Tickets. Except for a few lines (e.g. #41), trams are still slow. Buses and trolleybuses come and go pretty often but can be crowded, especially during the rush hours (07:00-09:00 AM, 06:00-08:00 PM). It is recommendable to watch out your stuff on buses and other means of public transportation. All city buses, trolleys and trams, as well as buses going to villages and towns in the vicinity of Bucharest are owned and run by the STB, Bucharest’s public transportation company. All of them work with STB or STB & Metrorex Subway plastic cards (bought and chargeable at STB kiosks located at main stops, open 06:00 AM - 08:00 PM; one can add credit also online at https://online.stbsa.ro/) which need be validated (i.e. pressed against the orange machines found onboard) upon boarding the vehicle. Do that and wait for the green light to flash or, if the red one flashes, it means either you’ve run out of credit or it did not work, so that you need add some credit or do that again. Bus / tram / trolleybus drivers are not entitled to sell cards and disregarding of the reason for your not validating your card (running out of credit, forgetting, the bus is too crowded etc.), you will be fined if an inspector finds you without a valid / validated card. Passes are a good idea if you plan on using public transport twice a day or plan on traveling frequently for a few days or more. A one day pass valid on all ground transport except for express lines can also be bought via SMS: text letter A to number 7458. For the express lines to the airport, text E782, E783 or E784 (according to the bus you are getting on) to number 7458.
Operation hours. Regular public transport works roughly from 05:00 AM until 11:30 PM (refer to the operator website for individual schedules), with two exceptions. Express buses going to the airport (see below) run day and night, with their specific schedules: therefore, for buses #782, 783 and 784 click here, select the bus number in the dropdown list to the left and then click on the end of the line schedule you need (the airport one or the downtown / railway station one). Between 11:00 AM and 04:30 AM there are several night buses starting from the Southern tip of Piața Unirii and serving most districts, as well as going between remote districts; they are marked with letter N ahead of their number (e.g. N104 or N111 going East and serving Dristor - Titan districts). Most run every 40 minutes between 11:00 PM and 01:00 AM, respectively between 03:00 AM and 04:30 AM, while between 01:00 AM and 03:00 AM they go every 120 minutes (so there is a gap there). For some reason, only the first door is opened on N buses, and officially the driver can check tickets. The STB ticket office in Piața Unirii (the Southern tip, where they crowd) is open 24 hours a day.
Express buses (such as bus #783/784 running between Bucharest OTP Airport and the Southern section of Unirea Square) work with these cards or with special multi ride magnetic cards; if using them, they must be validated too when boarding the bus. For STB fares, check out http://www.stbsa.ro. When taking into consideration surface public transport, also notice that traffic can make a 2 km. ride take half an hour or even more. When and if possible, take the subway during the rush hour, even if you have to walk for a while afterwards. It helps your physical condition anyway.
There are more and more private companies running minivans coming and going everywhere but they are generally more expensive and crowded, with routes changing every now and then; particularly not recommended if you have large bags and such, as they have no luggage space and the aisle is very narrow. Taxis are not expensive (about RON 1.69-2.10 / km.), provided you look around for one belonging to reputable companies such as Cobălcescu, Leone (tel.: 9425), Meridian (tel.: 9444, 9888), CrisTaxi (tel.: 9461,9466), Getax (tel.: 9530) or Pelicanul; use the Clever Taxi app to find many of their drivers in one place; alternatively, try Uber or Yango. For more info on taxis, refer to my special post here.
Access for persons with reduced mobility. Only a few STB tramways have low floors providing easy access for those with reduced mobility, most of the rolling stock sport rather steep steps even for those without any walking issue. Tramways with dedicated facilities are to be found on lines 1 and 41, but it needs be mentioned that not all tramways on these lines have them. All of the Bucharest STB buses and trolleybuses have a door (the middle one) where a trap can facilitate wheelchair access; for that, you need ask the driver so as to wait until you are done; it is worth noting that it is faster to ask fellow passengers for a lift, as the bus floor is rather low anyway. For more information on accessibility for those with reduced mobility in Bucharest, refer to my dedicated article on the matter.
