Public Transportation

Public Transport

Bucharest's extensive public transport system is the largest in Romania and the third largest in Europe. It is made up of the Bucharest Metro, as well as a surface transport system run by RATB (Regia Autonoma de Transport Bucuresti -website www.ratb.ro), which consists of buses, trams, trolleybuses and light rail. In addition, there is a private minibus system. The metro and the surface transport system is used to be run by two separate state-owned corporations but have been merged in early 2007 to form the Bucharest Metropolitan Transport Board. As of 2007, there is a limit of 10,000 taxicab licences, down from 25,000 in the 1990's, and the even higher demand is supplied by taxis registered in Ilfov county.

Metro

Opened in 1979, Bucharest's metro is improving. Now with four lines and 39 stations, the system is clean, reliable, safe and cheap. The most frequently used line is the north-south M2 line (going from Pipera to IMGB, taking in Piata Victoriei, Piata Romana, Universitate and Unirii on the way). Services on line M3, which serves Gara de Nord and many residential areas, can be infrequent, as can line M1, which runs on a similar route. Line M4 is brand new, but only currently has four stations serving residential districts in the northwest of the city. Tickets valid for two journeys cost 2.20 lei, tickets valid for ten journeys cost a bargain 8.00 lei.

Air

The city is served by two airports: Henri Coanda International Airport (formerly Otopeni - website www.otp-airport.ro) and Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (formerly Baneasa - website www.baneasa-airport.ro). Henri Coanda is the largest airport in Romania with 5 million passengers in 2007 and the main hub for the national operator TAROM. Delta Air Lines serves Bucharest directly from JFK. It is also connected to several international airports by a wide range of international airlines. The smaller Aurel Vlaicu International Airport is used for charter flights and low-cost carriers, like SkyEurope, Blue Air, Wizzair, German Wings, Click Air and My Air.

Railways

Bucharest is the hub of Romania's national railway network, run by CFR (Caile Ferate Romane - website www.cfr.ro). The main railway station is Gara de Nord, or North Station, which provides connections to all major cities in Romania as well as international destinations such as Belgrade, Budapest, Sofia, Vienna, Prague, Moscow, Istanbul, Chisinau, and many others european capital and city. The city also has five other railway stations run by CFR, most important are Basarab (in proximity of North Station), Obor, Baneasa, Progresu, which are in the process of being integrated in a commuter railway serving Bucharest and the surrounding Ilfov county.From the Bucharest depart 7 main line.

Infrastructure

The city's municipal road network is centered around a series of high-capacity boulevards, which generally radiate out from the city centre to the outskirts. The main axes, which run north-south, east-west and northwest-southeast, as well as one internal and one external ring road, support the bulk of the traffic. The city's roads are usually very crowded during rush hours, due to an increase in car ownership in recent years. Every day, there are more than one million vehicles travelling within the city. This has resulted in wear and potholes appearing on many Bucharest roads, particularly secondary roads, this being identified as one of Bucharest's main infrastructural problems. In recent years, there has been a comprehensive effort on behalf of the City Hall to boost road infrastructure and according to the general development plan, nearly 2000 roads are expected to be repaired by 2008.

Roads

Bucharest is also a major intersection of Romania's national road network. It is the origin of most of the country's national roads and motorway, which link the city to all of Romania's major cities as well as to neighboring countries such as Hungary, Bulgaria and Ukraine. Romania's two motorway currently in operation, the A1 to Pitesti and the A2, in Romanian "Autostrada Soarelui" (the sun motorway) to Dobrogea region and Constanta both start from Bucharest. The planned A3 and A4 freeways will also radiate from the Voluntari region in the city's northern outskirts.

Water

Although it is situated on the banks of a river, Bucharest has never functioned as a port city, with other Romanian cities such as Constanta and Braila acting as the country's main ports. However, the Danube-Bucharest Canal, which is 73 km (45 mi) long, is currently in construction and is around 60% completed. When finished, the canal will link Bucharest to the Danube River and, via the Danube-Black Sea Canal, to the Black Sea. This corridor is expected to be a significant component of the city's transport infrastructure and increase sea traffic by a large margin.