City Transport

Subway
The construction of the first Novosibirsk City Subway line was finished in 1986. What seemed to be a promising and fast developing beginning turned out to slow down in the times of perestroika and almost completely stopped after the collapse of the USSR. Nowadays, Novosibirsk Subway consists of 12 stations served by two lines. Last trains are to depart from terminal depots at midnight. The overall rail mileage is 14.3 kilometers, the lines encompassing the central districts of the city. Unfortunately, the subway is barely present in the “bedroom communities” of Novosibirsk. Nevertheless, it plays an important role of linking two sides of the river Ob. By the way, the subway bridge over the river is the longest in Russia. The distinguishing mark of Novosibirsk City Subway is the abundance of commercials, which seem to be omnipresent as well as the means of telecommunication, such as radios, displays and TV sets installed in many trains

Novosibirsk Subway station Krasniy Prospect

Buses, “Marshrootka” Shuttles, Trams, and Trolleys
Novosibirsk citizens eagerly ride in buses which can be of two types: public ones and commercial lines buses. Another kind of transport actively used by local residents is the minibus, or, “marshrootka” shuttle. This nonpublic means of transportation is a few times more expensive than the bus but it is also quicker and it is not tied to any precise schedule. “Marshrootkas” and buses’ routes cover the whole city, even its most distant neighborhoods. Bus lines start working in the early morning – approximately, from 6 to 7 a.m.; they cease operating at 10 p.m. to 12 a.m., depending on the line. A route also determines the fare which may vary from one line to another and, on the average, amounts to 10 rubles for a public bus ticket, from 10 to 20 rubles for a commercial lines bus, and 15-35 rubles for a ride in a “marshrootka” shuttle. Trolleys work exactly the same way as buses but the fare is lower with 8 rubles for a one-way pass. Trams used to be widespread in Novosibirsk in the past but today they can be found mostly in the blue-collar parts of the city; the fare is approximately 10 rubles for a ride. The fares are to be paid in cash or by a special plastic multiple pass card, which is unbeneficial for tourists. Tickets are sold by a busman inside the bus.

Typical bus at Novosibirsk

Marshrootka - russian shuttle buses

In a Car
There are some problematic issues related to the transportation in Novosibirsk because the road infrastructure cannot manage the rapid growth of the amount of cars in the city. Thus, traffic jams are becoming more and more frequent. Traffic is not the only problem, since the road pavement itself leaves much to be desired. Lately, the officials have started paying attention to maintaining decent condition of all the major highways. However, cracks and pits on the surfaces of minor roads are not rare. Intercity highways and central streets are in good condition. Another weird peculiarity of the roads of Novosibirsk is a frequent lack of road marking, but road signs are always on their places.

As strange as it may sound, there is a lot of right-hand drive cars despite the fact that the driving in Russia is right. It can be explained by the proximity of Japan and its cheap used cars market.

A foreigner renting a car has to show several documents which include the passport, the entrance visa, and the international driving permit. A person renting the car has to be at least 20 or even 25 years old while his or her driving experience should exceed two or, in some cases, three years. Apart from paying for a rented car 1,300-1,500 rubles per day, be prepared to leave some extra money as guarantee of the safe return of the vehicle.

Taxi

The purpose of this article is to clarify to the reader how Novosibirsk taxi system works in general. The overview of the peculiarities of this sphere in Akademgorodok is given in the corresponding section.

One can flag a taxi in the streets but calling a taxi by phone is far cheaper and safer. Besides, it is a general practice in Novosibirsk. Unfortunately, very few taxi dispatchers speak English.

Calling a taxi by phone you let the dispatcher know your address and phone number, so that he or she can call you back when the taxi arrives. Usually, the waiting time ranges from 10 to 15 minutes, unless you are in a distant city area.

The majority of companies set the price in accordance with the fare register which counts the mileage. However, some firms have fixed fares for traveling between particular city areas. Some companies may detain a certain sum of money for the “car delivery”, as they call it. Ultimately, there is not much difference between the prices in the firms sticking to any of these approaches.

Example of a road sign in Novosibirsk

If you have decided to flag a taxi in the street all the same, then it would be a good idea to take a taxi with the “checkers” on the roof and a clearly made relation to a certain company providing the taxi service. Such taxis usually have the name and the contact phone number of their company written on the side-panel of the body. Do negotiate the fare beforehand. Stay away from the intrusive drivers of the cars with no identification marks on them. Be alert at railway stations and airports. Otherwise, you may be ripped off by the drivers making up unreasonably huge fairs.

Citystop is barely spread in Novosibirsk.

On foot

If you know the Russian alphabet, it will be easy for you to find your way in the city centre, because there are guide signs (in Russian). Information about GPS maps of Novosibirsk you can find in "Maps" section.
Be attentive when crossing the streets, Russian drivers are not very polite and careful. 

Around the City (Intercity transportation)

Suburban Trains
Suburban electric trains called “электричка” [e-leck-‘treech-cah] cruise around all the major railway arteries of the Novosibirsk region. Some stations interlinked with subway lines are situated in the city centre. The suburban train lines cross many “bedroom communities” as well as some cities adjacent to Novosibirsk, such as Berdsk. Moreover, the majority of these trains are new and clean. Nevertheless, this means of transportation does not enjoy great popularity among the citizens for two reasons. Firstly, peripheral stations are usually poorly equipped and secondly, the lines get closed pretty early – around 9-10 p.m. So, most passengers of suburban trains are the citizens of the so-called “satellite” towns (such as Berdsk, Iskitim, Cherepanovo) and the people growing vegetables and fruit for their own consumption at their own little farms in the country called “dachas”.

Since may 2008, new comfortable train goes 4 times a day from Novosibirsk to Cherepanovo (throw Akademorodok, Iskitim, Berdsk). It costs 30 RUB more (for example, ride on "ordinary" train from Novosibirsk o Berdsk costs 30RUB, on new one - 60RUB).

The suburban trains company also runs the service of comfortable express trains to such neighboring cities as Kemerovo, Barnaul, Tomsk, Omsk, Novokuznetsk. In winter some lines to winter resorts start operating, too.

Ferries
Ferries are mostly used for entertainment. A ferry to the iKrasnsland "Кораблик"[coh-‘rub-lik] – which means “a little ship” – cruises back and forth all day long in summer. Some voyages to Tomsk and trips round the Ob Sea are also available at that period. One can easily rent a small motor boat with a captain and sail around the numerous tiny isles of the sea.

Ferries are mostly used for entertainment. Photo by Svetlana Bumarina.

Intercity buses
A lot of intercity buses deliver people from the bus terminal at 4, Krasniy Prospekt to different cities of the Novosibirsk region and to major cities of neighboring regions as well. The launch of a new modern bus terminal is awaited. Bus terminal phone numbers are (007383)223-69-93. On our site intercity and international bus timetable is available.


Local aviation
Since 2007 local aviation is reviving in Siberia. From Tolmachevo Airport there are regular flights to: Omsk, Barnaul, Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Surgut, Tyumen' (Tumen) and Krasnoyarsk (since june 2008).
Fom "Novosibirsk-Severny" airport - to T'yumen', Omsk, Krasnoyarsk, Surgut, Strijevoi, Irkutsk and Biisk (Biysk).

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