Samara's Central Bus Station: A Review of Soviet Legacy and Passenger Woes

Samara«s Central Bus Station (TsAV) is a very noticeable building. Its design is unique, but its appearance recently evokes mixed feelings among citizens. Despite this, the bus station is a means of connection with the regional center for many residents of the periphery. We decided to see what destinations are available today in the bus station»s schedule and how convenient it is for passengers. And our readers helped us.

«The building is beautiful but needs cleaning»

Samara«s Central Bus Station is over 45 years old. Its main feature is its huge size. Those who have traveled by bus to other regions know that bus stations in neighboring cities are much smaller, and they typically have one floor, not two.

But in fact, TsAV was originally conceived as one of the largest bus stations in the country. It was built according to an exclusive project, whose authors tried to create a building silhouette with a strong vertical accent.

The building«s design is a vivid example of Soviet heritage. But many townspeople are dissatisfied with the current state of the bus station. Here are just a few reviews received by 63.RU:

• «The building is beautiful but needs cleaning. Trees in planters could be placed in the parking lot to visually mark it somehow, but only after complete asphalt replacement. Inside—it»s a shambles.«

• »The building is shabby, inside—it«s a barn!»

• «The view is very outdated, as if there»s been no renovation since the USSR.«

Under the Soviet Union, the bus station was managed by the Kuibyshev Production Association of Bus Stations and Bus Stops. Now it has been reorganized into AO «Yevraziyskaya Korporatsiya Avtovokzalov» (Eurasian Bus Station Corporation). For many years, the controlling stake in the company belonged to Feniya Khakimova. In 2017, the businesswoman died. Now her daughter Gyuzel Sannikova is on the board of directors. The corporation not only maintains the bus station but also organizes passenger transportation with its own buses.

But we«re getting ahead of ourselves. Before going anywhere, you need to get to the bus station. There are no problems with transport accessibility, since TsAV is located in the geographical center of Samara, at the intersection of main highways—Moscow Highway and Aurora Street.

But a completely different question is how pedestrians can approach the building. The fact is that all the space in front of the bus station is occupied by a large parking lot, where not only buses but also personal cars park. There are no dedicated pedestrian walkways for passengers; they have to weave between cars, like a boat between barges.

The approach to the bus station from Moscow Highway is still relatively comfortable—you literally walk around the cars along the wall. But to approach the building from Aurora Street, you first have to go around the fenced parking lot along a narrow path. It is in poor condition and in winter it looks like this.

«The ticket counter closed at 7:15 p.m., allegedly because the cashier was tired»

At the entrance to the bus station building, there is a baggage screening belt and a metal detector frame. However, they don«t work—and, as townspeople say, not for the first year.

On the first floor of the bus station, there are ticket counters. There are many—eleven in total. But not all are working, and besides, you have to stand in a live queue.

Moreover, passengers have questions about the counters« operating hours:

• «It»s generally unclear until what time the counter works. It closed at 7:15 p.m. Allegedly, the cashier had been working since morning and was tired, but tomorrow at this time a replacement will come and everything will work.«

• »At one time, ticket vending machines were installed, it was very convenient. Then they either broke down or something else. As a result, a long queue at the counter. It would be great to bring back at least a couple of machines.«

But for buying tickets, there is also the official website of the bus station (and its mobile version is quite decent). There you can also check the flight schedule and learn news. But in the bus station itself, you won«t be able to track your flight—there is no electronic display. Boarding is announced the old-fashioned way—by voice over the loudspeaker.

The interior premises are designed for one and a half thousand people. A small waiting room is equipped on the first floor.

Here there is also an optics shop, a mobile phone salon. You can also buy a lottery ticket.

The majority of passengers sit on the second floor, since you pass through it to get to the platform.

«It»s cold inside. The benches on the second floor are icy, you«ll freeze everything possible. The staircase is inconvenient, people with strollers can»t climb it, and it«s hard for the elderly with bags on the stairs. It would be nice to have an elevator,» Samara residents complain.

But now the second floor is closed for repairs. No one knows the deadlines or the list of works. There is no information about this on the website.

Among the amenities, there is a paid toilet for 30 rubles (approximately $0.30 at current rates). The hygiene level is no higher, but also no lower, than in an average public toilet.

On the first floor, there is a small buffet with tables. For sale: chips, bars, pastries, drinks.

For those who want to eat more substantially, there is a canteen.

The menu includes everything that should be in normal canteens: pastries, side dishes, hot dishes, breakfasts, drinks, salads, and soups. Portion sizes are normal, and prices are reasonable—all within 200 rubles (about $2 at current rates).

Buses also pull up to the front entrance. Here there is also a platform with benches. However, there are few benches and no canopy. In summer, you can quickly get sunstroke here. In winter, the benches are reliably protected from people by lumps of packed snow, and on top sprinkled with regular—soft—snow.

It won«t get you to Kiev, but…

According to information from the official website, there are a total of 25 routes in the bus station«s schedule. Most of them are within Samara Oblast:

• Alekseyevka;

• Bolshaya Glushitsa;

• Bolshaya Chernigovka;

• Isakly;

• Kamenny Brod;

• Kinel-Cherkassy;

• Neftegorsk;

• Otradny;

• Pokhvistnevo;

• Privolzhye;

• Tolyatti via Kurumoch Airport;

• Usolye;

• Khvorostyanka;

• Chelno-Vershiny;

• Shigony;

• Sharipovka.

Also from Samara, you can reach several neighboring regions by bus:

• Tatarstan (Kazan, Almetyevsk, Naberezhnye Chelny, Nurlat);

• Saratov Oblast (Saratov, Balakovo);

• Ulyanovsk Oblast (Ulyanovsk, including via Yelkhovka, Dimitrovgrad);

• Udmurtia (Izhevsk);

• Mari El (Yoshkar-Ola);

• Nizhny Novgorod;

• Perm;

• Orenburg Oblast (Rabochy).

Moreover, the bus station«s schedule even includes one international route:

• Kazakhstan (Aktobe, via Orenburg).

And since July 2025, direct communication with the Donetsk People«s Republic has opened—from Samara you can take a bus to Makeyevka.

However, passengers also have complaints regarding transportation. For example, many are dissatisfied with ticket prices:

«The cost of a baggage ticket is such as if the driver carries it in his hands with delivery to the passenger»s doorstep. The information desk workers—they«re something else…»

Many more people are concerned about regular disruptions in route operations and flight cancellations:

• «My mother was leaving for the village. I bought tickets back in December, the flight was for 5 January. And then my mother writes that the flight for the 5th was canceled. I check: it turns out they changed the schedule, and now this route runs on even-numbered days. And there was no notification. If I hadn»t checked the website myself, we wouldn«t have known and would have lost 5,000 rubles. Just no words.»

• «Several years ago, I encountered a situation: young athletes from another city came to competitions in Samara, one of them was my relative. I arrived at the station, I look: they»re sitting on the station square—waiting for the bus, which leaves from the back side of the station. There isn«t a single sign indicating the station layout, pointers, etc. Only advertisements. That is, if I hadn»t come—they would have kept waiting.«

• »Flights to the district center (Khvorostyanka)—what a quest! There are only two flights a day, departure times are inconvenient, ticket price—like an airplane wing, and you don«t even know if you»ll leave or not! Because flights are constantly canceled!«

• »There are few flights. To Khvorostyansky District—two a day, to Privolzhsky—only once a day. I understand that there might not be such load, but they could at least run one extra «Gazel» minibus, it would be more convenient for people.«

• »In summer, a friend with a small child tried to leave for Balakovo. Before boarding, they were shocked that the trip was canceled. Sleep wherever you want. Instead of buses, minibuses run, and the journey takes 4-5 hours.«

Although not everything is unambiguously gloomy. We also received positive reviews about the station«s work:

«I traveled to Chelny. Everything looks Soviet-style. At the entrance, they checked with a metal detector, the bus ran on schedule. I bought the ticket online on the official website. The driver checked everyone by last name and we went. That was a year ago. Overall, everything was normal. Prices were normal.»

Everyone wants to bankrupt it

People have a version of what the root of TsAV«s problems is:

«It»s in private hands. Probably, it shouldn«t be like that! The central bus station of a regional capital! Judging by the information, there are many court cases with carriers. And maintaining the appearance would probably be better if TsAV were in the city»s hands.«

Indeed, in recent years, «Yevraziyskaya Korporatsiya Avtovokzalov» has had a streak of bad luck. The first scandal erupted at the end of July 2021. Then it turned out that the enterprise had accumulated a debt of 10.7 million rubles (approximately $119,000 at current rates).

But the organization was refused bankruptcy recognition and prohibited from selling buses. In May 2022, it turned out that the bus station owner had not paid salaries to 130 employees. In November, the institution«s director Gyuzel Sannikova was released from criminal liability.

Since then, attempts to recognize the corporation as bankrupt have not ceased. The last time was in the summer of 2025.