A cheat note for foreign guests: transportation of Ekaterinburg

In 2018 thousands of soccer fans from all over the world visited Ekaterinburg for the football World Cup. The Ural capital was prepared for the massive arrival of people from different countries: nameplates of public transport stops and menus in restaurants were being translated. But it is still might be difficult to get around in an unknown city. That is why E1.RU prepared a series of materials for guests.

За перевод мы благодарим партнера проекта — лингвистический центр «Талисман».

Ekaterinburg is known as Russia's most compact millionaire city. Indeed, more than 1.5 million people live here in a relatively small area. There is a developed system of public transport to move around the city: metro and trams, trolleybuses, and even a city train (except for a passenger monorail). We will tell you more about each type of transport.

Tram

There are thirty tram routes in Yekaterinburg, rails lead to almost all areas. Citizens like this type of transport because it is smaller than a trolleybus and bus, and not subject to traffic jams. A lot of lines are laid outside the carriageway, where there are no cars.

Trams try to function according to the schedule, which can be seen at the terminal stations and on the website of the city tram and trolleybus management. Unfortunately, due to traffic congestion and traffic accidents on the rails, trams are not often on time. The interval of the trams' movement is indicated on the plates at the stops, soon there will be electronic displays with up-to-date information in the city. It will be possible to see if your tram is coming soon.

There are a lot of old Czech trams on the lines. They are not very comfortable and sometimes break down. Recently, new modern trams have joined the fleet. In them there are thermal cannons, comfortable handrails and seats, and even television displays with news and announcements.

Trolleybus

This is the only type of public transport, which has not been developing for a few years. Horned vehicles go on twenty old routes where they obediently crawl in traffic jams. Trolleybuses in the city have not been renewed for at least thirty years, and there are no plans to buy new ones.

Trolleybuses cannot reach some areas, for example, Sortirovka. To some other districts, for example Shinniy, on the contrary, it is difficult to get by another means of transport. That's why, it is worthwhile to study in advance the map of the routes when going on the road. Perhaps the destination is located in that secluded part of Vtorchermet or the Pioneer district, where there is only one public transport — trolleybus.

Bus

This type of transport, whose routes are not limited by either wires from above, or rails from below, is quite well developed in Yekaterinburg. An extensive network of routes covers almost the whole city. You can almost always get from one point to anotheron by bus. Exceptions are rare: for example, buses do not go from Uralmash to the downtown — why, if everyone goes by subway?

Several years ago the administration of Yekaterinburg held a contest and green color was chosen for the city buses. After that, the city bought more than 150 new comfortable vehicles. Low-floor buses are specially made so that invalids and mothers with strollers could get in. Inside, blow heaters work.

In addition to municipal buses in Yekaterinburg, there are private buses. Entrepreneurs transport passengers on yellow «Bogdans» and other vehicles. Whoever the bus belongs to, the cost around the city will be the same. And you can also pay with a transport card (Ekarta), which we will discuss later.

Minivans

Yekaterinburg's smallest and harshest public transport usually follow the same routes as larger vehicles, but with a slight differences. Being able to serve groups of passengers in an individual way, the route-makers have their own fans. Probably, a trip in a fixed-route taxi can not be called very comfortable. And yet sometimes it can be the best way to get to the right place. Again, the fare on the minibus is the same as on any other type of transport, you can pay with Ekarta.

Metro

It is difficult to build a metro in Yekaterinburg because of the rock on which the city stands. That's why there is only one branch of the underground. Nine stations are stretched along the axis «north-south»: from «Prospect Kosmonavtov» in Uralmash through «Uralskaya» near the railway station, «Area 1905» in the center to «Botanica» closer to the southern border of the city.

The advantages of traveling by metro are known to everyone who is familiar with the subway anywhere in the world. There is always good weather, it is light and clean, and the trains run on time. The underground in Ekaterinburg is really beautiful — each station is built according to its architectural design, so that it can be regarded as a museum pavilion. One represents Ural stones, the other resembles the cabin of a plane, the third is a beehive. What is missing in the Ural subway is retail (all kiosks from under the ground were removed) and urns (for safety reasons, there is not a single garbage container in the subway).

City train

This type of transport is good for those who need to travel regularly from the hard-to-find outskirts to work. The line starts at the station «Yekaterinburg-Sortirovochny» in the west, passes through the railway station, makes several stops in the center of the city and through the southern regions goes to the village of Sysert. It takes half an hour to get from the outskirts to the center by train, the fare is 29 rubles (you can buy a ticket in the train or at the ticket office at the station). Look for the timetable on E1.RU.

«Express Koltsovo»

Visitors can also be interested in the train «Express Koltsovo». This train can be used to get from the airport to the railway station and vice versa for 59 rubles. Tickets are sold at the station and on the train. The Express is never late, does not get stuck in the traffic and is much cheaper than a taxi. But it travels few times only. In the morning it departs from the station at 6:28 am and arrives at the train station at 7:08 am. In the evening it leaves at 06:47 pm and arrives at 19:27pm.

During the World Cup, using the «Express-Koltsovo» will be even more convenient. In the days of matches the city train will be free for those who have a ticket. Here you can see the schedule:

How to choose transport

Getting ready for a time out, check out the map of the city. The best trolleybus networks are drawn on Yandex.Maps and 2Gis. In detail, each route can be viewed on the website of the Yekaterinburg tram and trolleybus management.

Pay attention: it is not always a good idea to choose the route suggested by the service, which will take you exactly to the place you need. Often transport follows from point A to point B by far not the shortest way, but on the contrary, winds in such a way so as to cover as much of the city's area as possible. Therefore, those who are planning to leave for Vltchermet from Elmash, should think ten times before taking the direct tram No. 25: a trip without transplants can take up to three hours.

How to see where your transport goes

If you are lucky, at your stop there is an electronic board with information about when the transport will come. If not, check it on the Internet. For example, using the Yandex.Transport application or Edu.Ekb for a smartphone. At first on the map you can see all the trams in general, trolleybuses and buses near you. Then you need to choose the desired route and see all the transport on it.

On the ETTU site there are two online cards at once, which is quite convenient to track your tram or trolley. At the first card, you need to mark the routes you like, and all transport will run before your very eyes in real time. On the second card you need to choose the stop where you will be standing according to their first letter. So you get information about when the right transport will arrive.

How to pay for the fare

The journey in the city public transport of Ekaterinburg costs 28 rubles. The amount is the same for trams, trolleybuses, buses, minivans and metro. In the subway you can use your bank card with a chip by applying it to the turngate or buy a token in the window. In all other transport you can pay in cash. And, of course, everywhere, without exception, there is a Ekaterinburg transport card, which is called Ekarta. We'll give you more details about it.

What is good about Ekarta

The transport card of Yekaterinburg is a convenient way to pay the fare without being concerned not to drop the money on the floor. One touch of the card to a special conductor's device, and the ticket is in your hands. And even Ekarta helps pay for the trip less than 28 rubles. You will save money if you buy a travel card for a certain number of trips; depending on their number, and whether you use a tram or bus — for an adult it will cost about 24 rubles.

Since a short time ago, there are two tariffs for Ekarta in Ekaterinburg. Having paid 30 rubles, you can make as many trips as you like within half an hour. For 40 rubles you are given an hour. Tariffs work in trams, buses, trolleybuses and minibuses — everywhere except the subway. The time tariff can be connected to your Ekarta at replenishment points. And you can buy a card specially made for the fare — it costs 75 rubles.

Where to buy and refill Ekarta

In the ticket office of any metro station, in the «Rospechat» booth, in the offices of the Russian Post, at the Frisbee payment acceptance points (you can see their addresses here). You can top up the card at the same points and in self-service terminals of the Savings Bank.

If you just want to make trips on public transport more convenient, use Ekarta as a purse (although even in this case you will have to pay only 26 instead of 28 rubles). If you want to save more seriously, choose one of the tariffs. Here are some options for citizens without state benefits:

— Travel for a month for an unlimited number of trips in any transport — 2,800 rubles. One or two types of transport will be cheaper

— 60 days for any transport: 20 trips for 500 rubles (25 rubles per trip), 40 trips for 980 rubles (24.5 rubles per trip), 70 trips for 1680 rubles (24 rubles per trip).

Ekarta can be made even more convenient if you download an app to your phone. It is possible if you have smartphones HTC, Sony and Philips. These devices already have the application «Wallet», with it you can top up Ekarta. Do you have such an application? Check on www.cardsmobile.ru. To pay with a virtual card is not more difficult than with an actual one — just bring the screen to the terminal.