DESTINATIONS russia bus-tram-and-trolley-travel

TRAVEL TIPS

Bus, Tram, and Trolley Travel

You're unlikely to want to travel by long-distance bus in Russia, since trains are frequent, cheap, and reliable. Most bus services go to provincial towns that lack good rail links.

For travel within Moscow, the municipal buses, trams, and trolleys all use the same tickets (30R), which you can buy in special kiosks, usually near metro stations. The tickets come in various denominations, ranging from one ride to 60 rides. You have to get on at the entrance next to the driver and put the ticket through an electronic turnstile, front-side down. Single-ride tickets are valid for a ride on one bus only; if you transfer to another bus or to a tram or trolley, you must pay another fare.

At metro stations, you can purchase smart cards in various denominations for multiple uses, including the "Troika" card introduced in 2013, which is good for all forms of city transportation both above and below ground. Another version of the smart card allows unlimited travel on buses, trams, trolleys, and the metro within 24 hours for 200R or 11 trips for 300R. Buses, trams, and trolleys operate from 5:30 am to 1 am, although service in the late-evening hours and on Sunday tends to be unreliable. Trolleys are connected to overhead power lines, trams to metal rails.

Newspaper kiosks sell a map that shows all of Moscow's transport routes: it's called karta Moskvy so vsem transportom.

The tram can be a fun way to take in part of the city while also resting your legs. A nice tram ride is the 39, which goes from Universitet metro station on the red line in the southwest of the city to Chistiye Prudy metro station, past Donskoy Monastery and Danilovsky Market. The B trolley bus runs around the Garden Ring and can be a pleasant way to see the Ring when the traffic's not heavy.

Bus, Tram, and Trolley Contacts

Mosgortrans. This organization runs all the city's bus, trolley, and tramcar lines. The website has schedules and maps in Russian only. 495/950–4204; www.mosgortrans.com.

Moskovsky Avtovokzal. This is Moscow's central bus station, serving towns and cities in the oblast as well as those farther out. The website is Russian only. 2 ul. Uralskaya, Eastern Outskirts, Moscow, Moscow, 107207. 499/748–8029; 499/748–8964; turizm.mostransavto.ru.

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