Zagreb’s traffic jams no longer just a rush-hour problem

by croatiaweek
October 26, 2025
in News

Zagreb

Traffic congestion in the Croatian capital Zagreb has become a constant part of city life, with queues stretching from morning to night.

According to data from the Zagreb police, nearly 20,000 more vehicles were registered in the city by the end of 2024 compared to the previous year, a total of 479,955, of which around 326,000 are privately owned.

Over the past decade, that number has grown by an astonishing 130,000.

Experts agree that the increase in vehicles is driven by three key factors: rising living standards, the car’s status as a symbol of success, and an underdeveloped public transport system.

“People are forced to rely on cars,” Professor Marko Šoštarić, Dean of the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, explained to Index.hr.

Šoštarić warns that Zagreb’s streets simply cannot absorb such volumes of traffic.

“Even if we widen the roads, congestion will remain unless habits change,” he said. Many residents use cars for very short trips, including school runs that could often be done on foot. “We need to start walking more and using bicycles or trams for longer distances,” he adds.

Residents say the situation has become unbearable.

“It’s terrible, I travel from one end of the city to the other for more than an hour, and it’s only half past one,” said one commuter stuck at the busy Držićeva–Vukovarska junction.

Several infrastructure projects are under way, including the reconstruction of Sarajevska Road and the construction of a new tram line in Novi Zagreb.

Improvements are also being made to junctions and traffic-light systems. While these works are welcome, Šoštarić believes the key lies in better coordination between transport modes, particularly rail.

He suggests enhancing the city’s existing railway network, which he calls “Zagreb’s above-ground metro”, by adding new stops and integrating buses and trains under one digital ticketing system.