40 YEARS OF LASTE SOPOT



In the year when Lasta turned 75 in business, this September, Lasta celebrates another significant anniversary of 40 years of work and the existence of its "Laste-Sopot" Work Unit. This business entity grew and developed following the development of society and diligently performing its services in accordance with the needs of its fellow citizens and all travelers from the territory of this Belgrade municipality, even when it was impossible.
At the beginning of the 80s, the leadership of SP Lasta, implementing its development policy of expanding the network of lines, began discussions with the leaders of the municipality about opening a joint work unit within the then OOUR "Avala" in Sopot. The concrete results of those agreements came in September 1982, with the opening of a bus station facility with platforms for the needs of local and suburban transportation in this part of Šumadija.



It started modestly in accordance with the transport and supporting infrastructure, opening several lines in local transport and two departures on the highway to Belgrade. Technical maintenance workers worked on an open and improvised channel. With the construction of the building for the needs of the rolling stock, which was financed by means of communal contribution, the workers got more modern working conditions on November 29, 1987, when this building was officially opened. At that time, every morning around three thousand citizens of Sopot used station and transport services for their work and other obligations. At the end of the same year, the municipality of Sopot received new buses from the City of Belgrade, when the network of suburban lines and departures began to expand, thanks to the built and well-connected road network at the local and intercity level.
During the 90s, due to the wars in the former Yugoslavia and the imposed sanctions, like all business entities, Lasta went through a difficult period of business due to shortages of fuel and spare parts. All of its business units, and therefore RJ Lasta-Sopot, suffered the consequences of that time. Despite that, Lasta managed to maintain its business in the entire system by solidarity and helping all work organizations, providing transportation service to its passengers even in impossible conditions.



With the arrival of the 2000s, after the consolidation and moderate growth of its business, "Lasta-Sopot" recorded accelerated growth and development. The period of acquiring new buses, opening new markets and new modes of transportation begins.
Today, Lasta Sopot provides services in local, suburban, contracted (special) and offline transportation. It maintains around 100 lines in the territory of the municipality of Sopot with more than 200 departures per day and thus achieves 100,000 kilometers per month. On the lines to Belgrade, it maintains 45 departures per day, of which 39 are on the highway, where it covers 280,000 kilometers per month. On the lines to Mladenovac, it maintains 21 departures per day, and to Lazarevac, it maintains departures for employees of REIK Kolubara with over 33,000 kilometers traveled per month. Also, "Lasta-Sopot" realizes a large number of off-line trips by providing transport services to Associations of pensioners from Sopot, various sports clubs, organizations and associations, where it realizes several thousand kilometers per month. Traditionally, Lasta is the official transporter of the participants of one of the oldest Serbian film festivals, SOFEST.
With its decade-long existence and responsible attitude towards the service it provides, RJ Lasta-Sopot has gained the reputation and trust of the residents of this part of Šumadija. It has contributed to the development and improvement of the living conditions of the municipality in which it operates, therefore it is highly valued by the local community with which it has a successful long-term cooperation. As one of the most important achievements of Lasta - Sopot business, is nurturing good relations with the local community and its passengers, thus maintaining the high business reputation of its parent company - SP Lasta.
The work unit "Lasta-Sopot" enters its fifth decade of operation with 96 employees, 37 city-suburban buses and all the accompanying technical infrastructure. All employees in this work unit are ready to respond to all the challenges that lie ahead of them in the coming years and even decades. Consistently implementing stable business plans and following high standards of transport service in the first 40 years, they are proof of Lasta safe "flight" in this area.