Gypsy cab

Today I took my first gypsy cab ride. In Russia there are many different types of public transportation not in America.

Metro – There are maybe five or six different metro lines in St. Petersburg . The metro stops running at midnight and at 11:55 PM everyone races in and tries to get into the metro. There are metro cards, but mostly everyone uses tokens. Also, the metro stations are extremely beautiful. Marble walls, gold detailing, even statues. But it is prohibited to take pictures inside of the metro. Otherwise, the militsia will escort you away. . .

Marshrutka – This is like a public taxi. This is a van that has a set route, which you can see on the map. However, there are no set stops for this bus. So if you want to get on, you have to hail the bus like you would a taxi. But when you get in there are many other people on there. When you want to get off, you have to yell to the driver to stop. I have not tried this alone yet because I am afraid I will be stuck on it forever. Also, when you get on you pass your money to the front and the passengers pass your money back to you.

Gypsy Cab – Real cabs in St. Petersburg are very expensive and need to be called in advance. Most people use gypsy cabs. A gypsy cab is a regular car with a regular person that just wants to make some extra money. So if you want a ride, you hold your hand down low and a regular car will pull over. Then you have to negotiate the price. Once you settle on a price, you enjoy the ride. However convenient these seem, they are not very safe. A woman should never get into a gypsy cab alone at night. And one should also never enter a gypsy cab if there is already another person in the cab.

St. Petersburg also has busses, trams, trolleybuses, and electrichkas; which are all some type of glorified bus.

In my gypsy cab ride, when I went to get in the door was stuck and it had to be opened from the inside. Then when it came time to get out, the handle fell off in my hand! However, I did make it safely home with my friend Anna.