Moscow Guide
Getting around
Taxis
Registered taxis are usually Volgas or Fords with a chequered logo on the doors. If the domed light on the roof is on, the taxi is unoccupied. Those working through taxi companies can be ordered by phone an hour or two ahead; dispatchers often speak a little English, but it helps to know Russian. They'll want to ring you back shortly before the pick-up is due to confirm that you still want a taxi and give you the vehicle's licence number. Like taxis that simply cruise for clients, they no longer use meters, so if you don't agree on a price first you're liable to pay whatever the driver demands at the end of the journey. Some drivers are happy to make opening bids of R1500 or more, before coming down a bit; others refuse to bargain at all. Though obviously open to abuse, this laissez-faire system is kept within bounds by strong competition from ordinary vehicles acting as taxis, except at airports and hotels, where the "taxi mafia" has a stranglehold. At the airport it can be difficult to avoid their clutches, but at hotels you can always walk a block or so away and then look for an ordinary car.
Most Russians prefer hitching rides in private vehicles, which enables ordinary drivers to earn extra money as chastniki (moonlighters). You simply stand on the kerb and flag down any likely looking vehicle heading in the right direction. When one stops, state your destination and what you're willing to pay ("Mozhno [say the destination] za [specify the sum in rubles] rubley?"); the driver may haggle a bit, but there's so much competition that it's a buyer's market. Between R80–150 should suffice for any destination on or within the Garden Ring. Foreigners may be asked for more, but can usually get the same price by remaining firm.
As the system is unregulated, it's as well to observe some precautions. Don't get into a vehicle which has more than one person in it, and never accept lifts from anyone who approaches you – particularly outside restaurants and nightclubs. Instances of drunken foreigners being robbed in the back of private cars are not uncommon, and women travelling alone would be best advised to give the whole business a miss.