Operating route 4 in Biskra is a Mercedes Benz.
The country.
Algeria is the largest country in Africa covering 2.4 million sq km with a population of 46.7 million: the capital is Algiers with a population of 3.1 million. Geographically, the Sahara Desert encompasses most of the country except for its fertile north, along the Mediterranean coast, where most Algerians live. The two distinct areas are divided by the Atlas Mountains that run west to east across the country from the Moroccan to Tunisian borders. The languages are Algerian Arabic and French, although English is now being taught as the second language in schools. The country is steeped in history which is reflected today in many Roman remains and more modern French influences. After the 1954-1962 War of Independence against the French and the 1991-2002 Civil War, the country is now stable with a thriving economy based upon gas and oil.
Algiers, Mercedes‑Benz O345 with MCV body operated by Tahkout, a specialist in education transport. Mercedes Benz produced buses locally at its Rouiba plant. The bus is outside the Areej Library, part of the University of Algiers, having just come through the road tunnel under the university buildings and is taking a sharp bend on Rue Didouche Mourad. As is the case with most buses in Algeria, the destination box is not used and, in this instance, it contains a broom and black bin bag.
Transport.
There is an efficient passenger rail network along the Mediterranean coast, however going inland the rails are primarily for freight. There are eight tram systems in the country and the capital Algiers has a single line metro. Both the capital and the city of Constantine have cable car networks.
Road passenger transport can be divided into three distinct types. Firstly, are small midibuses, typically Hyundai County built locally although there are many older types such as the SNVI 25L4 still plying their trade. They are used initially for local/medium distance services, later being down-graded to schools/transport social operations. It is this type of vehicle that caused recent headlines when in 2025 an overloaded bus crashed and killed 18 passengers, resulting in the government decreeing that all buses over 30 years old, approximately 5400 buses, would be banned immediately from the road and that 10,000 new buses (eg. under five years old) would be purchased. Eventually, a further 28,000 buses over 20 years old will be removed. In May 2026, it was reported that 3000 new buses are now on the road.
The second type of vehicle is the standard city/urban bus, usually 11 or 12 meters in length, some with step entrances and other flat-floor. Older models consist of locally built Sonacome/SNVI types based upon the Berliet PR100 and manufactured between 1979 and 2002. Van Hool and Mercedes Benz are still well represented, however, the majority of more modern vehicles are Chinese imports, primarily from Higer. In line with current Government policy, banning importation of any new road vehicles and requiring manufacturing to be undertaken in the country, most recent new city type buses are from Tirsam based in Batna north-eastern Algeria. The current model is based upon the Chinese manufacturers Yutong and JMC products. Tirsam announced that it plans to begin local production of buses in Algeria during 2026.
The third type of vehicles are coaches almost all being from Chinese manufacturers, again Higer being the dominant supplier, with many of these coaches proudly displaying roundels celebrating 20 years of Higer imports to the country. With very little tourist traffic the majority of the coaches are used on inter-wilaya (inter-state) services connecting major cities. The inter-wilaya network is extensive, providing a frequent and cheap means of travel, however, many of the coaches show signs of high mileage use. In total, there are 97,826 buses and coaches operating in Algeria.
Bus shelters are common place even in the remotest areas, essential in such hostile climatic conditions, but none of the shelters appeared to contain timetables nor did bus stops in larger towns and cities. Local people congregate at stops seemingly aware of the departure times although on occasions there appeared to be lengthy gaps in service. Online timetable and route information is limited for the visitor and many of the Algerian websites are blocked by security issues, although DZAIR.com does have a comprehensive list of all bus stops in Algiers along with maps and route planner. Passenger loadings are heavy on local and express services regardless of the time of day.
On the highway between Constantine and Algiers is a Daewoo BX212 operated by TVH. The windscreen destination sticker states the destination as Guelma, however, the vehicle is heading west towards Algiers suggesting the coach commenced its run in Guelma. Press reports indicated that Daewoo was to launch vehicle assembly in Algeria during 2025.
The journey.
Before setting out, it is worthwhile mentioning a couple of points about travel across Algeria in general. Road conditions very tremendously. Many roads consist of rough paving and potholes, although considerable amounts of money are being poured into upgrading the road infrastructure, much of it to motorway standard. Approaches to major road junctions and urban areas are supervised by local police or the Gendarmerie check points. Speed humps are used extensively throughout urban areas and at approaches to road junctions and check points, making journeys relatively slow.
Starting in Algiers, the capital city is located on the sweeping Bay of Algiers with a promenade several kilometres long, and the city centre is built on steep hillsides with narrow hairpin roads and many flights of pedestrian steps. Local bus services are managed by Urban and Suburban Transport Establishment of Algiers (ETUSA). As with many large cities, there are roadside terminus points although the city centre focal point for many services is the bus station at Gare de Champs de Manoeuvre just off the promenade. Some distance to the east is the express coach station, Gare Routiere Grandes Invalides Caroubier, in the commune of Hussein Dey and managed by The Société de Gestion des Gares Routières d'Algérie (SOGRAL). The bus fleet is an eclectic mix of Sonacome/SNVI, Mercedes Benz, Higer and Tirsam amongst others. This beautiful capital deserves a more indepth article which I hope will be published in a future blog.
440 kilometres to the east, after a visit to the ancient Roman city of Djemila, is Algeria’s third largest city, Constantine, known as the ‘City of Bridges’. Originally built on a high plateau surrounded by deep ravines, today it is a sprawling modern city that includes a lengthy single tram route. The bus and coach station is located at the bottom of the ravine close to the river near the Mellah Slimane Bridge. Other terminus points include the Palace of Justice/Novotel, Aouinet El Foul at the Place des Martyres roundabout and Rue Baraka close to the tram terminus. Smaller buses including SNVI 25L4 work several routes, whilst Sonacome/SNVI types work the narrow twisting road north towards Hamma Bouziane. Larger city buses include Van Hool A500’s and Tirsam T9’s.
Circling the Place des Martyres in Constantine is a SNVI 25L4. The 25L4 was produced in large numbers during the 1990's and many are still in daily use. The bus is about to pull into a stop on Aouinet El Foul, to commence a service to the suburb of Boudraâ-Salah. Above the windscreen, the destination box says ‘God willing’ whilst the actual destination blind is the sticker on the lower windscreen.
Timgad lies 145 kilometres south of Constantine and is home to extensive Roman ruins, about 50 hectares, known as the Pompeii of Africa. The town itself is a small pleasant settlement. The local bus service is operated by H. Abidi using a Foton AUV coach. The town is also the starting point for an express service to Algiers operated by TVE (Transport Voyageurs Est) using 2015 built Van Hool T915 coaches.
Foton AUV (Beiqi Foton Motor Co., Ltd) operated by H. Abidi on local service in Timgad. The terminus for the service is a bus shelter just outside the entrance to the Roman city founded by the Emperor Trajan around 100 AD, known as the Pompeii of Africa.
The landscape changes as the road crosses the Atlas Mountains, still snow-capped despite the spring temperatures, and descends onto the Desert plain reaching the first major town, Biskra. A large university town with a population of 307,987 astride the Oued Sidi Zerzour waterway. There is an extensive bus network with a bus/coach station located on L'oued Boulevard Front de. The bus fleet comprises of King Long XMQ6110G and many Sonacome/SNVI’s.
375 kilometres south west of Timgad is the industrial town of Touggourt which was the starting point in 1922 of the first motorised crossing of the Sahara. A further 309 kilometres southwest is the oasis town of Ghardaïa in the M’Zab Valley. A UNESCO site, the town is the commercial hub for the five surrounding historic villages. The modern oasis bears no resemblance to the Hollywood films of old, is still dependent upon the water that the oasis provides and with palm trees all around, the atmosphere is now more urban town. There is a surprisingly large network of bus services focused on the town centre bus station at Rue Emir Abdelkader, including vehicles from Higer, Tata and Isuzu. I hope to provide a more in-depth report in a future blog.
It is a long 621 kilometre drive south across the arid yet beguiling desert landscape to the final destination, Timimoun a town set amongst the sands and high dunes of the Gourra region. The area is steeped in Berber history and old abandoned settlements, whilst the modern main town has some unique architecture. On Rue 1er Novembre, surprisingly for such a small town, it has quite a large, well-used, central bus station with two long rows of shelters: interesting to note, the metal work supporting the bus shelters has ‘Welcome to Timimoun’ etched into it in English. The bus services are operated E.T.U.A (Etablissement de Transport Urbain ADRAR) using SNVI City vehicles.
E.T.U.A (Etablissement de Transport Urbain ADRAR) bus stands in Timimoun bus station on Rue 1er Novembre. The bus is a SNVI (Société Nationale des Véhicules Industriels) City model. Local services operate to Aougrout, Tinerkouk, and Charouine whilst long distance operators provide services to Adrar, Béchar, Ghardaïa, Algiers and Oran.
Timimoun is 1200 kilometres south of the capital, deep in the Sahara, and is where the journey ends. Algeria is a fascinating country, steeped in history, with wonderful landscapes and welcoming people and, for those interested in public transport, a feast for the eyes. Shoukran to Rafik Cheraitia for making this trip happen.
22294 in the ETUSA fleet is a Van Hool A500/2 operating in Constantine. The bus is heading away from the Place des Martyres on Ave Aouati Mostafa towards the southern part of the city.
Algerian built Sonacome/SNVI type based upon the Berliet PR100. Returning to Constantine along the narrow ravine road from Bekira, a suburb north of the city. This vehicle type was manufactured between 1979 and 2002.
A Van Hool T915 of EPE TVC (formerly SNTV). One of two standing at the bus terminus in Timgad in the late afternoon. The destination blind was showing Algiers, a journey of 420 kilometres.
Calling in for a top-up at the service station on the outskirts of Oumache whilst operating route 37 is a King Long XMQ6116GFB. Buses in the same livery were also noted operating in Biskra. Oumache is a small Saharan-edge town known for its date palm tree agriculture and quiet rural character, 326 km from Algiers and 204 km from Constantine.
