Getting around Bucharest is surprisingly simple and budget-friendly thanks to its extensive network of metros, buses, trams, and trolleybuses. Today I’ll share my complete guide to the Bucharest Public Transport system so you can easily get around Romania’s capital.
Why Public Transport in Bucharest is the Best Option
On most occasions – and especially during peak hours – traveling by metro usually beats driving in terms of time spent. Therefore, even though not perfect at the moment, the public transit system in Bucharest offers a solid option for traveling around the city.
In this guide, I’ll talk about all the options you have for getting around Bucharest, covering the metro and surface transport options: buses, trams, and trolleys.
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Getting Around Bucharest
Bucharest’s public transport network is extensive and easy to use, although it still has flaws. If you prefer staying above ground, buses and trams are readily available throughout the city – although slower and usually crowded. For faster travel, the metro is your best bet.
STB is the name of the company that runs the surface public transport network of buses, trams, and trolleys. Therefore, you can use the same ticket or card for either of these three methods of transportation.
Note: Until recently, STB was called “RATB” and you might hear most people still using the old name. Keep in mind that they’re both the same.
Metrorex is the company running the metro, using a different ticket than those used by STB. The good news is that metro tickets, cards, or passes can be bought from any metro station.
Tickets for both surface and metro travel: There are special tickets allowing you to mix metro travel with surface travel in Bucharest. These are more expensive than individual travel tickets and usually come with a time limit (from 120 minutes to monthly passes). I will cover these in-depth in the prices section below.
How much do tickets cost?
Public transport in Bucharest is one of the cheapest in Europe, even though recently prices have gone up. Here’s what you can expect to pay (prices are the same for STB and Metrorex tickets):
- One-way ticket (valid for 90 minutes): 3 lei (~0.60 Euros)
- 10-trip ticket: 25 lei (~5 Euros)
- Daily pass: 8 lei (~1.60 Euros)
- Weekly pass: 30 lei (~6 Euros)
- Monthly pass: 80 lei (~16 Euros)
Children under the age of 7 travel for free in buses, trolleys, and trams (surface transport) but have no discounts when traveling by metro.
There is also a program that offers free above-ground travel to kids that are in school (Primary school, until the end of high school), as well as retired individuals residing in Bucharest, or metro ticket discounts – but this is only for those with their residence permit for Bucharest, so I won’t get into much detail since most people reading this blog don’t fit this criteria.
We also have a unified ticketing system, offering combined tickets and passes that provide access to both surface transport (buses, trams, trolleybuses) and the metro.
Single Journey Combined Ticket (5 lei): This ticket allows one metro ride and 90 minutes of unlimited travel on buses, trams, or trolleybuses.
24-Hour Combined Pass (14 lei): Unlimited travel on both STB (surface transport) and the metro for 24 hours from the time of activation.
72-Hour Combined Pass (35 lei): Provides the same unlimited access for three days.
If you’re a tourist visiting Bucharest, the 24-hour or 72-hour combined tickets are the best options.
For short visits – like spending a weekend in Bucharest – I recommend the Bucharest Tourist Card. Priced at 40 lei (€8.10), it provides unlimited access to metros, buses, and trams for 72 hours. It also includes train rides to and from Gara de Nord to the airport.
IMPORTANT! Make sure to buy the Bucharest Tourist Card from the ticket booths from STB stations or Metro ticket booths. Other tourist cards that include visits to attractions have a similar name, but are not the same thing!
This is what a metro card looks like (the image below shows a card with 10 included trips):
This is what your bus card will look like. You will charge it with the required number of trips or your pass at any surface ticket booth:
Buying and Validating Tickets
To use public transport in Bucharest, you’ll need to purchase tickets in advance (tickets are actually cards – as you can see above). Here’s how to do it:
- Metro tickets: Available at ticket booths and vending machines in metro stations. Some stations have multiple entries and ticket booths only on some of them.
- Surface transport tickets: Buy them from kiosks at most bus or tram stops. Not all stops have kiosks, so it’s best to load up for a few trips to be safe rather than sorry later.
You can’t buy tickets directly from bus drivers or inside vehicles, so plan ahead.
When boarding, make sure to validate your ticket immediately. For the metro, this is done at the station entrance. On buses, trams, and trolleybuses, you’ll find card readers inside the vehicle. The full instructions can be checked out here (at the bottom of the page) .
IMPORTANT: Failure to validate your ticket can result in a fine of 80 lei (€16).
Can you buy the tickets online?
Fortunately, you can pay for your ticket online if you travel by bus, tram, or trolley. For metros, it is not possible to buy your ticket online at the moment.
For the surface network, you have two options:
- Use the mobile app and pay by any card (Download from the App Store or Google Play)
- Pay by SMS/text message. Details here. NOT recommended as you end up overpaying!
Extra things to know about public transport in Bucharest
Even though extensive, the public transport system in Bucharest is not perfect – far from it.
Buses are considered the worst means of transport in the city, closely followed by trolleys – while trams and the metro are considered the better options. However, the latter have fewer stops and coverage than the former.
While buses and trolleys have improved in recent years, many still don’t have air conditioning (this goes for the metro, too). Stations are inconsistently marked and rarely announced on the bus itself, which is usually crowded and can be late due to various traffic jams.
If you travel during the peak hours – both in the morning and the evening – expect huge crowds, no matter what type of vehicle you choose. Traveling squeezed in between tens of other travelers, sardine-style is not uncommon here.
Things are a bit better during the summer when the students are away on vacation or simply don’t have to travel as much during the peak times… but otherwise, expect huge crowds.
The metro is fast, clean, and relatively efficient, making it the preferred choice for many – myself included. It serves all key areas, including the city center and tourist attractions.
My insider’s tip: Ask around if you’re unsure of anything. Most of the people using Bucharest’s public transport know about the stations and can give you solid indications. People are usually friendly and happy to help.
The operation times for all options are normally between 5 AM to 11:00 PM (some above-ground vehicles might operate until 11:30 PM).
Conclusion
Bucharest’s public transport system may not be perfect, but it’s a practical way to get around. It sure gets the job done and offers a solid alternative to getting a taxi or Uber or walking…
Fortunately, if you are only visiting the city for a shorter period, the main attractions are all near a station, so easy to get to.
Also, the prices are extremely low if you are to compare them to other EU countries, so at least you have that to be happy about next time you’re squished into a window by 120 other people riding the same bus…
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Hi Calin:
No a/c, eh? Must be very uncomfortable in high summer.
I think maybe the Romanians deal with heat better than most.;-)
Didn’t see if people over 65 are offered discounted fares along with
students.
Also, as a rule is English the most spoken 2nd language, or is it
French? (I read somewhere that French is taught in school almost
as much as English. Maybe that’s no longer true.)
Everybody complains about the unbearable heat in the buses during the summer… so people here are definitely not getting used to that. But they don’t really have a choice… Pensioners are offered free fares as long as they are Bucharest citizens. Otherwise, age doesn’t affect the prices as far as I know.
English is still the most spoken 2nd language, although most people also learn French mostly as a 3rd (some as a 2nd, with English as a 3rd). And if it’s not French, it’s German, but English is the winner by far.
Hello Teil and Calin,
Public transportation can be really confusing for foreigners.When I was in Bucharest and took the buses, they had a primitive system of tickets made from very thin paper that you had to self-cancel in a hole-punch device. Many passengers had pooled their tickets together and placed a stack of them in the hole-punch device. If any ticket inspector were to come along, the passenger “in charge” of the tickets would have quickly punched all the tickets and then passed them out to their owners. This allowed them to never cancel the tickets. I never saw any ticket inspectors in the many times I used the buses. I, of course, insisted on canceling my tickets; something that caused a lot of grumbling from the passengers whose tickets were already stacked in the hole-punch device.
Haha, yes, I remember the days when paper tickets were used exactly as you have described it. You ended up throwing them away because they were ruined, not because you actually used the machine. Probably this is one of the reasons why they no longer use those: it does take some time to validate the cards as you need to press some buttons for each card… so problem solved 🙂
When I was in college, I only had to ride 2 stops to the school, so for a long time I never got a ticket because everybody was doing that. Until I was caught and fined. Ever since then, I no longer risk it. Stress free travel is best travel 🙂
And regarding Japan… it amazes me how simple and civilized some things are there. Many countries have a lot to learn from Japan – the people too. But unfortunately, we still have a lot of catching up to do.
I was very glad we had you to help us navigate the metro system in Bucharest on our visit. :-). I am very good at using them in big cities, but it was a bit daunting there l have to admit. Nonetheless, like you say, most touristy places were close to metro stations and the fact that Uber is cheap made everything easy.
Yes, it is even easier if you have help from a local. Even I have a bit of trouble navigating the system, but at least I know what to look for.
Excellent site, some very handy tips.
Very informative and precisely explained. I would be there for 3 nights so Bucharest Tourist 72 hour card would be best and for £7 only.
Hi Calin
A very informative article, thank you very much. We will be in Bucharest from 6-12 September 2024. I’m not sure getting the 72 hour pass will work for us.
We will be getting the train from the airport to town then finding our hotel (Holiday Inn). We have booked the trip to Brasov and Peles so we’ll need to get to our pick up point – I think it looks like we can catch the bus to it (or get an Uber/Bolt if necessary). Also for our trip to the salt mine we’d need to do the same. Getting to the Therme I think we can catch public transport, though not sure if that would be the train or bus/tram.
I think we’ll get the 10 trip pass for each network. The prices are certainly very cheap.
I am certainly looking forward to visiting your country.
Cheers
Anne
Here in Ploiesti I can buy a ride pass inside the trams and buses by scanning a phone/card at the blue boxes. It is only for one-way trips and costs 2.5 Ron.
Good to know! Thanks for sharing!