# A Minsk–Vilnius ticket for 25 rubles from 2019 sparks debate: now trips cost from 205 rubles

- URL: https://syn.by/en/society/minsk-vilnius-ticket-25-rubles/
- Published: 2026-11-06T12:00:24+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T12:00:24+00:00
- Section: Society
- Language: en
- RU edition: https://syn.by/ru/obshchestvo/bilet-minsk-vilnyus-25-rubley.md
- BE edition: https://syn.by/hramadztva/biliet-miensk-vilnia-25-rubliou.md

> A Belarusian woman posted on Threads a photo of a Minsktrans bus receipt. Today tickets on the same route cost from 205.62 to 327 rubles.

![](https://syn.by/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/illustration-6349-1024x585.webp)

A Belarusian woman with the handle @vaverka_di posted on Threads on 27 October a photo of a Minsk–Vilnius bus ticket bought in 2019 for 25 rubles. The carrier on the route was the state-owned Minsktrans. The post prompted a lively discussion.

According to the author, every fourth or fifth trip came with a 50% discount. With the discount, a ticket cost 12.5 rubles. "2019. A Minsk–Vilnius bus ticket with Minsktrans cost 25 rubles. Just 25 rubles!!! And every 4th or 5th trip, I can't remember which, came with a 50% discount. I couldn't believe my eyes," she wrote.

Within a week the Threads thread gathered more than a hundred comments. For many, the post stirred nostalgia: people recalled what they used to pay to travel to Vilnius and reminded others that it was possible to get there by train.

One user wrote: "25 BYN for Minsk–Vilnius sounds now like a trip to another era." Another participant in the discussion said: "Today I bought one for 260 BYN…".

Tickets for 31 October cost from 205.62 to 327 rubles.

For comparison: in 2019, a ticket back from Vilnius with a commercial carrier cost 29 rubles. In 2021, a private company carried passengers from Minsk to Vilnius airport for 40 rubles. In 2017, a trip from Odesa to Minsk cost 30 rubles.

Commenters recalled other prices too: one wrote that the bus cost 15–18 dollars and the commuter train 30. Another noted that Vilnius could be reached by commuter train in two hours.

According to Minsktrans, the passenger transport market (air, rail and road) has changed radically since 2019: the industry has moved from pricing based on market conditions to flexible digital algorithms. Previously, prices relied on stable tariff scales, but now, the agency claims, they depend entirely on demand and change in real time depending on the time of day and day of the week.

Since August 2025, the number of buses between Minsk and Vilnius has sharply declined, and many trips have been cancelled. In August 2026, tickets from Minsk to Vilnius costing as much as 439 rubles were being discussed on social media.

In October 2025, the Lithuanian government decided to close the border with Belarus until 30 November, including the Medininkai and Šalčininkai checkpoints.