Byzantine blue Šapić Aleksandra: It's the turn of the trams

Suite of green, yellow and red trams that traffic Belgrade streets, a new group will soon join, but instead of red, as originally planned, it will be blue.

This decision was made at the end of 2024, by amending the contract between the City Transport Company (GSP) Belgrade and the Turkish company Bozankaja, which is the supplier of 25 trams.

The notice on the amendment of the contract was published on January 1, 2025, on the public procurement portal.

As a result, the color of the ordered vehicles was changed in the technical documentation. According to reports, the Turkish company will deliver "ultramarine blue" trams to the Belgrade GSP.

According to the originally published technical specifications, vehicles in "signal red" color were ordered, according to the documentation on the Public Procurement Portal.

The change was made, as stated in the explanation, due to circumstances that the client could not foresee, which is the decision of the City Council of the City of Belgrade to change the color of the vehicle used for public city and suburban transport from red to blue.

"Belgrade blue" city transport

The color change of the ordered trams comes a few months after the decision of the Belgrade authorities on the color of public city transport vehicles.

In the future, all vehicles younger than two years old will be "Belgrade" blue, instead of "soc-red", announced the mayor of Belgrade, Aleksandar Šapić, at the beginning of October 2024.

"Belgrade blue, Nemanjic blue, Byzantine blue, which has more symbolism than red, which reminded us of kiosks with hot dogs and yogurt," Šapić previously explained his aversion to the color red.

He specified that vehicles older than two years will not be repainted so that the citizens of Belgrade can see their age for themselves and that they have no dilemma in this matter.

The mayor then announced that the plan is for Belgrade to have no vehicles older than two years on the streets, and this should be achieved "naturally" and by replacing vehicles in the next two to three years.