Sofia Public Transport

Sofia Public Transport

"Transport and infrastructure

With its developing infrastructure and strategic location, Sofia is an important centre for international railway and automobile routes. Three Trans-European Transport Corridors cross the city: 4, 8 and 10. All major types of transport (except water transport) are represented in the city. It is home to 8 railway stations,  the biggest of which is the Central Railway Station. Just next to it is the new Center Bus Station, the biggest and most modern of its kind in the country. A number of other Bus Stations allow interurban and international trips from different parts of the city. The Sofia Airport with its new second terminal, finished in 2006, handled some 2.7 million passengers in 2007.

Public transport is relatively well-developed with bus, tram (153,6 km network) and trolley (97 km network) lines running in all areas of the city. The Sofia underground became operational only in 1998 and is yet largely underdeveloped with one line and eight stations only. At present six new stations are under construction and will become operational in 2009.  The masterplan for the Sofia underground includes three lines with a total of 47 stations. In recent years the marshrutka, a private passenger van, began serving fixed routes and proved an efficient and popular means of transportation by being faster than public transport but cheaper than taxis. As of 2005 these vans numbered 368 and serviced 48 lines around the city and suburbs. There are some 6,000 licensed taxi cabs operating in the city and another 2,000 operating somewhat illegally. Low fares in comparison with other European countries, make taxis affordable and popular among a big part of the city population.

With the extensive growth of private automobile ownership in the 1990s the number of cars registered in Sofia has exceeded 1,000,000 in the past five years. The Sofia municipality is known for the minor and cosmetic repairs and most streets are in a poor condition. Consequently the traffic (and air pollution) problems of the city have become more severe and receive regular criticism in local media. The extension of the underground system is hoped to alleviate the city's immense traffic problems.

Sofia has a unique, very large combined heat and power (CHP) plant. Virtually the entire city (900,000 households and 5,900 companies) is centrally heated, using residual heat from electricity generation (3,000 MW) and gas- and oil-fired heating furnaces; total heat capacity is 4,640 MW. The heat distribution piping network is 900 km long and comprises 14,000 substations and 10,000 heated buildings."