Getting around Moscow by metro and public transport

Moscow traffic / Photo by Leszek Golubinski @ FlickR

Moscow Metro

There is a ring-line (brown) which has crossings with all other radial lines. Metro entrances are marked with a large red letter "M".

The open hours are from 5.20 a.m. to 1.00 a.m. Usually the last train starts its way at 00.50 from the last station at any line; the passes between stations are closed at 1.00 am. When there're rush hours (8.00-9.00, 17.00-19.00) the metro is overcrowded, so it's better to avoid it.


Ploschad Revolutsii metro station in Moscow / Photo by Sbisson@FlickR

Tickets & Prices. The metro has no special zones - all the metro is one zone, and there's no time limit for using your ticket. You can buy a ticket for 15R ($0.60) for one trip and spend as much time inside as you like. You can also save money and buy tickets for 5 trips - 70 R ($2.80) (cheaper), a ticket for 10 trips - 125 R ($5.00), or a ticket for 20 trips – 230R ($8.50).soIf you don't pay, then iou'll have to pay around $20 fine.

See a video of a trip in Moscow metro:


Moscow metro is sometimes beautifully decorated, in fact, it looks like an underground museum. One of the reasons is that when it was built it was supposed to be an underground shelter in case of war, so it was built to be pleasing to the eyes and to 'promote' communist way of life. Hence many mosaics and sculptures dedicated to the life of Soviet people.

The most interesting stations of Moscow metro are: Kievskaya (blue line, west center - mosaics dedicated to the life of Ukrainian people), Komsomolskaya (circle line, north-east - mosaics on the ceiling), Mayakovskaya (green line, north - the winner of grand-prizes, decorated in a cool way), Ploshchad Revolutsii (blue line, center - sculptures of Russian workers, soldiers, and just normal people), Arbatskaya (blue line, center - just nice interior), Chkalovskaya (light green line, east center - one of the newly built stations, futuristic minimalistic design).

Buses, Trolleys and Trams

Bus - av`tobus. Trolleybus- tro`leibus . Tram - tram`vai.
Most of them don't go on the schedule, and the average waiting time can be from 5 minutes to 40 minutes in the evenings. The public transport works are from 5:30 until 1:00. The bus stops are yellow plates marked with "A" signs, trolleys' - white plates with "T" and trams' with "Tp". There are no night buses or trolleys or trams. If you're late, you can only take a taxi.

Prices are the same for buses, trolleys and trams: one trip costs 15 R ($0.60) if you buy the ticket from the driver, or 12 R ($0.50) if you buy the ticket beforehand. You can buy them from the driver directly, in metro stations, or from the kiosks located near the busier bus stops. Almost all Moscow transport has now been fitted with turnstiles where you have to stick your ticket into a machine to pass through. This means you now have to enter through the front door, creating long queues for boarding, and it also means that fare evasion is no longer possible, like it was in the good old days.


Moscow trolleybuses - photo by Trolleway@FlickR

Selected Public Transport Routes in Moscow

Marshrutka (Minibus-Shuttle)

These are smaller, normally private buses. They usually have the same numbers as the buses or trolleys and go the same route. If you see an approaching shuttle just wave it down like a taxi. You must pay for a trip from 10 to 15 R ($0.40-$0.60) to the driver. When you are near your stop just say aloud to the driver where to stop. He will understand if you just say "Stop!" or more polite "Ostano`vite po`zhaluista" (stop please).

Taxi and Cars in Moscow

In Russia you can use any car as a taxi, most of the private drivers will give you a lift but only for money. Just wave any car like a taxi. It's better to negotiate the price before starting a trip (even cabmen don't like to use counters). When the driver recognizes you as a foreigner, he will try to make you pay the highest price - so bargain. It is a good way to find out the fair price before (ask the locals). Most of the drivers will accept US dollars if you don't have roubles. In any case the car prices are relatively low, so it's a good way of moving around the city - usually it costs around 200-300 R ($7.50-$11) to get from the outskirts of Moscow to the centrum and it's around 100 R ($3.50) to move around the centrum. I usually calculate 60 R ($2.3) for every 10 minutes, but that's a minumum. 

Using the taxis is more safe and sometimes even cheaper, but there are not many taxis on the streets, only in lively places. You can recognize a taxi by a typical 'chess' sign on top and yellow colour. Usually taxis take around 10 R ($0.3) for one kilometer (only inside Moscow) and they start the counter at 25 R ($0.9). Here's a list of Moscow taxi operators (they barely speak English, though), the prices are as of February 2004:

Allo Taxi. They charge 250 rubles for the first 20 minutes (300 rubles at night) and then 7 rubles per minute after that (8 rubles at night). Moscow – Sheremetyevo II: 850R ($31). Sheremetyevo II – Moscow: 1000 R ($37). Phone: +7 (495) 225-3588. Website: www.allotaxi.ru. (You can order online).

City Taxi. Their tariffs are 250 R for the first 30 minutes during the day (for the first 20 minutes at night) and then 6 R for each additional minute (7 R at night). Moscow – Sheremetyevo II: 700R ($26). Sheremetyevo II – Moscow: 850 R ($31). Phone: +7 (495) 225-9225. Website: www.citytaxi.ru. (You can order online).

Krasnaya Gorka. The cheapest in the list – billed by km: 5 R ($0.15) / km. Ask for a Russian car - Zhiguli - the cheapest. Moscow - Sheremetyevo II 700R ($25), Sheremetyevo II - Moscow 900R ($32). Phone: +7 (495) 454-6291/7201. Fax: 454-7201.

Taxi 505. Probably the cheapest, at least for airport transfers: prices are 170 R for the first 20 minutes during the day (180 R for the first 10km at night) and 5 R per each additional minute during the day (10 R per extra km at night). Moscow – Sheremetyevo II: 550R ($20). Sheremetyevo II – Moscow: 750 R ($28). Phone: +7 (495) 505-3661. Website: www.taxiport.ru. (You can order online).

Taxi Club. Prices are 200 R for the first 20 minutes during the day (250 R at night) and then 6 R per minute after that (7 R at night). Moscow – Sheremetyevo II: 750R ($28). Sheremetyevo II – Moscow: 850 R ($31). Phone: +7 (495) 540-0400. Website: www.taxiclub.ru. (You can order online)

XXL Taxi. Prices are 240 R for the first 30 minutes during the day (270 R at night) and 8 R per minute after that (9 R per minute at night). Moscow – Sheremetyevo II: 750R ($28). Sheremetyevo II – Moscow: 900 R ($33). Phone: +7 (495) 105-8866. Website: www.xxltaxi.ru/. (You can order online).

Limousine Service. The most expensive in the list. They use Lincolns or Mercedes limousines and charge $100 Moscow - Sheremetyevo II. Sheremetyevo II - Moscow costs $150. Phone: +7 (495) 257-4000/4400. Fax: 257-1596. Website: www.limos.ru. (You can order online).

You can also order a taxi online through this site, please, see Moscow Taxi & Transfers section.