Getting around Beirut: service taxis, vans, buses and ride-hailing apps

There's no metro, no tap-on card and no timetable you can trust. Beirut moves on shared taxis, vans, a handful of buses and your phone.

The short version

• A service (say "ser-vees") is a shared taxi on a loose route. In 2025 a ride within Beirut cost about LBP 200,000, roughly US$2 [1].
• Vans and minibuses run fixed routes for less, and a new public bus network launched in 2024 with fares of LBP 70,000 within Beirut [1].
• Smartraveller advises using licensed, metered taxis booked by phone, through your hotel or through reputable apps, and avoiding service taxis and street-hailed cabs, especially late at night [2].
• Airport taxis at Rafic Hariri International have had fixed, government-set fares since July 2025 [3].
• There are no direct flights to Australia. You fly home through a Gulf hub, and flights can be cancelled at short notice during escalations [2][4].

First, what Smartraveller says

Smartraveller's overall level for Lebanon is Do not travel, most recently raised on 28 February after military strikes and a sharp regional escalation [2]. Within that, it lists places to stay out of entirely, including Dahiyeh in Beirut's southern suburbs, Palestinian refugee camps, and everywhere within 5 km of the Syrian border [2].

On getting around, its advice is specific [2]:

• Use licensed, metered taxis from official ranks, booked by phone, through your hotel, or via reputable ride-hailing apps.
• Avoid service taxis and street-hailed taxis, especially late at night.
• Make sure the meter is running or the fare is fixed in the app.
• Check the car and driver match the app. Unregulated drivers pose as ride-hail drivers, especially at airports.
• Australian Embassy staff have been advised to use Allo Taxi.
• Carry ID at all times. There are armed checkpoints throughout the country.
• Protests can close main highways, including roads to the airport, often with burning tyres.

That's the official line, and it's worth taking seriously. Plenty of residents still use services every day, but if you do, you're going against government advice. Weigh it up for your own route and time of day.

Service taxis and vans: how they work

The service

A service is an ordinary-looking sedan, often old, with a red licence plate (the colour of public transport plates in Lebanon). It drives a rough route and picks up anyone going the same way.

How it works:

1. Stand at the roadside and look at the driver as he slows down.
2. Say "service" and your destination, for example "Hamra?" or "Sassine?".
3. He nods, or he doesn't. If he's not heading your way, he'll drive on or offer a private fare.
4. Get in and share. Up to four strangers may join you along the way.
5. Pay at the end. Have small notes ready.

If you say only the destination, or the car is empty and you're going somewhere awkward, the driver may treat it as a private taxi ("taxi" instead of "service") and charge several times the shared fare. Agree on the price before you go.

Vans and minibuses

Vans run fixed routes along main roads, for example from Dora towards Hamra or out to the suburbs. They're the cheapest way to cover a long distance, but there are no published schedules or proper stops, and routes don't cover the whole city [1]. You flag them down and shout when you want to get off.

What things cost

Fares in Lebanon are set by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, but the pound has moved so much that drivers often round up. Here's what the official and reported figures say:

Compared with a Sydney Opal fare, a service is cheap. A private taxi or app ride across town costs several times a service fare, so check the price in the app or agree it first. Pay in Lebanese pounds for services and vans. Drivers often accept US dollars, but you'll get change in pounds at their rate.

The new public buses

Lebanon's government relaunched public buses with a pilot in Beirut in 2024. The buses are a mix of 50 donated by France and 45 refurbished locally, and a private company runs them under a public-private partnership with the ministry [1]. In 2025 there were 11 routes, mostly in Greater Beirut, with some running north to Tripoli, south and east [1].

What to know [1]:

• Buses ran from about 6 am to 7 pm, aiming for one every 25 minutes.
• Fares were LBP 70,000 within Beirut, LBP 100,000 to Baabda and LBP 150,000 to Tripoli.
• You can buy a single ticket or use a rechargeable card. If you don't have a card, pay the driver and get a paper ticket.
• There was no journey-planning app, so ask locals or the driver.

It's a long way from the Sydney bus network, but it's cheap and the vehicles are tracked. Check the routes are still running before you rely on them, because services can be interrupted during escalations.

Ride-hailing apps and booked taxis

For most newcomers, apps and booked cabs are the easiest start. They give you a fixed price, a record of the trip and a driver who knows where they're going. Smartraveller accepts reputable ride-hailing apps and names Allo Taxi as the company Embassy staff use [2].

Tips for apps in Beirut:

• Check the plate and driver every time [2].
• Share your trip with a friend, especially at night.
• Expect GPS problems. Smartraveller warns GPS signals can be jammed, which throws off navigation apps [2]. Drivers may ring you for directions, so have your building's name and a landmark ready. Beirut addresses are given by landmark more than street number.
• Keep a cab company's number for when data drops out during power cuts.

Walking and traffic

Central Beirut is compact. Hamra to Downtown or Gemmayzeh to Mar Mikhael is walkable, and the Corniche along the sea in Ras Beirut is one of the best walks in the region. But footpaths are narrow, broken or parked on, crossings are rare, and drivers don't stop for pedestrians the way they do at home.

Lebanon drives on the right, so look left first when you step off the kerb. That one catches Australians for months. Street lighting is patchy since the power crisis, so carry a torch at night.

The airport and getting home to Australia

Rafic Hariri International Airport

Beirut's only international airport is about 10 km south of the city centre. The road there runs past Beirut's southern suburbs, which Smartraveller lists as an area to avoid, and it warns that unrest can block the highways between the centre and the airport [2].

Since July 2025, airport taxis follow one fixed fare system set by the Public Works Ministry. Prices are pegged in dollars or pounds, and you can check them on QR codes on airport screens or on leaflets at passport control [3]. Smartraveller suggests extra care choosing transport at the airport, so use the official rank, a booked cab or a verified app ride [2].

Flights home

There are no direct flights between Lebanon and Australia. The usual routes go through Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi, with Gulf carriers connecting on to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth or Adelaide. Middle East Airlines, Lebanon's national carrier, also flies to Gulf and European hubs.

After hostilities began in late February 2026, most foreign airlines suspended Beirut flights. Etihad, Qatar Airways, flydubai and Air Arabia returned by April, and Emirates restarted daily flights from 27 April 2026 [4]. Smartraveller says airspace may open or close at short notice and advises leaving while commercial flights are available [2].

Before you travel:

1. Book flexible fares where you can.
2. Keep your passport valid for well over six months.
3. Subscribe to Smartraveller updates for Lebanon.
4. Save the Embassy number: +961 1 960600 [2].

Ask before you ride

Which van goes past your flat, what a cab from Achrafieh to the airport costs this month, whether the bus to Jounieh is running: Join Cooee Lebanon, our Facebook group for Australians in Lebanon, and ask people who make the trip every day.

Sources

1. Can Beirut's new bus network succeed where past reform efforts failed? – Arab News (July 2025)
2. Lebanon travel advice – Smartraveller (DFAT)
3. Beirut Airport introduces fixed taxi fares – Lovin Beirut (July 2025)
4. Emirates and EgyptAir announce return to Lebanon – L'Orient Today (April 2026)
5. Lebanon's transport ministry announces fixed fares for public transportation – Lovin Beirut (May 2024)

Keep reading

• Driving in Lebanon on an Australian licence: the IDP and the roads
• Moving to Beirut from Australia: the complete guide
• Cost of living in Beirut vs Sydney and Melbourne
• Consular help and Smartraveller for Australians abroad