Imagine, that after all the preparation you have finally come to Moscow. It is essential to know the transport system of the city. Here are some tips for travelers.

Metro
The best way to move from one part of Moscow to another is to use Moscow Metro. It is the fastest and most popular kind of transport in the city. Opened in 1935, it is well-known among foreign tourists, who admire beautiful interior of the stations.
Moscow Metro contains 12 lines with a total of 185 stations.
Usually, the entrance to the metro is just an underpass with the letter “M”. But sometimes you can see a land pavilion. It is more typical for old stations.

 

First of all, you need a ticket to enter. You can buy it at the ticket office or at the ticket machine.

 

 The price depends on the number of rides. You can buy a one-ride (28 rubles), two-ride (56 rubles), five-ride (135 rubles), ten-ride (265 rubles), twenty-ride (520 rubles), or a sixty-ride ticket (1245 rubles).
To enter you should put the ticket to the yellow circle of a turnstile and wait until a green light appears. Then, just go through the automatic gates. Remember you must pass on the right side of the turnstile.

Most of the stations are deep under the ground and passengers use escalators to move to the platform. You should stand on the right on the escalator.

 

It is very easy to travel in Moscow metro if you have a map. It can be downloaded here.
Moscow Metro is open from 5.30 a.m till 1 a.m. We don't recommend to travel there during rush hours (approximately from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.), because trains are overcrowded.
As trains are frequent, there is no timetable available to passengers.

 There are no English signs inside but according to the recent news they will appear this year. There are special boards on the opposite side of the platform. They help to define, where your train goes and  where you should change to another line.

 If you need any help, you can use an emergency column in the centre of each station.

 If you choose to travel by metro, you will be able to combine two things – get where you need and see beautifully decorated stations with sculptures, mosaic, stained-glass windows and chandeliers. 

 You will also have a chance to see several unusual named trains that we observed in one of our previous articles.

Bus and Trolleybus
Although metro is the most popular kind of transport in Moscow, there are other ways to get where you want. For example, you can take a bus or a trolleybus, but it is better to know which one to take.
Every large street in the city is served by at least one bus route. Moscow buses and trolleybuses operates since 5.30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

 

 
Tickets can be purchased at the kiosk or right from the driver. A one-ride ticket will cost 28 rubles if you pay to a driver. It is cheaper to buy it in the kiosk, located at the bus-stop – 25 rubles.It is also possible to get a multi-ride card in these booths.
 

 
There is a turnstile system in each bus. You must insert a ticket into the validator (in the direction shown by an arrow printed on the ticket) and wait for the green light, after which you may pass through the turnstile.

Some Moscow buses and trolleybuses can be shabby and crowded.

 

The time schedule can be available at the bus stop. 
 Dark-yellow signs are for bus stops, white signs are for trolleybus stops; if the sign is yellow and white, it is a bus and a trolleybus stop.

 If you want to get off, you should push the button near the door to give the driver a signal. The upcoming stops are usually announced loudly.

Remember, that you should get on a vehicle through the very first door only and leave a bus (as well as a trolleybus) through the back doors.


 

 Russian Taxi “Marshrutka”
 This type of transport is something between a private car and a bus.
You don’t need to buy a ticket in the booth and go through a turnstile, but you must give money directly to the driver just having entered the minibus. 
The stops are not announced and you must ask a driver to stop where you need (try to shout it loudly, because the motor roar and the music sounding from the driver’s audio system muffle voices).
 If you decide to take marshrutka, it is better to know Russian, because none of the drivers speaks English.
Russian minibus usually goes much faster than a common bus or a trolleybus, as there is no need to stand at every stop. 

 Speaking about the origin of such transport as marshrutka, it should be noted that it was auto manufacturer GAZ that created the first mass produced Russian minibus – GAZelle, a twelve-seater vehicle. 
 However, in present time such type as GAZelle are changed by Mercedes Sprinter, and Ford Transit. Those microbuses contain more passengers and are safer. We recommend you to choose the second type. 
Prices are different (from 20 to 30 rubles), it depends on the route and the part of city.

Natalia Semicheva.

Image courtesy: www.hotelroom.ru, Mosday.ru, RIA Novosti, www.profi-forex.org, www.sights.metro.ru, www.turist.rbc.ru, MK, Lenta.ru, www.photob.ru, dni.ru, avtomarket.ru, mk.by, The Village, www.anaga.ru,www.vmdaily.ru, turbina.ru, www.thesummerlad.com.