Moscow as any capital of the world has ramified and quite comfortable system of city municipal transport. More over, bearing in mind general level of prices in the city one should make a special notion, that municipal transport fares are incredibly low – a trip from one end of the city to the other using three types of municipal transport costs less than USD 1, although it takes more than two hours. For comparison a similar trip by taxi would cost in the range of USD 20, and due to traffic jams in the city center especially on week days time savings will be minimal. That is why Moscow municipal transport is rather crowded as opposed to the majority of European countries.		Moscow map

			There are three types of surface municipal transport and underground railway. Moscow underground is a place of interest by itself, as it is not only the most convenient type of city transport, but an architectural monument as well. The oldest type of city transport is tram. It appeared in Moscow in 1847. For this period of time it transferred from ordinary horse powered carriage into modern yellow-red tramcar. Although, if before tramcars were present virtually on all the central streets of the city, nowadays this type of transport is still present mainly outside Garden Ring and there are no plans for new tram lines.

	Another ecologically clean type of transport, which alike tramcar is powered by electricity, is trolley bus. It appeared on Moscow streets in the thirties of the 20-th century. As, unlike tram it doesn’t require rails, it is more widespread – trolley bus lines are dozens of times longer than tram rails.

			The third type of surface transport is bus. It is most popular both in the city and in suburbs. Bus routes cover practically the whole area of the city. There are also many suburban routes. The majority of surface transport routes has stops close to underground stations and have quite tight schedule, but one should take into account, that waiting time sometimes may exceed 30 minutes and that some, especially suburban, routes have their own schedule. Transport fares do not exceed 30 cents, and do not depend on length of the journey, but for local trips fares may depend on the length of the journey. One can always pay for the trip to the driver or conductor. In some places there are “Mostransagentstvo” kiosks where one can buy tickets a little cheaper. As a rule municipal transport working hours are from 6 in the morning till midnight. I t should be taken into consideration, that week days during peak hours (beginning and end of working day) number of passengers increases significantly and that, as a rule, during week-ends traffic intervals are longer.

	But Moscow metro (underground) is rightfully considered to be the pride of Moscow transport system. Construction of Moscow metro began in the thirties of the 20-th century. In 1935 the first line was opened (at present it is a part of Sokolniki line). Even during 1941-1945 war construction works didn’t stop and already acting lines were used as bomb shelters. When the war ended the construction works began on even a wider scale. Golden age of Stalinist architecture falls exactly on that period. Splendor and monumentality were part of the style and we can clearly see it in Moscow underground. Till present day the interiors of many stations of Moscow metro surprise guests from all over the world with their splendor and rich decorative finishes.

	Tickets for travel to the underground		After Stalin’s death when power changed hands the main principles of construction changed to utility, plain solutions and low cost. That is how the majority of stations look like outside the ring line. But simultaneously with abolition of monumentality, rates of construction of the new lines and stations increased sharply. Since that time Moscow metro is constantly growing. At present metro lines are 268,5 kilometers long. There are 165 stations. Every day Moscow metro transports nearly 9 million passengers.

	Metro is rightly considered to be the fastest and most reliable type of transport in the city. It allows for less than 20 cents getting from one city end to the other for less than 1 hour. There are 9 radial lines connecting suburbs with the city center, one auxiliary line connecting radial lines and the ring line. The ring line allows passengers to get to all radial lines. There are 7 out of 9 Moscow railway stations situated close to ring line stations. It makes commuting between them very convenient. Metro fares are fixed and do not depend on the route or its length. When buying tickets for two trips or more the price is a little lower. One should bear in mind, that during peak hours the stations, especially change stations, might be overcrowded. That is why one should choose weekends for visiting metro for sightseeing.		Station of the underground park of a victoryStation of the underground.

	Trade mark of the Moscow taxi - black "dots" on a yellow background		For a more comfortable trip one can choose a taxi, but certain peculiarities of this type of transport should be born in mind. One might use telephone service to order a taxi. As a rule, such companies have hourly rates and charge USD 15-30 per hour. Price also depends on the route of the trip (trip to the suburbs costs more), make of the vehicle and time of the day (night time trip costs more). This is the most expensive type of taxi and the safest one. You can hail a taxi in the street, but in majority of cases any car can stop by your side and the driver for a certain amount of money can take you where you want.

	One should take into account, that in this case price and route of the trip should be discussed beforehand, when discussing price one can bargain with the driver. If the driver is happy with the route and offered price, he will take you where you want for quite modest money, although it is not always safe, especially during nighttime. In the city you can stop a regular taxi, although quite often the driver behaves as a driver of a private car and is quite unwilling to accept payment by the meter. One should better forget about asking for a receipt or paying by credit card.		Taxi

	Fixed-route taxi		There is a so called “fixed-route taxi” in the city. By its nature it is an analogue to the municipal transport – fixed route taxi, as a rule, is a minibus for 10-12 people with a fixed route. This is a very convenient type of transport and one can ask the driver to stop where necessary. But you will have to pay 2-3 times more than in municipal transport. One pays to the driver for the trip.

If you decide to use municipal transport, you should bear in mind some stereotypes of Russians behavior, including behavior of Moscow citizens. Some drivers and pedestrians do not observe traffic rules very strictly – pedestrians cross streets where they feel it is convenient for them, and drivers sometimes pay little attention to traffic lights and even can move when the red light is on. One should bear in mind, that pedestrians, as a rule, give way to cars, even when on pedestrian crossing. At the stop waiting for bus, trolley bus or tram people do not queue and enter through all doors, which are opened automatically by the driver, and disembark through all doors as well, but at fixed-route taxi stop there is normally a queue.

The scheme of lines of the Moscow metro (underground)