site.btaJune 8, 2004: Sofia's New Central Bus Station Goes into Service

Sofia's new Central Bus Station went into service immediately after its inauguration on June 8, 2004, seven months ahead of its completion deadline. The 17 m high, 80 m long five-floor building was designed by a team of architects under Atanas Panov. There is a 1,500 sq m heated waiting room with seating capacity for 100 persons, 57 separate ticket offices for all carriers plus a main ticket office for all lines (they are all open round the clock), three electronic timetable boards, information counters, a luggage department, a first aid station, a pharmacy, a nursery equipped with a microwave, hot water and separate toilet (capacity: three mothers with children), a dispatchers' office and bureaux de change on ground level. Another 100-seat waiting room, two fast-food restaurants, a panorama cafe, eight shops and a bank office occupy the first floor. The second and third floors consist of rentable and/or salable office space, capable of accommodating some 60 companies. The station's administration is housed on the uppermost fifth floor. Outside, there are 70 roofed parking spaces for 47-50 outgoing and incoming buses on an aggregate area of some 8,000 sq m (inclusive of other adjoining premises).

At its start, the station contracted 33 bus transport carriers. The first bus left the new facility for Kavarna (on the Black Sea Coast) at 10:30 p.m. on June 8. The new bus station had the capacity to take over the entire intercity and international bus traffic. The nearly BGN 15 million project was funded through a public-private partnership. 

Following is an edited version of BTA's External Service report in English that covered the event on June 8, 2004:

"President Purvanov Opens Central Bus Station in Sofia

Sofia, June 8 (BTA) - Sofia's Central Bus Station meets all European standards; symbolically, its launch coincides with the completion of Bulgaria's EU accession negotiations, President Georgi Purvanov said at the inauguration on Tuesday evening. 

Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Nikolai Vassilev described the new facility as the 'queen of bus stations'. A total of 2,500 companies have been licensed by the Transport Ministry to provide bus services in Bulgaria and 370 for services to foreign destinations. They have more than 14,000 buses. 1,089 buses to various parts of this country leave from Sofia each day, and 80 for destinations abroad. 

The new bus station occupies an area of 7,500 square metres. The construction project started in July 2003 and was completed in 11 months. 

The facility has 50 gates for simultaneous servicing of buses and another 10 gates for busy times. The cash and information desks work non-stop. Payments can be done by debit cards. ATMs are at hand, too. By the end of the year, it will be possible to buy tickets on-line. 

The building has non-stop surveillance by 130 CCTV cameras and armed security guards. It also is equipped to service disabled people, has a special waiting room for mothers with small children, kept luggage service and a packing service."