Visiting Zagreb on Tuesday 22 September? You can leave your wallet closed for the commute. The Croatian capital is making all trams and buses free for the entire day, plus the city's public bikes for registered users, as part of European Mobility Week and Car-Free Day.
The free rides run by ZET, Zagreb's electric tram operator, cover any regular journey started and completed between midnight and 23:59 — so it works whether you're heading to the Upper Town for breakfast or out to the lake at Jarun in the evening. The same deal applies to the Bajs bike-share scheme, but only for people who have already registered and activated an account, and you can't hang onto a bike all day; normal borrow-and-return rules apply. New users can sign up online in advance, which is worth doing before you arrive.
There's a twist for drivers, though: central Zagreb goes car-free. From 08:00 to 20:00, motor traffic is banned in a sizeable chunk of the centre, roughly the area around Ilica and Gundulićeva down to Ribnjak, plus parts of Martićeva and Mesnička streets. Taxis and ride-hailing drops will need to be planned around the edges of the zone. To fill the gap, the city's little electric shuttle vehicles known as Fulir will run free through the pedestrian zone, making it easy to hop across the centre without wheels of your own.
The point of the exercise goes beyond one day. Zagreb is using European Mobility Week to push alternatives to the private car — trams, bikes and walking — with the stated aim of cutting car dependence, reclaiming public space and improving everyday quality of life. A full programme of free activities runs through Tuesday, listed on the city's dedicated Mobility Week website.
For travellers, this is actually a nice window into the city. Zagreb's tram network is one of the most extensive in the region, and a free day is the perfect excuse to ride lines you'd otherwise skip — out to Maksimir Park, down to the Sava, or just loops through the centre. The car-free streets also mean café terraces and events spilling into space normally occupied by parked cars, which is when central Zagreb feels at its best. If your trip is flexible, timing it around 22 September gets you a car-free old town, free transport and free bikes all in one go.
Credit: Croatia Week.
