 21, buses marked 21A are operated, and two buses also operate on line 40.
In April 2007, six minibus lines were introduced (E1-E7, except E3) which criss-cross Belgrade. Minibuses are all air-conditioned, smaller and generally quicker than buses. However, tickets are bought inside a minibus and they are more expensive than ordinary ones – since minibuses are out of integrated tariff system. Minibus City Lines:
Night Lines:
The following lines have ceased to exist; some of these have had their number reassigned:
Belgrade is one of the few European capitals and cities with a population of over a million which have no metro/subway or another rapid transit system.
The idea of a metro system for Belgrade has been around for nearly a century. The Belgrade Metro started construction in November 2021 and the first line is scheduled to open in the year 2033. It is considered to be the third most important project in the country, after work on roads and railways. The two projects of highest priority are the Belgrade bypass and Pan-European corridor X.
On September 1, 2010, as an "almost" metro line and the actual metro's 1st phase, the first line of Belgrade's new urban BG:Voz system, separate from suburban commuter Beovoz system, started its operation. The first line at the time connected Pančevački Most Station with Novi Beograd Railway Station and used the semi-underground level of Beograd Centar rail station, two underground stations (Vukov Spomenik and Karađorđev park) and tunnels in the city centre that were built for ground rail tracks to Novi Beograd. The line had just 5 stations (Pančevački most, Vukov spomenik, Karađorđev park, Beograd Centar and Novi Beograd, which it shared with Beovoz), was 8 kilometer long and the commute took about 16 minutes. Train frequency was from 30 minutes with 15 minutes frequency during rush hour. The line uses the stock similar to suburban Soviet/Latvian electric rolling stocks with upper current collectors including ER31 with 3 doors along the side of car. In April 2011, the line was extended to Batajnica, and in December 2016 to Ovča. The new line has a daily riding of about 18500. A new line from Ovča to Resnik is planned to open in 2018.
Suburban bus transportation is conducted by SP Lasta. Beside Lasta, certain number of suburban lines are operated by other carriers, too. Suburban transport on the territory of Belgrade is performed within the integrated tariff system 2 (ITS2), with over 300 lines and 2,500 daily departures. The network of suburban lines spreads radially from Belgrade to the centers of the suburban municipalities, from which Lasta's local lines can be used to reach smaller places. Suburban buses depart from the Lasta Bus Station in Belgrade and from the terminus of Šumice near Konjarnik in the neighbourhood of Zvezdara and another in Banovo Brdo. Lasta transports passengers in the local transport in the areas of the Mladenovac, Sopot, Lazarevac, Obrenovac, Grocka, and Barajevo municipalities. Bus Lines:
Similar to French RER, suburban rail system Beovoz was operated by Serbian Railways, the national railway company. In its final stage, Beovoz had six lines with 41 stations and 70 km length:
This system became defunct in 2013.
The most of system's stations are now used for the BG voz system.
Taxi service is operated by 24 taxi companies, and is medium expensive (start is about 2.75 euros (320 Dinars). Every Belgrade taxi company it sign on top of the vihicle.
Belgrade is connected by intercity bus lines with all major towns in Serbia, while during summer and winter tourist seasons there are also special seasonal lines. There is a good connection with the cities in Republika Srpska and North Macedonia. The international bus lines to Western Europe are mainly focused on Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France, where buses can be taken for all other destinations.
SP Lasta, besides suburban transport, carries passengers in intercity transport on regular lines in Serbia and Montenegro and Republika Srpska and in international transport, as part of the Eurolines organization.
The Belgrade railroad network is currently under reconstruction . The massive reconstruction scheme of the Belgrade railway junction calls for completion of the new central Prokop railway station that is to replace the historical Belgrade Main railway station (Serbian: Главна Железничка Станица, Glavna železnička stanica) situated near the downtown and Sava river. Belgrade is directly connected by train with many European cities (Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Sofia, Bucharest, Budapest, Vienna, Kyiv, Moscow, etc).
In addition, there are 5 more railway stations in Belgrade (Centar – Prokop, Dunav, Rakovica, Novi Beograd, Zemun). Some long distance and international trains do not call at Central Station, but at Novi Beograd.
A new central railway station has been under construction since 1977 at the site named Prokop. The new railway station will be called "Beograd Center"; upon its completion all Belgrade rail traffic currently handled by the old railway station situated near the downtown district will be transferred to the new station freeing thousands of square meters of prime real estate along the Sava and substantially easing the rail travel into Belgrade. After years of delay, this ambitious project is set to be completed in the next few years pending the new international tender for its completion set to be announced by the government at the beginning of March 2006. The train terminals will be situated underground while the vast passenger terminal will be above ground featuring commercial spaces, possibly a hotel and other amenities. Most of the rough work on the station's train terminals has been completed thus far. Belgrade has been restricted in its use of its vast waterfront precisely because of the large rail infrastructure that hug the river banks of the Old Town. Completion of this station is signaling a major boom in Belgrade's waterfront development.
The international airport, Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, is located 12 km outside the city. It is connected with the city by the Belgrade – Zagreb highway. Bus line of public transport number 72 and A1 connect Airport with downtown. Airport provides connections with many cities in Europe, Asia and Africa. A major expansion of the airport in Belgrade has been detailed with a development deal signed with DynaCorp. Inc. to build a regional air cargo hub, but the plan has failed. Belgrade airport also plans to build a third passenger terminal and another runway; however this may not be feasible in the immediate future.
Batajnica Air Base is a military airport located in the Batajnica suburb of Belgrade.
Belgrade has a commercial port on the banks of Danube named Luka Beograd. There is also a tourist port on the banks of the Sava welcoming various river cruise vessels from across Europe. Belgrade has several impromptu sporting marinas near the islands of Ada Ciganlija and Ada Međica harbouring small sail boats and sporting/recreational vessels. There are no regular passenger lines from the Belgrade Port (Luka Beograd), although tourist and individual lines run occasionally. Answering to the need for a real sporting/recreational marina a detailed plan for a marina in Dorćol on the banks of the Danube has been presented to the public, and an international tender for its development has been announced.
There are nine bridges over the Sava and two over the Danube river, listed below:
Belgrade is connected by motorways to Zagreb to the west, Novi Sad to the north and Niš to the south. The motorways feed traffic into a large interchange popularly called Mostar. A wide boulevard, Kneza Miloša street, connects the interchange to the city centre.
A traffic decongestion project named unutrašnji magistralni prsten ("inner ring road") is set to begin with the goal of easing the congestion in the city centre and on the motorways.