Intercity buses creating traffic and safety problems with ad-hoc stops in central Skopje
Commuters say buses stop outside approved stands on major boulevards and sometimes unload passengers onto the bike lane.
Intercity buses are stopping and picking up passengers at ad-hoc locations across central Skopje, disrupting traffic and blocking lanes used by cyclists, residents and commuters report.
One commuter who cycles to work described a recurring scene along Partizanski Odredi Boulevard: "I cycle to work and often along 'Partizanska' a bus will stop, opposite the Karposh Hotel or near the Universal Hall, and sometimes opposite the Bunjakovec market and unload passengers. And you suddenly see a dozen people getting off onto the bike lane and creating chaos. Not only does it block the traffic lane, it also blocks the bike lane where there is no sign that it's a bus stop," the reader said.
Other witnesses say they frequently observe intercity buses taking or dropping passengers near the Court House and on Macedonia Street opposite the Bristol Hotel, locations that are not marked as intercity bus stops.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) told reporters that the Road Traffic Safety Department within SVR Skopje takes measures within its legal powers, citing Article 72 of the Law on Road Traffic Safety. The ministry also noted that, under the Law on Transport in Road Traffic, responsibility for regulating where intercity buses stop falls to the Ministry of Transport.
What the rules say and which stops are approved
Attempts to obtain an official clarification from the Ministry of Transport and from the State Inspectorate for Transport produced no response before publication.
Available regulations and the Law on Transport in Road Traffic make clear that intercity (inter-municipal) buses may not stop arbitrarily to board or disembark passengers. Stops must be included in the approved timetable for the given inter-municipal line. The Rulebook on the method and detailed conditions for approving timetables for new lines and for changing approved lines, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of North Macedonia No. 105/2019, states that intermediate stops may be settlements (villages) or bus stops that have been approved by the relevant municipality as intermediate stops for inter-municipal passenger transport.
According to the updated timetable database published by the Ministry of Transport on 10 November 2025, four intermediate stops in Skopje are listed for inter-municipal lines: on Gjorche Petrov Street by SP "Planet", on Partizanski Odredi Boulevard by the Cathedral, and two on Alexander of Macedonia Boulevard — by Alkaloid and by the Continental Hotel. If a bus stops at a location not provided in the approved timetable, that may constitute a breach of the conditions under which the line was authorized.
The Law contains sanctions: Article 34 requires boarding and alighting on inter-municipal lines to take place only at bus stations and stops entered in the permit and timetable; Article 35 obliges the carrier to stop at the station/stop in accordance with the permit and timetable. Article 99-b provides for a fine of 200 euros in denar equivalent, imposed on the spot on the driver who boards or disembarks passengers outside authorized stops or fails to stop at authorized stops. The State Inspector for Road Traffic may also issue a decision to temporarily revoke a carrier's permit and propose removal of the timetable from the registry if the carrier does not adhere to the approved timetable (Article 89).
Photo: Sloboden pechat
