Public transport in Belgrade may be free of charge, but somehow it still comes at a cost. Three days ago, 21 people were examined at the Emergency Centre after a tram derailed in central Belgrade.
The prosecutor ordered a technical inspection of the tram, while the City Public Transport Company (GSP) stated that there are indications the cause may have been human error, although they said they would wait for the final results of the investigation.
However, this is far from the first such incident, as tram derailments, bus accidents, potholes, reckless driving and disregard for traffic regulations have become frequent occurrences. Ivan Banković, President of the Centar Trade Union, assessed that the main problem with Belgrade’s tram system lies in the neglected infrastructure rather than in the vehicles themselves. He noted that the City of Belgrade allocates less than one million euros annually for maintaining the tram network, despite around 408 million euros being spent on public transport overall.
“The City of Belgrade is purchasing new trams. We have 25 new Turkish trams whose procurement we criticised, but they are nevertheless new. There are certain issues with them as well, but what remains unresolved is the condition of the tram infrastructure,” said Banković.
He added that politicians present the new trams to citizens as a success story, while the state of the infrastructure is ignored.
“Citizens and passengers cannot really see the condition of the infrastructure until something happens. The best example is Slavija, where you can see a tram stop, the driver gets out, and manually adjusts the switch using that iron tool. That is not how things should look,” Banković said.
According to him, modern systems allow switches to be controlled automatically via GPS from inside the driver’s cabin, but such technology is not functioning in Belgrade.
Speaking about the condition of the network, Banković stated that the city has 142 switches and crossings, many of which are in poor condition. “Everything functioned during the first two years while the warranty lasted. Once the warranty expired, maintenance became the responsibility of GSP, and unfortunately, it has been held together with makeshift solutions. I cannot blame the colleagues responsible for maintenance because these are often just patch-ups and temporary repairs. But that cannot be a long-term solution. Investment is necessary, no matter the cost,” said Banković.
He underlined that a detailed analysis of the tram infrastructure problems and increased investment were urgently needed. “No one has ever properly assessed the real state of the system. A serious and objective study is needed to identify the critical points, and we have dozens of them,” he said and added that the city administration bears key responsibility for the state of public transport, but that the management of GSP must also be held accountable for problems within the system.
Outdated vehicles and poor infrastructure
Speaking about safety, Banković warned that outdated vehicles and poor infrastructure increase the risk of serious accidents.
“First of all, for the driver sitting there for eight hours, whether man or woman, it is like being inside a tin box. That tram weighs almost 20 tonnes when empty. It is not easy to operate, and even the smallest issue can lead to serious or even fatal mistakes,” said Banković.
Referring to the recent tram incident, he said that “it was sheer luck that nobody was killed”, especially given the proximity of a school and nursery.
According to him, GSP recorded 399 traffic accidents in the first three months of this year, although in 81 per cent of cases responsibility lay with other road users.
“This only relates to GSP. We have no data regarding private operators because they are not obliged to prepare such reports, keep statistics, or submit data. GSP has that obligation as a public utility company,” Banković explained.
Discussing the causes of accidents, he assessed that traffic culture is at a low level and that reckless driving and dangerous incidents are common. “We must work on additional driver training and on raising the overall level of safety in public transport,” Banković concluded.
“Employment criteria in GSP worse than before”
Banković said that the City Public Transport Company still has certain recruitment criteria for drivers, but that these are weaker than they were ten or more years ago, adding that Belgrade’s public transport system faces serious staffing and organisational challenges.
“When it comes to GSP, there are still some sort of criteria. Why do I say ‘some sort’? Because these criteria have weakened compared with 10, 15, or 20 years ago,” said Banković.
He also stated that GSP employs only Serbian citizens as drivers, while some private operators have also hired drivers from abroad, who, according to him, have generally proved to be “perfectly decent” in practice. “Of course, among them there are poor drivers, just as there are among our own drivers. Skin colour absolutely does not determine whether you will be a good driver or not,” he added.
Speaking about GSP employees, Banković said that the majority of drivers perform their work professionally, although, as he noted, every system has a small number of irresponsible workers. “Out of 2,800 drivers, it is normal to have some careless and unprofessional individuals. Fortunately, they are a very small minority. As far as GSP is concerned, these statistics on traffic accidents and responsibility still tell me that they are genuine professionals,” Banković said.
He also assessed that the insufficient number of inspectors makes oversight in this field more difficult, and that private operators do not operate under the same conditions as GSP.
Protest against using a private operator on trolleybus routes
Ivan Banković, President of the GSP Centar Trade Union, announced a protest to be held on 1 June in Belgrade, stating that employees and citizens would demand the suspension of plans to introduce a private operator on city transport routes, as well as greater investment in the city-owned company GSP.
He said that the gathering would begin at 12 noon in Republic Square, from where participants would march to the Belgrade City Assembly, while the protest would also take place outside the Old Palace.
“We have the following problem – someone wants to take four routes currently operated by trolleybuses away from GSP and hand them over to the private company Strela from Obrenovac, for which more than 600 million euros would be paid over the next 20 years. It is completely absurd not to invest in the city-owned company from the budget, while prioritising some private operator from Obrenovac instead,” Banković said.
He criticised the public-private partnership model in public transport, arguing that budget funds should be directed towards strengthening the city transport operator rather than private companies. Banković also presented a series of union demands, including halting the tender for the public-private partnership concerning the so-called eco-routes, a city guarantee that no GSP route would be handed over to private operators, the procurement of at least 90 autonomous trolleybuses, and the purchase of 300 new buses.
According to him, the city administration had previously promised the procurement of new vehicles, but, he claimed, those promises had not been fulfilled.
(Insajder, 28.05.2026)