Transport in Minsk

Public transportation in Minsk is a cheap and quite convenient way to travel within the city. There are no timetables to think of and trips are made with quite short time-intervals. However in wintertime those intervals may sometimes feel like an eternity if waiting for a bus or a tram on the street. Both the subway and busses may sometimes be very crowded. So using the subway or public busses with a wheelchair or perambulator are not recommended. First thing to do when arriving in Minsk is to buy a city map with the public transport schemes. If using a printed guide book one should be aware about that most probably the street names will be wrong as they have been changed. More about that later.


Traffic in Minsk.

Minsk subway

The Minsk subway consist of just two lines but a third line is planned. Subway is often the most convient way to travel if one is there is a station close to the destination. The two lines meet at the Oktybarskaya and Kupalovskaya station. The subway is closed during the night.

None of the lines does splitt up so it's easy really easy to travel with the Minsk subway. The only tricky thing is that the station names are in Belarusian but are often called by their Russian names. Often the Russian and belarussian names are similar, but not always.

Ticket price for the metro is always the same no matter how far you go (460 BYR ATM, app. 20 Eurocent). When entering the metro system one has to pay with a token or a magnetic card. These will be bought in the station building, right after the entrance. There are separate entrances and exits.

Taxi

The official Taxi cars in Minsk are often yellow Russian made Volga cars with black and white squares and having a taxi sign on the roof but may be of any make and in any colour. Taxes varies among different cars, but are app. 1000 BYR for entrance, 1000 BYR per kilometre and 10000 BYR hour. If the car doesn´t use a taximeter it's better to decide upon the price before setting off. Taxis can be ordered at phonenumber 007 among others.


Taxicar i Minsk.

Buses and trams

If one plan to go with the buses or trams the best thing is to get a recent city map with a public transport scheme. Tickes are bough in advance at special ticket stands. Tickets are for one journey only. And should be stamped with the red buttons that busses and trams are equipped with,otherwise the tickets aren’t guilty. It’s possible to buy a monthly pass for busses, trams or both means of transport. Those tickets don’t have to be stamped but names should be written on the back for the ticket to be guilty. If necessary it’s possible to buy tickets from the driver, but that is both inconvenient and more expensive that getting tickets in advance. Ticket controls are common.

Street names

During the summer of 2005 some of the citys streets get new names. Some of the old names are still around but now on different streets. This means that street names given in guide books most often are out of date. All street names given in this guide is the new names introduced summer of 2005. The table below shows the changes of the street names in Minsk.

New street names, summer of 2005 (Old name -> New name)

Pr. Frantsiska Skorpini -> Pr. Nezavisimosti Pr. Masherova -> Pr. Pobediteley Ul. Barvesheni, Ul. Ierusalimskaja, Ul. Drozda -> Prospekt Masherova Staroborisovskij trakt -> Ul. Frantsiska Skorpini Pr. Gazeti Izvestija -> Pr. Gaz. Zvjazda Obuvnoj Per. -> Ul. Nikolaja Drozda Perekolskaja Ul. -> Ierusalimskuju Ul Enisejskaja Ul. -> Ul. Varvasheni Mebelnij Per. -> Ul Mihaila Gebeleva

Prospekt Frantsiska Skorpini became Prospekt Nezavisimosti in 2005. Foto: Anders Thorsell, FFAgency

Going out of the city by elektrichka and train

Except for domestic traffic, Minsk has direct train connection with Riga, Vilnius, St Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev and Warszawa. Tickes may be bought at either the train sation or at an ticket office. Tickets at the Moscow-Warszawa line may be bough just a few hours in advance.


Minsk train station. 2006.

Minsks airport

Minsks international airport is located about 70 kilometers outside Minsk. A taxi between the airport and the center of Minsk is about 80000 BYR (20 Euros).

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MINSK TRAVEL GUIDE - BELARUS
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