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Bulgaria: Getting Around

Overview

The lack of investment in public transport since the collapse of communism has left it in a dismal state. Bus and train stations are run down and dirty, trains are slow and often cancelled and buses are in poor condition. The frequent floods of recent years have seen east-west train services cancelled or re-routed for days at a time. Many private bus companies are now filling the gap left by the collapse of centralised transport services but improvement is slow.

Sofia is the exception, with an excellent network of trams, trolleybuses and buses (and an impressive new bus terminal) and swarms of inexpensive taxis (with typical fares between around €1 and €3). Taxis in smaller cities and towns can cost as little as 1 lev (€0.50). Sofia is also an easy city to negotiate by bicycle, with no large hills and wide boulevards (although stray dogs are often a problem after nightfall).

In rural areas, on the other hand, there’s usually no public transport and locals often hitch a ride on the back of a neighbour’s tractor. Where it exists, public transport is extremely cheap and, unless you’re in a hurry, a good way to travel between the main cities.

Years of underinvestment have also left many roads in a poor state, and there’s only one motorway-quality road, running from Sofia to the border with Turkey. Bulgaria’s mountainous terrain and harsh winter conditions leave most roads potholed and dangerous and some impassable.

Rail

The Bulgarian rail network is comprehensive and the state-owned railway company BDZ has services to most major towns and cities, the two main lines linking the capital with Bourgas and with Varna. However, trains are slow and delays or cancellations common, and rail travel is generally slower and less reliable than travelling by bus, although fares are comparable. To meet EU regulations, the government split the infrastructure and rail service of BDZ into to separate companies and investment in the railways has begun to increase, although BDZ still operates at a massive loss. Part of the problem is that passenger fares are below costs – the government subsidises the fares to make up the difference.

Despite being slow, Bulgarian trains are comfortable and a sleeper berth for longer journeys is excellent value (with an additional charge of just €3 or €4 for a first-class compartment for two!). There are three types of train: Express, Fast and Ordinary. Express trains operate only on the main routes, while Fast trains operate on almost all lines and are preferable to Ordinary trains, which stop at every station and take forever to get anywhere. There’s usually a drinks and snacks trolley on intercity trains, although this rarely offers much more than peanuts and beer. Smoking is allowed only in designated carriages on all trains. BDZ has recently purchased new Siemens diesel trains to improve the quality of service on the Black Sea coast routes.

Booking is compulsory on all Express and Fast trains and if you want to travel in a sleeper compartment, you must book at least 24 hours in advance. Sleeper compartments are considered safe to travel in, although you should take the usual precautions and not leave valuables on display or unattended in your compartment.

Bus

Competition from the private sector has seen a huge growth in the number of bus companies operating across Bulgaria. The bus is a comfortable and convenient option and it’s often easier to travel by bus in mountainous regions as few towns in the mountains are reachable by train. Every town has a bus station, and sometimes two or three, as buses operated by private companies use different stations. The buses run by private companies are usually newer and more comfortable than those run by state-owned concerns. There’s no national timetable for bus services; each company publishes its own timetable (although these aren’t always easy to find) and services don’t always link conveniently.

Bus transport is very cheap, a three-hour cross-country journey costing as little as 12 lev (€6), for example. It’s usually easier to buy tickets either from the bus company office at the bus station or from a travel agent, as staff are more likely to speak English than bus drivers.

Road

Bulgarian roads have a reputation for being potholed tracks frequented by farm animals and agricultural machinery. For the most part, that’s correct. There are only four major sections of dual-carriageway in the country. Otherwise even main roads are often narrow, with long stretches of damaged tarmac. In rural areas and in the mountains there are numerous hairpin bends and wandering livestock to negotiate.

Bulgaria recently introduced a user-pays system for all roads. If you drive to Bulgaria, you will need to purchase a ‘vignette’, available at the border when you enter the country. Vignettes for a passenger car cost €59 for a year, €10 for a month or €4 for a week and cover you for travel on all roads. Police check vignettes and issue an on-the-spot fine of 1,000 lev (€500) for vehicles without one or with a vignette that has expired.

Speed limits are 60kph (35mph) in built-up areas and either 80kph (50mph) or 120kph (75mph) on main roads; speed limit signs are in Roman numerals. If you commit a traffic offence, the police are authorised only to issue you with a ticket (citation) and there are no on-the-spot fines, yet drivers of cars with foreign registration plates are sometimes stopped and ‘fined’ for minor (or non-existent) breaches of road rules. It is, however, compulsory for all vehicle occupants to wear seatbelts, and talking on a mobile phone while driving is illegal.

Driving in Bulgaria is not for the faint-hearted and finding your way is often difficult or next-to-impossible, as most road signs are in Cyrillic script.

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Page 1: Overview
Page 2: © Survival Books Limited 2006

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