Trolleybuses in Kaunas | True Lithuania
True Lithuania

Getting around Kaunas

Kaunas public transport consists of buses and trolleybuses. Trolleybuses and buses are municipal-owned. They use the same ticket. Trolleybuses serve the trunk routes and are more frequent (typically one every 10-20 minutes). However, the trolleybus network is limited to the districts north of Nemunas river. Buses serve the less popular routes, including the suburban ones (some buses go merely once in 2 hours, so better check the timetables before going to a stop).

A bus stop in Kaunas with a screen telling what buses would arrive. ©Augustinas Žemaitis.

The public transport system works from 5:30-6:00 to some 22:00-23:00. The airport bus is synchronized with flight times and operates longer. There is a modern information system at the main stops where screens show the upcoming transport and waiting times. The destination of every bus and trolleybus is written on the vehicles themselves.

A unique form of public transport in Kaunas are its interwar funiculars, constructed when buses were still unable to ascend the Kaunas hills. Now more of a tourist experience, they connect the downtown to vantage point locations in Aleksotas and Žaliakalnis.

The timetables and routes of Kaunas public transport are available here.

There are no public underground parking lots, but parking at the sides of the streets is both abundant and cheap by Western standards. Furthermore, the downtown is relatively compact (3,5x1,5 km) and parking in the surrounding low-rise districts (Žaliakalnis, Aleksotas, southern Vilijampolė) is both free and easier.

Aleksotas and Žaliakalnis hill districts are connected to Downtown by authentic interwar funiculars which became a symbol of Kaunas. ©Augustinas Žemaitis.

Leaving your car in the multi-storey parking of "Akropolis" shopping mall in the New Town district (Karaliaus Mindaugo Avenue) is another alternative if you don't mind exploring the downtown on foot (Old Town is 2 km away from there).

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  1. Hello Augustinas, I’m looking to you for some insights regarding the safety of part of Kaunas and whether an area of interest has a significant crime rate. The street address is Savanorių Prospektas 25. Would you think this area presents a high risk to walk around? Thanks

    • Judging by the question, I take you are from the USA or some other country where the crime is spread unevenly and there are “very unsafe districts”.

      It is not so in Lithuania or Central Europe in general, neither it is so in Kaunas.

      While average crime rates in Lithuania may be similar to those in the USA, this crime is evenly spread.

      There are no “inner city ghettos” where crime is skyrocketing. Probably the fact that the population in Eastern Europe is fairly homogenous adds to this (while there are many ethnic minorities, they typically descend from neighboring countries, meaning relatively similar culture, attitudes to the law, etc.). In Kaunas there are no ethnic districts (e.g. Polish district, Russian district and such) – all the ethnicities live in the whole city.

      In the countries where crime is spread unevenly, such as the USA or Western Europe, it is common that different districts and suburbs are inhabited by different ethnic or racial groups, and each of these groups has different cultures and attitudes towards law, with some groups being more prone to behave criminally and thus their districts being unsafe.

      As the crime is evenly spread in Lithuania and overall levels are similar to the USA, this means, on the one hand, that there are no truly unsafe districts and, on the other hand, there is no district where you could leave your home unlocked or valuables on the seat of your unattended car either: you must use common sense everywhere. That said, a typical Lithuanian would not be a victim of a crime more frequently than once in five years, once in ten years or so, perhaps.

      Read Warnings and dangers for more information about the safety in Lithuania in general.


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