SL Reviews 

Never going to use SL transport ever AGAIN. I was supposed to get home at 5 pm, guess what? I got home at 8 freaking pm. The busses are never in time nor the trains.

I wanted to gave 0 star but I couldn’t. SL has the worst bus service in Stockholm.their bus never comes on time either early either late . Sometimes never come . This totally disgusting service that I have ever had . Their bus drivers behaviour also not good . They don’t respect passengers. I prefer to walk instead of SL buss . I am feed up with this kind of service .

I’m a Swedish citizen who lives in the heart of the city and relay solely on busses and train to get to work. On weekends where there are less people who waits for the busses, the buss driver will just pass the stop even if they’re 10 min early. Even trains arrive early and won’t wait. Don’t count on this company to take you anywhere. They’re capitalising of less fortunate people and the service? Straight from hell. They’re heartless people cause most of them are real Swedish that doesn’t sympathise with anyone. Everyone who write their one star review has a valid crashout.

You might consider Sweden a modern, digital country having abolished cash. The downside to this is that you might be locked out completely if you do not belong to the Swedish in-community.

You may be locked out from public transport in Stockholm (and also in Göteborg) completely. Certainly, it sounds nice to simply pay with your credit card as their webites propose. But unlike in many other cities worldwide, this however, may not work for foreigners (that’s what they don’t tell you) because Stockholm and Göteborg use proprietary payment systems that are not fully compatible with many foreign VISA cards. You simply cannot use your VISA card for tapping. We came with seven cards (credit as well as debit) and only two worked - in fact not enough for a family of four. Note also that you would require one card for each family member for tapping.

Alternatively, you may use an app but again there are substantial pitfalls, when it comes to payment. Six out of seven cards did not work, for reasons not known (the 7th is still to prove whether it will work since you can't check in the app in advance).

If authentication requires an SMS, make sure to bring the right phone. Mine operates on frequencies Sweden has switched off - so it was again impossible to make a purchase.

You may buy paper tickets at some stations (often well hidden) but not on a bus. Make sure before you go on a single ticket if you can buy a return ticket where you go since you cannot buy a ticket in advance either.

SL (Stockholm) also offers some sort of a proprietary card for an extra charge on which you can upload certain tickets at some shops. We have not tried that due to new potential pitfalls and endless instructions.

In a nutshell, you need to bring a modern up to date Smartphone and a payment card that will work - unfortunately, the latter, however, is difficult to predict in advance, while it cannot be tested either without a purchase (okay, you may purchase a dummy ticket as a test without going on a trip).

Real money? Forget about it, they don’t take it.

We spent a lot of time on the website of SL and other sources. In the end our today’s trip failed due to SL (the 7th card being left at our hotel) and incompatible digital equipment. A frustrating experience.

Uncertainty prevails. There are many, many special and extra regulations - the whole system is overly complex. We felt locked out as foreigners.

If you wish to avoid that, simply don’t go to Stockholm and Göteborg. Go to Munich, Athens, London, New York, Washington etc., where they care more about visitors (and your VISA card will work).

WORST !!!! They are sooo cheap, they save in on the AC system and torture ua passengers.

Once again SL manage to fail me! First I almost missed my meeting, even when leaving home 2 hours early because the bus always is FULL.

On my way home I have to sit and get water droplets on my head because this bus is so CRUSTY and BROKEN!

SL is hands down the worst transport company in the world. In my personal opinion, it is a disgrace to the entire country of Sweden. There is only one consistent thing about this company: constantly broken lifts, out-of-order escalators, and canceled trains and buses. It is absolutely impossible to plan your day when everything is constantly canceled.

For instance, today on my line, the train has been canceled since early morning, and neither the escalator nor the elevator is working. How on earth am I supposed to get to work? How am I supposed to make any plans?

The buses are just as bad. Yesterday, I was riding a bus, and the driver literally hit a pedestrian crossing sign and just kept driving like nothing happened. Honestly, I shouldn't even be surprised, considering that the instructor training him was just sitting there scrolling through TikTok on his phone.

If there were any way to completely avoid using this company, I would do it in a heartbeat. I used to look down on people who jump over the turnstiles, but now I feel like they simply have no other choice. We need to stand up and force this company to start respecting its passengers, because right now, they see us as a wallets, not as human beings.

Worst public transport I have ever experienced!!
We waited 30min for a bus to catch the boat to the archipelago that ended up not stopping at the bus stop for us?! We ended up not going because we were waiting at the bus stop for one hour!
What is wrong SL?!

It’s shit as it gets!!!!
It was supposed to leave in 2min and the bit*h decided to go a bit sooner. But hey no biggie, next one at 5:37. Oh btw it’s 1:45 right now

Horrible transportation. Busses get cancelled with 0 notice and the SL app doesn't work half the time so you can't even check. Do better, smh.

Cancelled buses on a daily basis without information and updates given on the SL app. One hour late from work. Buses are late more than one hour every day. The monthly ticket is way too expensive for this crappy service.

The Sl is the worst transport company I have ever experienced in my life. Buses,trains and commuter trains keep failing to work perfectly. Either delay or not working. The company keeps increasing fares yearly, yet Stockholm citizens and residents that use the service never complained or strike. Shity company always making me fail meetings due to late buses and trains

SL is the worst transportation company in the world - the buses are always late or not functioning, the drivers drives dangerously fast and are a hassard to traffic security, there are always problems with the subway and the staff at customer services are completely incompetent. The ticket should be fre to compensate all people from the suffering SL causes!!!!

Monthly tickets are so expensive.
There are always delays or cancellations on all lines.
The trains are so dirty, stinky and disgusting.
You pay so much money every month for what?
Drivers and ticket inspectors are so unprofessional and so unsightly…
Do something SL….

Avoid. The worst transportation company in the world. Same category as Germany.

Worst experience ever. We had an SJ train booked from Stockholm to Göteborg. We left hotel one hour early just to be sure we are at the T-Centralen half an hour before the departure of our train. Went with 11-blue line. There was maintenence work which nobody that speaks english knew about, because the staff only announced it in swedish over a crappy speaker. So the metro actually only used one track and a mass of tourists got stuck on it. The travel time doubled because we had to change trains in between. We only found out about it, when it started driving reverse, back to our original station. So we missed our SJ train, like many others. When we asked the staff if we could get (even a partial) refund, they rejected us while in the same breath saying we are not the only ones (there was a line of people with the same issue). They couldn't care less. People missed their flights, trains...that cost more than trippled if booked on the same day. Worst experience ever. If such an issue occurs on train, they could at least notify us in english! Or at least help us get a new ticket for the same price as bought. IF YOU NEED TO GO TO THE AIRIPORT/SJ TRAIN, LEAVE TWO HOURS EARLY!!! You will thank yourself.

It became a traumatic experience to travell with sl. The corrupted pedofils that rules ate all the money and nothing is working any more.

Terrible experience!! Have been living in Stockholm for 1 year already and SL can't get more disappointing. Once I was heading home from work at 12 am and the bus got stuck for 10 minutes with no light in the middle of the pitstop. Today during the students graduation parties, instead of providing buses more often than usually, I waited for my bus 20 minutes and it never arrived so had to take subway instead. Two months ago the bus was so old that the back door wouldn't close so all people in the bus had to leave and walk somewhere since the bus needed to be fixed. All of this added to the INSANELY expensive prices makes it so frustraiting. No discount for young people unless you are a student. Every year gets more expensive aswell. Why is no one complaining? Why is not the people doing a strike in Stockholm. We are not seen either heard.

Let me tell you about the legend of Swedish public transport services.
Let me tell you about the bus 181.
Ah yes, the infamous bus 181—the public transport equivalent of a mythical creature: spoken of often, rarely seen, and when sighted, always late. A marvel of modern inefficiency, its tardiness so consistent it could be used to set a watch—an incorrect watch, mind you, but a watch nonetheless.

Each morning, like a tragic hero, you embark on the doomed quest from Sköndal, placing your faith in the 181, only to be betrayed yet again. And thus, your connection bus 831, ever punctual, departs with smug certainty, leaving you stranded in the purgatory of Östmarksgatan, contemplating life's deeper injustices—like why exactly you must sacrifice precious sleep just to arrive at work not disgracefully late.

Oh, but don’t fret—twice in four months, the stars have aligned and the bus gods have smiled upon Sköndal, allowing the 181 to arrive on time. Twice! A frequency so generous, one wonders whether this is actually Sweden or some post-apocalyptic wasteland where transport runs purely on hope and misplaced optimism.

And speaking of comparisons, let's address the rather shocking realization that Athens in the ’90s—when traffic jams were a form of entertainment—had superior public transport. One might think Sweden, the land of functional design and efficiency, would ace this transport game, but no! Even the humble town of Forget Me Nowhere, Louisiana, probably boasts more reliable service, possibly involving a lone horse and carriage system that, unlike your 181, actually arrives.

Final advice? Come to Sweden armed with patience, a sleeping bag for your morning exile, and—above all—a car. Otherwise, prepare to age considerably while waiting for a bus that, much like a considerate friend, refuses to be there when you need it most.

PEND-HELL-TÅG!!! 25 min waiting at Fleminsberg (4min-3min-2min-1min… NU! Oh no back to 4min and so on!!!!). Then waiting for green signal for 10min on the middle of the way, then had to change train at Älvsjö and again at Stockholm City! Almost 2h to go to Sollentuna from Fleminsberg. Second day in a row with very long delays. But everyday, experiencing the same!!! You are late MOST OF THE TIME!