St.Petersburgers walk, summer or winter. Around town, along canals, onto the islands, to and from work. Yet it is a big city, and sooner or later you're going to want to use its cheap and relatively efficient public transport system. Overground transport is more useful in the center than the fast metro network (daily 6am to just after midnight). There is an overstretched network of trams, buses and trolleybuses, as well as very efficient commercial minibuses. Overground transport all has conductors, from whom one should purchase a ticket for a single ride only. Official taxis are more expensive, though foreigners are likely to be charged more then locals. One of the best ways to see St Petersburg May to October is by boat, whether a private motorboat, which can be picked up alongside any bridge on Nevskiy prospekt, or one of the large tour boats with commentary by the Anichkov Bridge. When the bridges go up (May to late-Oct) at 2am (until 5am) and you are stuck on the wrong island, the private boats sometimes run a very extensive ferry system.

SUBWAY (METRO)
Traveling in the underground is a great way to get around: it's not only cheap and reliable but some of the stations are magnificently decorated. The best examples are at the metro red line - gold leafed ceilings, chandeliers, marble floors, mosaics, sculptures.

Metro station: NARVSKAYA

The metro comprises 4 lines (1-red, 2-blue, 3-green, 4-yellow) with 55 stations altogether:

The subway works form 5.30 till 24.30.

METRO MAP

Metro stations are marked with large blue "M" signs, illuminated at night. The trains arrive every couple of minutes and they are really fast, so before the train moves, make sure you're holding onto something solid.

The fee is payable with metal token ("zheton") which is valid for one trip regardless of its duration and number of changes from one line to another (all the metro system is one zone). The travel passes - magnetic cards for the multiple rides (for 1 or 3 month of validity) are also available. It can be bought from a small window at the entrance at any metro station. For entering you have to insert the token or the magnetic card into the slot at the turnstile.

It is advisable not to use the metro at rush hours:
8.00-9.00, 17.00-19.00 to avoid huge crowds.

All the signs in the metro system are in Cyrillic. There are some useful inscriptions:

BUSES
Public buses operate from 6 a.m. till 12 a.m. In the most cases they do not follow the schedules and the waiting period could take from 5-10 min. to 40-50 min. in the evening. Nevertheless there is no lack of buses on Nevskiy prospect. "A" sign on yellow boards marks bus stops. Tickets are bought from a conductor once you have boarded. Failing the ticket or travel pass the fine, collected by inspectors (who can show up at any moment).

City transport: BUS

There are also T-buses (Taxi buses) and E-buses (Express buses) which are usually more comfortable and less crowded. They follow the same route as the bus with equal number (bus No T-22 and bus No E-22 run according to the itinerary of bus No 22). The travel passes are ineffective there and the fare is paid to the bus driver on getting out.

The most popular and for certain quicker surface transport is considered to be the Route taxi ("marshrutka" - mini-bus with 10-12 seats). The fare is paid to the driver upon the boarding. To stop it for getting in you should wave down a passing minibus, for getting out you need to say a driver "Ostanavite zdesi" ("Stop here, please").

TROLLEYBUSES, TRAMS
Trolleybuses and Trams run from 6 a.m. till 12 a.m. with the intervals from 5-10 min. up to half an hour. Electric trolleybuses and trams are an ideal form of urban road transport with a long history and huge development potential as it runs on electricity drawn from overhead wires and so ecologically clean.

City transport: TRAM

Trolleybus stops are marked by blue "m" sign (Cyrillic small letter for "t") on white plates. Stops denoted by blue "T" (Cyrillic capital letter for "t"), also on white plates, hanging from wires above the middle of the road, serve trams.

TAXI
The official taxis are usually yellow "Volgas". "T", "TAXI" or "TAKSI" sign on the roof or cab door and by chequered pattern could identify the rest. You can hail the taxi in the street or book it in advance by calling any Petersburg taxi service company.

You'll be asked your phone number and the address where you'd like taxi to come, destination, required arriving time and passenger last name. A bit later the dispatcher will call you back and inform of car license number and time. If you order a cab this way, you pay the official state fare according the reading of the meter otherwise it is better to negotiate a price beforehand.

City transport: TAXI

It is common for locals to hail a private car by sticking an arm out for asking a lift. They agree the price and the destination with a driver and are off. It could be helpful to have a card with a hotel name or destination address written in Russian if you venture to use this type of transportation.

Note! Never get into the car with somebody else besides the driver!

Rent a car with a driver.

BRIDGES
Please, keep in mind that the drawbridges across the Neva River are raised during the navigation (mid. April - end of September) and some parts of the city can become out of reach at nighttime.

CITY BRIDGES

Bridges in St.Petersburg are lifted at the following times
(for 2003 navigation season):