CLS: EUR 260 million spent on public transport in Belgrade in six months, yet not a single vehicle purchased

Nikola Jovanovic, Director of the Center for Local Self-Government (CLS), stated that according to the City of Belgrade’s budget execution report, the Secretariat for Public Transport had spent as much as 30.5 billion dinars, or approximately EUR 260 million, during the first six months of 2026.

– How is it possible that EUR 260 million was spent by July 1, yet not a single new vehicle was purchased for GSP this year, not a single meter of the tram or trolleybus network was expanded, and no major overhauls of existing trams were carried out? – Jovanovic asked in a written statement.

As he noted, “instead of using this money for tangible investments that citizens could see and experience, the bulk of the funds goes toward ongoing operational costs, including massive payouts to a handful of privileged private transport operators who have been securing lucrative contracts from the City of Belgrade for years.”

– This type of policy, where hundreds of millions of euros are spent without any visible improvement in transport quality, represents irresponsible management of public funds and points to serious corruption – the CLS director pointed out.

He concluded with the following message:

– Aleksandar Sapic is obliged to appear at the City Assembly session on Tuesday and explain to the citizens where the 30.5 billion dinars allocated for public transport in just the first six months of this year went, and why the people of Belgrade received nothing in return for that money – said Jovanovic.

Centar za lokalnu samoupravu Beograd

Sekretarijat za javni prevoz Beograd

Grad Beograd

Center for Local Self Government

CLS

City of Belgrade

Secretariat for Public Transport of the City of Belgrade

Nikola Jovanović