10 Reasons the Bus Might Pull Over in the Balkans

Introduction:

Foot, taxi, and bus... those are by far the most popular forms of transportation in Kosovo. It is not uncommon for residents to use all three when going about their daily lives.

How do people get around?:

Walking: Prishtina, like any city, is full of pedestrians moving from one place to another by foot. It depends on where you live, of course (there are neighborhoods on the outskirts of town that are a bus ride away), but for the most part, my life takes place within a two-mile radius of the city center. I go days, sometimes weeks, without riding in a vehicle!

Taxis: On certain days when I'm running late, or when the weather is particularly bad, as it was today, I'll hail a taxi. There are plenty of companies that operate taxis around the city. Most residents don't have cars, and there's no Uber in Kosovo. You can't go outside without seeing them zip around. There are also "illegal" taxis, which aren't really illegal, just independently-operated. Since the economy in Kosovo is really weak, some people take to operating their own independent taxi services as a primary, or often secondary, form of work. It's esay to differentiate the unofficial services from the main companies by the cars they drive. Some people I know refuse to use the unofficial taxis.

Pages