Transport in Bucharest
With a total route length of 1,374 km (854 mi),[4] the TPBI urban bus network is the densest of all the transport types in Bucharest.
In mid-2005, the lines that linked the city to the peripheral area were licensed out to independent transportation providers, but in early 2006, they were returned to STB control due to a wide range customer complaints about the private operators.
In 2017 was founded Bucharest-Ilfov Intercommunity Development Association for Public Transport, and with that STV took over most of the peripheral bus routes.
The main public transport operator in Bucharest ( STB ) has a bus fleet made up of 1,143 vehicles (2018), which are all wheelchair-accessible (low floor) and around 55% are air-conditioned.
[7] During the 1990s, the fleet was updated with modern trolleybuses manufactured by Ikarus, in light blue and yellow livery, which have acoustic station announcements and digital display screens.
Other routes (if most) will become wheelchair-accessible as soon as more V3A-PPC will undergo reparations or modernisations, or even buy more new tramsets (is it planned an acquisition of 250 trams, of different lengths).
[6] In December 2022, the first 15 Astra Imperio Metropolitan trams (out of a total order of 100 units) were put into circulation.
You can also purchase a 24-hour pass for 8 RON at any kiosk or by sending the message "AB" to the same number, costing you 1.5 EUR + VAT.
The app can also plan routes using all types of transportation in the city, and show the GPS location of vehicles.
BCR (Romanian Commercial Bank) ATMs also allow clients to recharge their physical cards with money.
An integrated fare costs 5 RON and can be used simultaneously on both surface lines and the metro, with a time limit of 120 minutes.
Passengers can purchase paper tickets loaded with 1, 2 or 10 fares or simply tap their contactless bank cards at the turnstiles, which will charge them 3 RON.
Rechargeable contactless metro cards can also be issued and loaded with passes available for either a day, a week, a month or a year.
[12] With so many cars and a very high population density (50% higher than Tokyo and 4 times bigger than Rome for example), parking is a problem in Bucharest.
Bucharest was once home to a vast system of industrial railways that sprawled all over the city, linking factories to the surrounding neighbourhoods and towns.
It is true that there are trains operated by CFR from Bucharest to neighbouring towns, however due to long journey times and poor rolling stock most people tend to use personal cars to get into the city.
The principal and thus most congested boulevards are Calea Victoriei, Bulevardul Unirii and Șoseaua Mihai Bravu, which is the longest in Bucharest and forms a sort of semicircle around the northeastern part of the old district.
In the historical city centre, particularly the Lipscani area, many streets are cobbled and are classified as pedestrian zones.
The city's roads are usually very crowded during rush hours, due to an increase in car ownership in recent years.
The pothole problem is notorious enough to have inspired a song by the band Taxi with a chorus "Cratere ca-n București, nici pe luna nu gaseşti!"
Faulty urban planning will likely lead to an increase in traffic and parking problems, since new housing areas are built with houses and apartment buildings literally squeezed into existing small grid roads, a problem commonly identified in the "suburbs" of the city.
Furthermore, the city is the starting point of the A1 motorway, towards Pitești, the A2, linking the capital with the country's ports and seaside resorts on the Black Sea and the A3, towards Ploiești.
