|
|
Public transport in St. Petersburg
|
I plan to take public transport in St. Petersburg during my stay. So what is
the best and cheapest way for me to buy tickets and where can I buy them?
Take my word - you will use ONLY metro. Buses, trolleybuses and trams exist but
they pass rarely and their schedule is unpredictable. You can take a ride in the
local tram for fun but I would not recommend you consider seriously anything but
metro for the transportation.
So let us concentrate on how to pay for the rides in it. You need to choose
between following options:
| – |
Tokens: 1 token - 1 ride without time limit. Its price is 10 rub.
|
| – |
Card for 10 trips valid within 1 week since the first trip. It costs
82 rub (i.e. 8,2 rub for a trip).
|
| – |
Cards for 20 or 25 trips valid for 2 weeks cost correspondingly 157 and
194 rub (i.e. 7,85 and 7,76 rub for a trip).
|
| – |
Card for 10 trips valid without time limit. It costs 100 rub
(i.e. 10 rub for a trip).
|
| – |
Cards for 20 or 25 trips without time limit cost correspondingly 200 and
247,5 rub (i.e. 10 and 9,9 rub for a trip).
|
If you live in the city very center I would advise you to buy the tokens. If however
you need to use metro every day, card with time limit would be more convenient.
|
How to buy the card for several rides in the metro?
In every metro station there are at least 2 if not more windows where the women
sell tokens and cards.
Be prepared to explain yourself in Russian.
To get what you want you have to make clear for the poor woman:
| – |
do you want token(s) or card;
|
| – |
if a card, then for how many trips;
|
| – |
with time limit or without.
|
Try to pronounce the following (' means a stress):
| – |
Odin zhet'on
(one token)
|
| – |
Tri zhet'ona
(three tokens)
|
| – |
K'artochka d'esyat po'ezdok s ogranich'eniem
(a card for 10 trips valid for 1 week)
|
If you feel helpless to communicate with lady who does not understand you try to
find someone young around and ask for an assistance.
|
Does one-day or 3-days card for all types of transport exist?
Sorry, such card exists but only for 1 month. It makes no sense to buy it for
a shorter period.
|
Using a metro card
When you pass through the turnstile:
| – |
turn your card the black stripe up;
|
| – |
insert it into the turnstile slot;
|
| – |
wait for the moment when it will be read and spit out by the
turnstile (Attn! It might jump on the floor and
you will have only 10 sec to collect it and to pass);
|
| – |
the green light on the turnstile shows that the passage is opened
for you;
|
| – |
if you use your last trip the turnstile will eat your card but the
green light will indicate that the passage is opened;
|
| – |
if the red light is on the passage is forbidden. Usually it means
that the time limit of your card is over and your card is no more
valid.
|
If you have problems of any kind with passing through the turnstiles, on every
each station there is a person on duty responsible for assistance in such cases.
Go to the person in the booth next to the turnstiles and try to explain your
problem. The person will speak no English of course but most probably will have
a pity to poor foreigner and let you pass at no charge through the passage next
to the booth.
|
|
