Belgrade Maps - Printed maps are
available to buy at larger book stores.
A good online map of Belgrade is www.planplus.rs.
Tickets - Electronic BusPlus tickets have entirely replaced the old paper tickets. The BusPlus system is similar to the Oyster
card system in London, the Octopus card in Hong Kong and systems in other
capital cities.
You can buy a plastic credit card sized card valid for three years. This can be personalized or non-personalized cards and cost a fee of 250 dinars. Credit can then be added to this card at Štampa outlets which include many of the common street kiosks (selling news, drinks, and cigarettes) throughout Belgrade. Alternatively temporary paper cards are available and are valid for three months, at a cost of
When entering the bus you must swipe your card
(plastic or paper) against the reader located near the door. The price of the ride will be deducted from
the card's credit. Currently, 60 dinars
to ride within the first zone and 95 dinars for the second zone. The card reader/validator only works when the
vehicle is stationary, so be sure to swipe on entry. There is no need to swipe your card on
exiting.
Book by SMS text - Several companies accept bookings sent by SMS – see
above for numbers. Text your location address to the taxi
company. You will shortly receive one of the following replies:
List of equipment that everyone should have in their vehicles:
Public Transport - Belgrade has an increasingly efficient public
transport system. With its network of
buses, trolley buses (these run on routes with electric wires overhead) and
trams (these run on tracks) the entire city, including New Belgrade and Zemun
is covered. In some places in the center, the tram tracks share the same
roadway with cars. GSP / ГϹП, runs most public transport.
Transportation Maps - www.gsp.rs/english/main.htm
- the website has maps and lines for buses, trolley buses and
trams. Note, that it is not always totally
up to date. Maps with bus lines are available in some book shops.
Buses tend to pull away quickly so make sure you
are holding on. People are good at
giving up seats for old people/children/pregnant women. On the other hand, it
is not typical for a man to give up his seat for a woman who is not pregnant or
elderly.
You can buy a plastic credit card sized card valid for three years. This can be personalized or non-personalized cards and cost a fee of 250 dinars. Credit can then be added to this card at Štampa outlets which include many of the common street kiosks (selling news, drinks, and cigarettes) throughout Belgrade. Alternatively temporary paper cards are available and are valid for three months, at a cost of
40 dinars. Credit needs to be added.
Plastic cards can be credited as many times as you want, with any amount, much like your cell phone, while paper cards can be credited with up to 500 dinars.
Plastic cards can be credited as many times as you want, with any amount, much like your cell phone, while paper cards can be credited with up to 500 dinars.
Citizens who
rarely use public transport or tourists will have an option, which is buying
tickets for one ride from the driver inside the vehicle, which will cost 120
dinars in the first zone or 145 dinars in the second zone. This is not commonly
done and more hassle than it sounds.
There are regular ticket inspectors who impose on the
spot fines (3000din at present!) on passengers without validated tickets.
Private mini buses - operate on the same routes as the GSP,
plus some extra routes. They also accept
BusPlus tickets and cost slightly more than normal buses.
Buses, trolleys and tramways operate from 04:30 – 23.30
at intervals of 3-20 min.
There are no specific time schedules.
Night Lines operate at far longer intervals and with
slightly modified bus numbers.
For all information on city lines contact: tel. 011/629-019
/ 625-582
Transport of handicapped persons: tel. 011/625-582
Metro - There is a
limited Metro with just one line at present. The line connects Pančevački
Most station with Novi Beograd station in 16 minutes travel time. The line has 5 stations - Pančevački Most, Vukov
Spomenik, Karađorđev park, Beograd Centar and Novi Beograd. Trains run every 30 minutes; every 15 minutes
during rush hour. An extension of this
line to Zemun and Batajnica and also a new line from Resnik is planned.
Taxis - are everywhere
in Belgrade, although not cheap they are affordable. Fares are metered so do ensure that the taxi driver is using his meter
and that it is correctly set at the start of the journey. The official tariff must start at 140RSD. Depending upon
the time of day, rates vary per kilometre.
Tariff 1 is within Belgrade, 6am-10pm, 55RSD/km; Tariff 2 is within
Belgrade from 10pm-6am , & holidays 70RSD/km; Tariff 3 is for the outskirts
of Belgrade , 110RSD/km.
Only use a taxi displaying a sign (usually on the
roof) with the name of the taxi company and a separate sign with its
registration number (usually 4 digits). Without both of these, your taxi is likely to
be unregistered and operating illegally. Avoid taxis displaying only a ‘taxi’ sign and
no company name. These are called “private” taxis. If they happen to be first
in a taxi line, it is okay to go to the next taxi and explain that you don’t
want a private taxi.
Taxi from Airport - Beware of taking taxis to/from the airport;
check in advance how much the fare is going to be as some ‘cowboys’ operate on
this route. This is not so much of a
problem since 2011, when the City of Belgrade and the Belgrade Airport adopted
a zone system for taxis from the airport to one of five different zones (fares
ranging from 1,500-7,000 dinars). Senjak and Dedinje are in Zone 1 which is
1,500 dinars. Passengers arriving in Belgrade can take a taxi receipt at the
TAXI INFO desk (located near the exit of the airport building) which states the
name of your destination and appropriate price before proceeding to the taxi
stand. For complaints, contact 011-32-27-000 or 011-22-89-375.
Booking a Taxi – It is often convenient to call for a
taxi by phone for no extra cost. You
can’t book hours ahead of your journey, taxis will arrive within 10 minutes of
you making a call. However, if it’s rush
hour or bad weather (rain/snow), it is harder to get a taxi.
Tips are not expected but rounding up the fare is
appreciated.
¶ Beo Taxi 011/
970 SMS: 9700
Beogradski
Taxi 011/ 9801
Zuti Taxi 011/9802
¶ Pink Taxi 011/
9803
Maksis Taxi 011/9804
Plavi Taxi 011/ 9805
Alfa taksi, 011/9807
Bel Taxi 011/ 9808
¶ Lux Taxi 011/
30 33 123 SMS: 3033
¶ top rated companies
|
Vozilo broj 613, stize za 3
minuta. = Taxi number 613
will arrive in 3 minutes.
OR
Nista slobodno. = Nothing available.
If you receive this message, wait 2-3 minutes and try
again.
Motor Vehicles
Vehicle Registration - Foreign cars must
be registered in Serbia within thirty days of clearing customs. Foreigners can register their cars with the
transportation department of the nearest local police station.
Documents
required:
Proof of customs clearance
Proof of ownership
Proof of foreign registration
translated into Serbian
Passport
Serbian visa, as appropriate
Work permit (if applicable)
Proof of temporary residence in
Serbia
Results of technical examination or
inspection of the car
Foreign cars used
by tourists in Serbia (in cases when the simplified procedure of customs
clearance without documentation was applied) do not need to be registered as
long as the inspection certificate is still valid.
Car Insurance - You will need
third party insurance for the journey out, including a “Green Card”, to cover
you once you get across the border. Some
Western European and American insurance companies will cover you in Serbia, but
many don’t. If your company doesn’t, you
can buy third party insurance when you come across the border. There are various kiosks next to the Bureau
do Change (“Menjacnica” in Serbian).
Dunav Osiguranje and Generali are good companies. They normally accept Dinars or Euros. Get 4-6 weeks worth of insurance to cover you
until you get re-registered.
Most embassies
recommend purchasing comprehensive and collision insurance from your home
country and Third Party liability insurance in Serbia.
For more
information about importing a car into Serbia:
Driving - New driving laws came into effect in 2009, in an aim to reduce road
deaths in Serbia. A summary can be seen
at the website below.
Most of the laws follow common sense good driving
practice, and bring Serbia in line with the rest of Europe. Fines can be issued
at the scene of the violation, however these fines will not be payable at the
scene of the violation; you will have 8 days to pay them.
Below are a few of the new laws which may be less
obvious:
·
Drivers must wear a seatbelt. Failing to do so incurs a penalty
of 5,000 dinars.
·
It is mandatory to have the
short/side lights on at all times when driving. The penalty is 3,000
dinars for no lights.
·
The use of mobile phones is
strictly forbidden, if the hands are engaged. The use of mobile phones is
allowed only if the phones are hands-free and/or the Bluetooth is
connected. Failing to obey this rule will result in a 5,000 dinar fine.
· The speed limit on the highway is 120 km/h. The speed limit in inhabited areas it is 50
km/h, and 30 km/h in a school zone.
You can be banned from driving for a month for speeding. Speed cameras are slowly being installed on
some routes.
·
If a pedestrian crosses the
street on a red light, the penalty is 5,000 dinars. If the pedestrian is
accompanied by a child that is less than 12 years old, the penalty is 6,000 - 20,000
dinars.
· No child under the age of 12
is allowed in the front seat.
·
You are allowed to park only 3 minutes
at a non-parking spot, but the driver must remain in the car, or next to
it for those three minutes. The penalty for inappropriate parking is
5,000 dinars. If the driver doesn't admit the violation, the driver could
be fined 6 to 20 thousand dinars if found guilty.
·
When stopped by a policeman
neither the driver nor the passengers can leave the vehicle unless permitted to
do so. Doing so will incur a 5,000 dinar penalty.
·
When broken down the vehicle must be marked with a reflective
triangle. The triangle has to be put at least 50m behind the vehicle when
outside inhabited areas and 10m when in inhabited areas. All 4 indicators must be on and the driver
must wear a fluorescent vest
· Mild
intoxication is indicated at 0.03% blood alcohol level. Moderate
intoxication is defined at 0.031% - 0.050% blood alcohol level. This incurs a mandatory 5,000 dinar fine and
the driver is prevented from driving for at least 12 hours. Higher levels
of blood alcohol incur increasingly stiff penalties. Effectively the
rules here can be interpreted as "no alcohol for drivers".
· Starting in 2011, from the 1st
November, it will be a legal requirement to have winter tyres on all four wheels of your car during the winter months
(1st November - 1st April). This is strongly recommended anyway for
driving in the snow, as very few residential roads are plowed.
Mandatory
equipment (at all times):
1. Spare tyre
2. Safety triangle
3. First aid kit size "B" (standard
SRPS Z.B2.001)
4. Reflective safety vest
5. Towing rope
6. Set of reserve light bulbs and reserve
fuses
7. The European Damage Report
is mandatory to have in your vehicles. The paper will give the driver an
opportunity to make an agreement with the driver of the vehicle they had
collision with, without involving police. That will be possible only with minor
car damages and with no human casualties/injuries.
If you do have an accident, cars are to be
left in the position they collided (do not remove from the road). Police are then called to the scene. It is worth taking photos of the accident
with your phone/camera for future reference.
Be aware of motorcycles overtaking you on
the right or left, and between lanes of traffic. They appear to have different
rules than cars.
Parking - Parking is cheap, but not plentiful. There are few car parks and most parking is
on the street.
There is a list of some car parks/ garages on this
website.
In the city centre parking on the street is divided
into zones (red, yellow,green).
Zone 1 (red), parking for 1 hour maximum.
Zone 2 (yellow), parking for 2 hours maximum.
Zone 3 (green), parking for 3 hours maximum.
Parking, text to:
Zone 1 (red): 9111
Zone 2 (yellow): 9112
Zone 3 (green): 9113
|
Parking can be paid by text from your mobile
phone.
· Check which zone you are parked in on the
street sign;. It costs between 30-50din/hour.
· Send a message with your car’s registration
number (without any spaces or dashes) and
the last two digits (which are the year of registration) eg. BG123YZ13
For diplomatic plates you must
add the BG, so if your car registration number is for example BG 30-A-031, you
should type BG30A03113 (for those who have no. 13 at the end of
their plates).
You will immediately receive a message back saying “Za vozila broj BG123AB123 vi ste kupili
carte…” which means you have successfully paid for parking until the date
and time noted in the message. If you
get a different message, check that you have correctly entered your registration
number and try again.
· You will receive a reminder SMS, 5–10mins
before your parking expires. You may
then send another message to renew your parking up to the parking time
limit. If you know you will be parked for 2 or 3 hours, you can send 2 or 3
messages (in Zones 2 and 3 respectively) all at once to avoid missing the
reminder and possibly paying a ticket (about 1500 dinars!).
TOP TIP – make a text message template on your phone with your registration
number, and save the zone numbers; then you can quickly pay for your parking
with only a few clicks.
In other areas including Zemun you may need
to pay & display from a machine for your parking, check on the parking
sign. Phone number for SMS payment is
displayed on the sign.
If you do receive a parking ticket, it is advisable you verify the time it was
issued. Some have found that tickets
were issued in error and were able to call the parking ticket office to contest
this. Others have noted that the parking official entered the license plate
incorrectly. Keep saved in your cell phone the SMS messages which you received
which say you are allowed to park until such-and-such time as proof that you
are legally parked.
Car Towing - There is a fleet of tow trucks which tow illegally
parked cars. This seems to happen
rapidly and regularly in certain hotspots, especially at Maxi supermarket at
Pink TV and Sveti Marcovi church near Tašmajden Park. The trucks are known as the ‘spider’.
The fine for a towed car is approximately €120.
There are several locations where they take towed
cars, and annoyingly they may not know in which one your car is located. Ada Cingalija, Slavija, Vidin
kapija, or Staro sajmiste. You can use the following website to find the
location of your car:
You can also call the tow truck to tow a vehicle
blocking your property/car. Tel: 011/303 5400.
Car rental
Avis,
Obilicev Venac 25, tel. 011/629-423,
620-362
Bulevar Kralja
Aleksandra 94, tel. 011/433-323
Budget, Nikola Tesla Airpot tel. 011/311
3050
Europecar, Hyatt Regency Hotel tel. 011/137-703
Masters, Hotel Slavija tel. 011/450-842
Putnik Rent-a-Car, Hotel Putnik, Palmira Toljatija 9, New Belgrade tel. 0695-225, 319-3805
Sixt,
Airport Nikola Tesla, tel.
011/2286-356
Zorza Klemansoa 19, tel. 011/3286654
Unis,
Cara Uroša 10, tel. 011/634-766
VIP,
Humska 1, tel. 011/369-1890
Yu hertz, Jugoslavija Hotel, tel. 011/2692-339
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