Samara Continues Optimizing Bus and Tram Routes
The Samara Transport Department, along with road workers and managers of large plants, studied bus and tram routes in the Kirovsky District in 2025. After the study, they adjusted the schedule of some routes. Samara Head Ivan Noskov instructed to continue the work, updating transport on these routes.
«The main task is to conduct a competent analysis of the efficiency of all public transport routes in Samara. Special attention is paid to socially significant routes that connect large industrial enterprises, social institutions, and remote areas of the regional center. We are acting in all directions simultaneously: forming new routes and revising the work of existing ones, updating the bus and tram fleets. Next in line are trolleybuses and the introduction of electric buses. It is important to solve accumulated problems in a short time and form an intuitive and safe public transport system. Together with the regional Ministry of Transport and Highways, we are increasing the number of regulated routes and revising the city«s road network. Instead of minibuses, new comfortable and safe buses should come, where unified city tariffs and benefits for schoolchildren and pensioners apply,» said Samara City Head Ivan Noskov.
The new bus route No. 87 opened in 2025 and connects the Krutye Klyuchi district with the Kirovskaya metro station. Buses run every 9–15 minutes and carry over a million passengers annually, including workers from large Samara plants (Aviakor, Aviaagregat, Gidroavtomatika, RKC Progress, ODK Kuznetsov). For the convenience of working residents, the schedules of buses No. 6, 12, 38, 47 and tram No. 9 were additionally changed; now buses arrive more frequently precisely when it is convenient for people to commute to and from work. The start time of bus No. 51 was also shifted slightly so that workers at the ODK Kuznetsov plant can more easily leave for home in the morning. Finally, modern Lvyonok (Lion Cub) model trams have been deployed on tram routes No. 3 and 13.
«Transport accessibility is one of the key factors influencing the choice of employer, and today, when ODK Kuznetsov faces crucial state tasks, city authorities together with the employer are creating conditions for specialists working in industry. When adjusting public transport schedules, the interests of the enterprise«s staff were taken into account. A shift in the schedule even by 5–10 minutes matters: people manage to reach the stop after their shift or get home before traffic jams begin. Special thanks for the introduction of the new bus route No. 87. The changes are already noticeable, and we will continue cooperation with the city administration on other social fronts,» noted Natalya Krapivko, chair of the trade union organization at ODK Kuznetsov.
On five bus routes — No. 21, 30, 38, 47, and 55 — the number of trips has been increased and intervals reduced. For example, on route No. 21 from Barboshina Polyana to Yungorodok, the number of trips on weekdays has almost doubled. Intervals have also been shortened: in the morning hours — from 28 to 14 minutes, in the evening — from 28–41 to 17–33 minutes, and during off-peak periods — from 28 to 15 minutes.
«Currently, the transport hub located in the Zavodskoye Highway area is served by 11 tram, 9 bus, and 8 trolleybus routes. Together with the Samara Traffic Police, we have coordinated and equipped a regulated pedestrian crossing with a safety island near the entrance to the Progress plant. We are working on traffic organization projects near other industrial enterprises in the city,» said Vladimir Chichev, head of the transport department of the Samara city administration.
In 2025, Samara received 117 modern low-floor buses of the LOTOS 105 °C-02 brand and another 5 Foton buses. They were purchased by the company Samara Avto Gaz thanks to the federal public transport development program and transferred to the city by the State Transport Leasing Company under a special leasing scheme. At the same time, the first 40 comfortable new-type Lvyonok trams hit the streets of Samara, and at the beginning of 2026, a new batch of such trams began to arrive — seven cars have already been delivered to the depot.
