AZE.US
Azerbaijan’s public transport system could change more in the next 10 years than it has in much of the post-Soviet period. But the real issue is no longer whether the country adds more buses, expands cashless payments, or launches another digital service. The bigger question is whether Azerbaijan can finally turn public transport into one working system instead of a loose collection of separate parts. That was the core message in a broad discussion on the sector’s future.
The main weakness in Azerbaijan’s transport system is not just overcrowding, route gaps, or long waits. It is the structure itself. In cities with stronger transport models, metro lines, buses, trams, suburban rail, ticketing, and scheduling work as one network. In Baku, passengers still often move through a fragmented system where each part functions on its own logic. That is why the debate is increasingly shifting away from hardware and toward governance.
Transport expert Arshad Huseynov said Azerbaijan is still searching for the right model. Prague was mentioned as one example, with its integrated urban transport system and unified management approach. For Baku, the comparison is uncomfortable. The city still relies mainly on metro and buses, while the deeper integration seen in many European capitals remains largely absent.
That failure is felt every day by ordinary passengers. Buses can take too long to arrive. Transfers do not always feel like part of one coordinated system. People lose hours on the road and often fall back on private cars or taxis because they do not trust public transport to get them where they need to go quickly and predictably. The result is the same problem Baku knows too well: congestion, overloaded roads, and wasted time.
There are signs of progress. Cashless payment systems are expanding. Digital tools are improving. Officials and experts are openly discussing more modern transport models. But those are still pieces of a future system, not the system itself. Even now, the move away from cash remains unfinished, which makes it harder to calculate the true cost of routes and build a transparent subsidy model.
That leads to the most uncomfortable truth in the debate. Public transport cannot survive on the logic of a normal private business. It is a social service. If the state and city authorities want less congestion, better mobility, and a more functional urban life, they have to support it accordingly. Without a stable financial and management model, talk of comfort and modernization will keep running into the same old reality: operators struggling with costs, banks staying cautious, and passengers waiting too long for basic service.
Rail is also returning to the discussion. The program highlighted the renewed functionality of the Kurdamir station, where trains on several routes began stopping from April 18. A standard ticket costs 11.10 manats, and the trip from Baku takes about 2 hours and 11 minutes. On its own, that is not a transport breakthrough. But it does suggest that rail is starting to be treated again as part of a broader mobility system linking Baku with the regions.
If this approach is carried through, Azerbaijan could look very different in 10 years. The country could end up with a more connected transport network, smoother transfers, a stronger role for suburban and regional rail, more reliable schedules, and a public system that competes more seriously with the private car. That matters because car dependence in a city like Baku is no longer a sign of convenience. It is increasingly a sign that the public transport system still is not doing its job well enough.
If the institutional reform stalls again, however, the result may be far more modest: another app, another upgrade, another isolated improvement, while the underlying problem remains the same. The real test is whether Azerbaijan can build a transport system that works as a whole. If not, passengers may still be asking the same question a decade from now: how to get across the city without losing half the day.
AZE.US