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Lasta – Symbol of bus transport in the Balkans

Other , 0 Comments Feb 23, 2023

For most users of the bus operator, Lasta is a widely recognized brand. Founded back in 1947, it is the oldest and one of the most respected bus companies in the region.

You can also buy bus tickets for Lasta's departures on the portal: busticket4.me/lasta.

At the very beginning, its fleet consisted mainly of buses confiscated in the Second World War and trucks. The bus station was located near the church of St. Mark, and the company had 80 employees. In the first years of operation, their service meant that the passenger reaches the destination, regardless of the timetable, i.e. the expected duration of the trip. It was quite a long journey back then, as the buses covered 60 kilometers in three hours.

The most striking bus in the early years was the Mercedes brand, while as the company developed, the fleet consisted of Škodas. In 1957, Lasta transported about two million passengers using 75 buses and 40 trucks.
In the 1960s, Lasta became recognizable for its shopping tours. Fiat buses travel daily to Trieste, one of the leading European fashion centers at the time. Later, Lasta's timetable became richer for new shopping destinations, Bucharest and Istanbul.

Since 1971, Mercedes cars have been arriving in the Lasta fleet, which will become its recognizable symbol. Driving a "Mercedes road cruiser" was a real pleasure for the drivers. In 1974, the most representative Mercedes Lasta bus drove the Yugoslav football team to the World Cup in Munich.
Next year, the first regular Lasta bus line will start operating in Munich, followed by Lasta bus Vienna and Lasta bus Paris. In the 1970s, Last became a giant on the market, by integrating local companies from several cities in Serbia: Mladenovac, Inđija, Stara Pazova, Bor, Zaječar, Negotin, Smederevo. It was the "golden seventies" when Lasta had 620 buses that made 1,700 departures a day on 350 routes.

One of the most significant offline rides was realized at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo in 1984, where Lasta transported athletes in Sarajevo with 60 buses, 30 of which were new. In the 1980s, the fleet was flooded with "Sanos", and the Lasta bus ticket is also valid for international lines to Zurich and Copenhagen.
The war of the nineties marks the beginning of the most difficult period in the company's history. Lasta is faced with an economic and security crisis, a fuel shortage, and finally the suspension of traffic lines to Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Europe.
With its flexibility, Lasta managed to adapt to the circumstances and for the areas affected by the war opened bus lines to Knin, Prijedor, Donji Vakuf, Banjaluka, Bosanska Krupa, Teslić, Pale, Bijeljina, Ugljevik and Tuzla.

Lasta enters the 21st century with 150 high-tourist Berkof buses, with which it is recognized for its high level of service. The buses are equipped according to the most modern standards, with a mini kitchen, refrigerator, toilet, audio and video equipment, safety belts, air conditioning, ski box. In the first summer season, in two months on the routes to Montenegro, Lasta transported a record 40,000 passengers.
With 50 new Ikarbus buses, Lasta became part of Belgrade's urban transport in 2006. In 2010, the highest revenue in the company's history was achieved, amounting to 100 million euros, and the following year, the longest drive in the company's history was realized. The final destination was Tenerife, 11,900 kilometers from Belgrade. A novelty in the coming years is the Open Top bus on the tourist tour "From the heart of the city to Avala". The service was later expanded to include monastery tours and city sightseeing with an audio guide in eight languages.

The open bus was involved in all the festive receptions in front of the Skushtina of the city of Belgrade, while the music group "Neverne Bebe" recorded a video for the title track from the album "Praštam" in Last's Open Top.
Lasta carried out one of the most significant humanitarian actions in the company's history in May 2014, during the floods in Serbia, organizing transportation using 375 of its vehicles.
During the corona virus pandemic, Lasta preserved its system and renewed its fleet. During the state of emergency, it organized corridor lines for the transportation of employees in health institutions, citizens from the diaspora, employees in large economic systems.

All Lasta departures on city, local, suburban, intercity and international lines are realized from the main bus station-BAS and the terminus "Šumice" and "Banovo Brdo" in Belgrade, as well as from Lasta bus stations and stations of other carriers throughout Serbia.
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