Transportation in Russia

While I have talked about this before, I thought my recent trip to Russia was a good opportunity to talk about it again.

In America a car is a basic necessity--just try to get to your place of employment on a bus. If you are lucky, you might be near a bus route and your place of employment might too. But the chances are you will have a long walk at one, or both ends of your trip. Yes, I know that some large cities have adequate mass transit. Even Los Angeles has added train lines in recent years that seem to be well used--at least the train stops look busy as I drive by.  But as a general rule the US is structured around the automobile, with driving a car being a rite of passage for American teens.

Typical Parking in MoscowWhile the Russian middle class are buying more and more cars, Russia is not structured around the automobile. Parking is a big problem in all modern cities, but it is acute in Russia. The older apartments were built with the assumption that no one would have cars. The result is cars parked everywhere--on side walks, in the street that was not designed for it so one half of the car is on the dirt, and so on.

We took a boat trip on the Moscow River in Moscow. Our host was my wife's friend since grade school. He dropped us off at the boat and drove to his place of employment to park and walked back. We walked back after the ride. It took about 20 minutes. BTW, I recommend the boat trip if you are in Moscow. On my first trip to Russia I did so much walking I lost weight.

The traffic in Moscow did not seem that bad, but Igor was avoiding the heavy traffic areas as he lived very close, but not in Moscow. He also had some sort of real-time navigator with traffic information. Every trip we made could have been done on the bus system. A car is, of course, more convenient. One major factor in the convenience is the Russian winters--waiting for a bus in the winter wind can't be much fun.

Moscow City on the RiverIn my wife's home town it costs 15 rubles, 20 cents, to ride anywhere in the town one way on the bus. If for some reason you want to take a taxi, a one way trip costs 100 rubles, about $1.50. If I lived there, except for the winters, I would not want a car. Since a taxi is so cheap, I might not even want a car for the winter months. (You may have noted I said, if I lived there. This is a real possibility if I retire next year. A little goes a long way in Russia.)

Russian cities have an extensive rail system that connects most of the larger cities. From Murom to Moscow, a 4 1/2 hour trip, it costs from 450 ($7) for a seat, 800 ($12) for a sleeping car you will share with six people with upper and lower bunks in an open area, a four person cabin with more privacy will be around 2000 ($29). There are also more luxurious accommodations available that include food, a safe for money, more personal service, and a TV.

A lot of the blogosphere is concerned about an economic apocalypse. I do not agree, but I also do not think it is impossible, just unlikely. Russia is very well suited for such a scenario. They are a large energy exporter, and contrary to what you might expect, even with Ukraine being independent, Russia has been a grain exporter. Currently Russia taxes grain exports to reduce domestic costs. In Russia land seems underutilized, and many Russians grow their own food in a garden plot or at their dacha (farm house).

Russia has many economic issues, but Russian transportation is well situated for a crisis.

Next time I will talk about an interesting, and rather obscure, museum I went to on our Moscow trip.