Public transportation with Google Maps, disorienting

2025-07-26 08:52:00, Sociale CNA

Although data on public and intercity transportation is now available on Google Maps, it still does not help much in navigating to desired destinations, as the urban roads and lines that the application suggests are not clear even to locals.

Bus lines in Tirana are marked with a letter and a number, not the full name of the line, and schedules are not accurate. Also, basic infrastructure at bus stations is lacking, making it difficult to find your way around and identify stops.

Destinations are not clearly defined in the app, for example, Dajti Mountain is incorrectly listed as being located in Skanderbeg Square.

Another example is the route from Tirana Center to Dajti Ekspres. This trip takes about 50 minutes, 36 minutes by urban and then 14 minutes on foot, but the app suggests three different bus lines: 11, 15A and 15B.

These lines are Linza, Kinostudio and Porcelani, respectively, but there is no distinguishing mark in the application to help the user understand which line each number belongs to, as the buses on the ground are marked only with the names of the lines, not with the corresponding numbers.

Tourists explore taxis

Tourists visiting Tirana often face serious difficulties in using public transportation, due to the lack of accurate and accessible information in foreign languages.

Until January 2025, the public transport map was not available on Google Maps, leading many tourists to turn to rental cars or taxis, which fueled their rapid development.

Even today, many of the main bus lines do not have clear schedules on platforms like Google Maps, or at transport stations, and most information is not available in English.

This creates confusion and stress, especially for those who want to travel from the city center to airports or intercity bus terminals.

"Usually when I travel I think a taxi is the best option. Unlike buses, taxis are fast, safe and easy to use, especially when you don't have time to waste waiting or looking for schedules."

"So far, for long trips outside the city center, I have used taxis, both to get to the airport and to the bus terminal to get out of the city," says Mak, a tourist from the Netherlands.

Ana visited Tirana for the first time this year. She planned to explore the city by public transportation, but faced with bus shortages and delays, she ended up using taxis for most of her trips.

"At first I thought the taxi would cost me a lot, but it actually wasn't as expensive as I expected. I paid directly in the app and it was much easier than I thought. Public transport? I'll never take it again! I wanted to go to Dajt, but the bus took me to the other side of the city and I wasted a lot of time and nerves."

But the biggest users of taxis are locals; in the case of the Patoko app, 90% of customers are locals and 10% are foreigners.

In 2025, the use of the Patoko application by foreign tourists has increased by 90%, increasing the need for services to be accessible in foreign languages and with international payment systems.

"We aim to offer an experience as similar as possible to what visitors are used to in their own countries," says Arbër Kadia, administrative director of Patoko.

Market operators have also seen an increase in demand from foreigners. According to Arbër Kurtaj, director and administrator of the taxi company Green Taxi, during the tourist season, the growth is higher.

"Especially during the tourist season, we have a significant increase in foreign customers. To better manage this demand, we have trained drivers to communicate in basic foreign languages and I want to emphasize that our operators serve 24/7, accepting calls and reservations."/ Monitor