March 15, 2020 - The Split Bus Station reacts to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the border regime with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro has changed since Saturday night. Thus, the director of the Split Bus Station, Mate Jujnovic, said that even before the border decision, he decided to take precautionary measures, which is why he abolished all international lines, reports Slobodna Dalmacija.

In Croatia, all lines are still driving as normal, but probably not for long.

“All lines outside Croatia have been stopped. On Thursday and Friday, the lines to Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Montenegro were discontinued, and the line to Bosnia and Herzegovina was officially discontinued as of today. The last tour for BiH waited 12 hours at the border. Anyone who has purchased a ticket in advance for any of the canceled lines will receive a refund at the counter where the ticket was purchased,” says Mate Jujnovic, who also noted that on Monday, all Croatian carriers have a meeting at the Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure.

“So far, everything is running as usual within the country, but I suppose it will be reduced soon. There are no passengers and there is no need to drive so many lines. It is the same for everyone. Tomorrow, all carriers have a meeting at the competent ministry and we will ask everyone to reduce the number of lines within Croatia. It makes no sense that 40 buses run, for example, from Split to Zagreb without any passengers.

We will seek to reduce the number of lines and departures, and again that connections still exist and that the traffic runs as usual,” says Jujnovic.

He also notes that passengers can find all the necessary information on bus routes on their website ak-split.hr.

As the telephone line at the station was always busy, many passengers were probably unable to contact the operator to ask for individual lines. Thus, Jujnovic adds that passengers should search for the line of interest on its website. If they release the timetable, the line is still active. If there is no timetable, that route is no longer departing.

Data is updated continuously so that the web is currently the best and fastest means of information.

For those looking for more comprehensive information about different aspects of coronavirus and Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

The new temporary bus station for Split, which will be located in the Kopilica area of the city, could cost almost three times more than the City estimated - and the question is whether it will really be a temporary solution after all. 

Although the estimated value of the works is 5 million kuna, the City of Split received only one offer for the project, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on January 18, 2019. 

Namely, only "Cestar" d.o.o. came out to play, and with an offer of almost three times more than the estimated cost - 13,587,055 kuna. 

The City received the single offer on Friday, though the procedure is far from over, as they must fully examine whether Cestar's offer is complete and satisfactory to the needs of the new station.

While we are not entirely sure why only one offer was presented for this highly anticipated project, it could have something to do with the short deadline for completion (3 months).

In addition to the short timeframe, the City, as far as we have been able to see, was not exactly meticulous as a contracting authority in the public procurement procedure.

Works in Kopilica were expected to happen by mid-February, following contract signing between the City and the ‘selected contractor’, and the deadline for appeal of any dissatisfied tenderers. In accordance with the foreseen three-month duration of construction, the new bus station and the four surrounding locations envisioned to accommodate cars and tourist buses would be arranged by the summer in the wider area of the existing railway station, which would be in line with the announcement that part of the East Coast traffic would be moved to Kopilica for the upcoming season.

According to the documentation produced by the company "Geoprojekt", between Hercegovačka Street and the railway tracks, there are plans to construct 18 covered parking platforms for buses. The largest part, with room for 10 buses, would be located closest to the tracks, the central "island" would boast five more places, and the remaining three would be next to the main road.

The existing access road facing the Public Fire Department complex would be significantly expanded and receive an appropriate sidewalk, but as far as project design is concerned, there was no envisaged expansion of Hercegovačka Street, which for decades has narrowed the entry to that part of the city.

An integral part of the overall project is arranging four surrounding parking lots for a total of 147 cars, seven taxi cabs and 51 tourist buses, with “Split Parking" as the official investor. The first location is the existing parking zone at the main building of the train station where a total of 21 spaces will be marked for passenger cars, including two for disabled parking, seven for taxi drivers and three for tourist buses.

The next parking lot would be somewhat to the east of the future station, near the intersection that leads from Hercegovačka street to the wider area of the station for the technical inspection of vehicles. There would be 46 spaces available to drivers (two for people with disabilities), and there would be a one-way street leading to the parking lot from the railway station along the railway line to the east, while Hercegovačka would only be the exit. In the immediate neighborhood, an even larger car park is planned with 80 spaces (four for people with disabilities).

On the northern side of the entire Kopilica station complex, the city administration intends to accommodate tourist buses, which, as well as for all other mentioned locations, they have signed a five-year lease agreement with the company "HŽ Infrastruktura". In front of the warehouse and the neglected tracks, there are large asphalted areas approaching Kopilica Street, which, until recently, linked the business and commercial zone in Stinice with the North Port. 

If the City of Split accepts Cestar’s 13.5 million kuna offer, should so much money be invested in a ‘temporary’ solution? Or should the Kopilica station become a permanent "temporary" solution in the end? 

To read more about Split, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

The first concrete steps are finally being made to construct the new bus station in Kopilica. 

The unbearable crowds on the roads of Split in the summer months, especially on the way to the ferry port, will be alleviated next season by a mini-metro line from Kopilica to the center itself. As reported, several institutions - from the Ministry of Transport to Croatian Railways and city services - hope to have these trains operating as early as June 1, 2019. 

In terms of location for a bus station, it is hard to beat Split. Stepping off the bus, one can almost walk onto the ferry, board the train or wander to the city's main attraction, the 1,700 year-old Diocletian's Palace.

Given the lack of coastal train routes (Split is only meaningfully connected with Zagreb by rail - click here for more info on Split train station), the bus is the most popular public transport option from other parts of Croatia to Split, and the city is well connected with routes to Zagreb, Dubrovnik and coastal destinations further north.  

The bus station itself is quite small, and its waiting room includes a cafe. All other amenities are close by, including public toilets and luggage storage 20m to the right of the exit (another option is the storage lockers in the train station waiting room next door on the right - 15 kuna for 24 hours).

Timetables are available on the walls of the waiting room, but there are three other options for getting the information. The first is a very useful online timetable, which is both in English and easily navigable. The second is to ask the sales assistant for copies of the required timetable - all the timetables are available for free distribution as the sales counter. A third option is to check out our Split bus resource page, which we are building steadily, and which will include plenty of information about latest timetables and other bus-related information. Visit the page here.  

Information already available on the page includes:

Bus times from Split to Dubrovnik and back

Bus times from Split to Zagreb and back (when travelling to Zagreb, check which buses are going via the motorway - much quicker)

Bus times from the station to the airport in Split

There is a Jadrolinija ferry ticket office across the street from the station, or turn left and head to the main ferry building 50m, where you can also buy tickets with other ferry companies such as Blue Line. Luggage porters, such as the in the picture above, are freely available.

Sales staff speak English. Tickets will include the platform ('peron'), all of which are clearly numbered in front of the station. Luggage is stored in the undercarriage of the bus, and there is a charge for this.