Moscow by taxi · Moscow by taxi
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Moscow by taxi
Moscow by taxi
In Russia and Moscow, the difference between hailing a cab and simply hitchhiking is blurry. It is an old Russian tradition for drivers to offer rides to strangers, for a fee. For many Russians, it is like a second job. Generally, wherever you are, at any time of day or night, you can get a 'cab' in a matter of minutes or seconds by holding out your hand. Hold your hand out low by your hip, not up high as they hail cabs in American films.
Normally, you tell the driver where you're going and negotiate an amount with you naming the first price. For many locations, giving the closest Metro stop is the best plan of attack. If you don't like the amount one guy is charging, you'll doubtlessly find another driver in a minute or two. Sometimes when you tell the driver where you're going, he'll decide he's not going in that direction and drive off. Keep in mind, though, that very few drivers will speak English.
You should be able to get between most destinations within the Garden Ring for 200 rubles or less, unless it is a national holiday or hours when metro is not working. For example, a typical charge for a New Year's Eve is 500 rubles.
There are several taxi services operating in Moscow, the most noticeable on the streets being The New Yellow Taxi (Novoye Zholtoye Taxi). The cars are yellow Fords or Volgas (Russian car brand). They will charge the minimum rate of around 250 rubles no matter the distance. It is, however, possible to negotiate the price with the driver as well as he will basically switch off the meter and pocket the fare.
You can call a cab over the phone, too, but most Muscovites will do it only at night or to get to an airport. On some rare occasions phone taxi may be as bad as illegal as a street ride, but if you take your time researching in internet, you will find many registered taxi companies that offer completely safe and sound western-like services, some will even refuse to drive you if you don't wear seatbelt. Most western embassies will provide you with a list of tried and tested legit taxi companies that will send a cab to pick you up 24/7 anywhere in Moscow in a safe way at a decent price.
If you not good in Russian, there are several English-speaking taxi services operating in Moscow for example Lentaxi - .
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Moscow Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.