Public Transit in Moscow, Russia
The city of Moscow, Russia, has an excellent and developed network of public transportation. The same types of tickets can be used on the metro, tram or bus lines.
Metro
Moscow has one of the best underground rapid transit systems in the world. It is very fast and efficient, and many of the stops are beautifully decorated and represent cultural, historical or architectural monuments. It is considered the main form of public transit for Muscovites, carrying about half of the public transit passengers every day.
The metro runs daily from about 6:00 AM-1:00 AM. There are 12 metro lines, that run over 298 kilometers of track and stop at 180 stations.
Passengers must pay every time they board the metro system. They can buy tickets for individual rides, and up to 60 rides. A monthly pass metro card entitles the passenger to 70 rides. There are also Smart Cards which entitle passengers to unlimited rides, which can be for 30 days, 90 days or a year. Students have discounted fares for the monthly rides.
The metro is the best way to travel around Moscow, because tickets are cheap, and it is very convenient. Trains will arrive approximately every 2 minutes during peak time, and every 10-15 minutes off-peak and at night. Though many trains do show up during rush hour, it still gets very crowded on board, and people manage to pack in very uncomfortably.
Tram
The trams in Moscow are mostly set up on the outskirts of the city, but they still cover an area of 415 kilometers. People who visit Moscow probably will not use them, but those who move there may.
People can purchase tickets for the trams at kiosks or metro stations or from the tram drivers (which is more expensive). You must punch your ticket in once on the tram to validate it, because sometimes they are inspected. These trams are scheduled to run from 5:30 AM-1:30 AM, and there are still a large number of routes. Trams also get very crowded during peak hours.
Bus
The Moscow city buses have a vast network, used mostly by locals but not visitors (except for the designated site-seeing routes). These buses have turnstiles, in which you must insert your ticket into the slit and then take out your validated ticket. You can go through the turnstile when the green light flashes.
Moscow buses are not a desirable way to get around the city, as they are much less convienient than the metro or the trams, and are almost always crowded. The streets are also plagued with traffic most hours of the day, so the buses are affected by this.