Getting around Skopje
Bus / Public transport
The main public transport company in Skopje is called JSP. The company operates all the bus schedules and the cable car for Vodno Mountain.
NOT AVAILABLE AT THE MOMENT - Y̶o̶u̶ c̶a̶n̶ b̶u̶y̶ a̶ d̶a̶i̶l̶y̶ t̶i̶c̶k̶e̶t̶ f̶o̶r̶ 1̶2̶0̶ D̶e̶n̶a̶r̶s̶ (̶1̶.9̶5̶ E̶u̶r̶o̶s̶)̶ -̶ f̶o̶r̶ t̶h̶e̶ l̶i̶n̶e̶s̶ o̶p̶e̶r̶a̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ i̶n̶ t̶h̶e̶ u̶r̶b̶a̶n̶ a̶r̶e̶a̶, o̶r̶ 1̶5̶0̶ D̶e̶n̶a̶r̶s̶ (̶2̶.4̶3̶ E̶u̶r̶o̶s̶)̶ f̶o̶r̶ a̶l̶l̶ l̶i̶n̶e̶s̶. T̶h̶e̶ d̶a̶i̶l̶y̶ t̶i̶c̶k̶e̶t̶ c̶a̶n̶ b̶e̶ p̶u̶r̶c̶h̶a̶s̶e̶d̶ d̶i̶r̶e̶c̶t̶l̶y̶ f̶r̶o̶m̶ t̶h̶e̶ d̶r̶i̶v̶e̶r̶. Y̶o̶u̶ o̶n̶l̶y̶ n̶e̶e̶d̶ t̶o̶ v̶a̶l̶i̶d̶a̶t̶e̶ i̶t̶ o̶n̶c̶e̶.
A weekly ticket - which includes a cable car pass costs 500-600 Denars (8.11-9.73 Euros). You can buy them at the stores selling JSP tickets or at their points of sale listed below.
You can also buy tickets for public transport online through the Skopska application (PlayStore/AppStore). To do this, you first need to add funds to the application and then buy the ticket type you need - whether it's for a day, a week, or a month.
To validate your ticket, you will need to activate NFC on your phone and hold it close to the validation machine. Additionally, the application also includes a map and planner to help you navigate. You can easily download the Skopska application from the PlayStore or App Store.
If you have a phone with a SIM card from A1 or Makedonski Telekom, you can conveniently purchase a ticket through your mobile phone. However, you need to activate the service beforehand. To activate, send an SMS with the word "START" to the number 14 11 14. This process is free of charge.
Once you have successfully activated the service, you can buy a ticket by dialing the number 185 and holding your phone close to the machine for a few seconds. A confirmation SMS will be sent to you after the successful purchase of the ticket. Remember to bring your phone as close as possible to the validation machine on the bus and set your phone volume to the maximum level. The ticket price through your mobile phone is 40 denars, while the night ticket costs 50 denars.
Make sure to validate your ticket on the devices installed at the beginning and at the end of the vehicle. A fine for not having/validating a ticket is 1,000 Denars (16 Euros) and must be paid within 8 days.
Points of sale, card personalization centers and card top-up centers from the network of the public transport company.
If you are staying for a longer time or already live here and want to use public transport more often, you might want to buy a monthly ticket for all city lines, which costs 1,400 denars, or 1.600 denars which includes all lines. A six-month ticket for all lines costs 8,600 denars, while an annual ticket costs 15.400 denars.
Find all the bus line schedules on the company's website or applications like JSP - On The Go (Playstore/AppStore), and Skopska (PlayStore/AppStore). Please note that buses may sometimes arrive at a different time than scheduled due to system issues.
Alternatively, you can use the system on Google Maps, which is integrated with the JSP public transport schedule.
Vodno (Millenium) Cross Cable Car
The cable car runs from Sredno Vodno to the Millennium Cross.
(Read: How to get to Sredno Vodno)
A return ticket for adults costs 100 denars, while a ticket for children costs 50 denars. Meanwhile, children up to 6 years old have the right to free transportation. The monthly ticket for the cable car is 1,000 denars. The 7-day ticket also includes a +1 ticket for the cable car and the cross lift in both directions.
The cable car moves at a speed of 6 meters per second.
Non-working days are Monday and every last Tuesday of the month.
Schedule for the Cable Car / Source: zicnica.jsp.com.mk, 2023
Taxi
The taxis in Skopje are relatively cheap.
The starting rate is 25-60 Denars (0.41-0.97 Euro).
Every other kilometer or 0.6 miles costs around 25-35 Denars (0.41-0.57 euros).
One hour of waiting will cost you around 300-480 Denars (4.87-7.79 euros).
The prices differ depending on which of the three tariffs a taxi company operates on.
Be aware of who you ride with. Make sure there is a legit taxi sign on the top of the car. Also, see if it is installed a taxi-meter in the taxi (look for a vertical rectangle device). Ask the average price for the destination.
If you can't find a taxi on the spot, use a service like Yellow Pages or you could install the application "Call Taxi" (Vikni Taksi) where you have listed numerous taxi companies. (Play Store/App Store).
Also, if you want to order a taxi through an application and pay with a bank card, you can ride with the new company BeeRide (electric vehicles fleet), or with Cammeo (you can pay with a payment card through a top-up of funds on the application). You can also order a taxi from the Nashe Taxi company through their app and pay with a bank card in the vehicle. Also, you can order a taxi from Global through their application, but you cannot pay with a bank card.
Some taxi companies numbers are:
* Global (+389215180 / +38978415180)
* De Luxe (+389215187 / +38978228822)
* Classic (+389215167 / +38978279167)
* Cammeo (+389215777)
Car & Parking
Skopje is considered a generally car-centric city, and cars are the primary means of transportation for a huge number of citizens. With the world crisis, fuel prices also increased, although they have fluctuated in recent months. There are many multistorey garages throughout Skopje. They can be found in the very center:
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"Beko" on "Dame Gruev" street; (1 hour; 30 denars - 0.5 eur)
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"Solunski Kongres", next to the Mepso Headquarters. (1 hour; 50 denars - 0.8 eur)
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"Razlovechko Vostanie" near the shopping center "GTC" - City Trade Center (1 hour; 50 denars - 0.80 eur)
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"Smilevski Kongres" near the "Goce Delchev" bridge. (1 hour; 50 denars - 0.8 eur)
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"Ss. Cyril and Methodius“ near the Ramstore mall.
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"Sudska palata" near the complex courts. (1 hour; 40 denars - 0.65 eur)
Additionally, parking is available at the City Trade Center in the city center, where it costs 70 denars for one hour, 120 denars for two hours, and 50 denars for each subsequent hour.
The public enterprise City parking manages some of the public parkings in Skopje.
The locations of the parking lots can be seen below. Parking in the grey area costs 25 denars/h (16 hours max), the green area 25 denars/h (16 hours max), the yellow area 30 denars/h (4 hours max), the red area 40 denars/h (2 hours max), the orange area 75 denars/h (2 hours max/7 hours on the south orange area).
You can see the map in detail on their Parking.MK application. Parking in these places can also be paid online, with a bank card.
The Public enterprise Parking lots of the Municipality of Centar is another enterprise within the City of Skopje.
Parking in the Zone 0 costs 100 denars/h, in the Zone 1 - 70 denars/h , and in the Zone 2 - 60 denars/h. Information boards in Macedonian, and English have been placed on the parking lots. Parking can be paid for via SMS or through their app (PlayStore/AppStore).
Traffic jams
Skopje is a city of 600.000+ people, with an increasing number during workdays. Along with this, traffic jams occur in the city, usually in the morning and after work hours.
The traffic jams are most likely to occur from 7:45 to 9:30, around noon, and from 15:00 to 17:00. Some hotspots of traffic jams are in the very center of the city, around Mavrovka - under the underpass and on Bit Pazar street, at the entry of Skopje in Avtokomanda, Assembly, Vero Mall, East Gate Mall, Kapishtec, around Ramstore Mall, and complex clinics.
Also, traffic jams occur when it rains, on Friday afternoons and on days before holidays.