Moscow's public transport network carries approximately 12 million passengers daily across metro, bus, tram, monorail, and suburban rail systems unified under the Mosgortrans authority and Moscow Metro. The Moscow Metro opened in 1935 with a single 11-kilometer line and operates today with 15 lines spanning 454 kilometers with 263 stations as of 2024. The Koltsevaya Line (Line 5, brown on system maps) forms a circle connecting major radial lines beneath the Boulevard Ring road. The Central Circle Line (Line 14, pink) opened in 2016 as an overground orbital railway following the former freight Moscow Railway Circle at a radius approximately 10 kilometers from the city center with 31 stations. The Big Circle Line (Line 11, light green) began phased opening in 2018 and completed full orbital operation in 2023 with 70 kilometers making it the longest metro circle line globally, serving outer districts beyond the Third Ring Road.
Metro trains operate from approximately 5:30am to 1:00am with headways of 90 seconds during peak hours on central sections of the Sokolnicheskaya Line (Line 1, red) and Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line (Line 7, purple). A single-ride ticket costs 64 rubles as of January 2024. The Troika card, a rechargeable contactless smartcard introduced in 2013, costs 50 rubles deposit and offers discounted fares of 46 rubles per ride when loaded with 2 or more trips, with further reductions on monthly unlimited passes. The Troika card functions across all Mosgortrans bus, tram, trolleybus, and monorail services in addition to metro. Ticket barriers require card tap on entry; metro stations do not require exit tap but commuter rail stations do for fare calculation.
Stations constructed between 1935 and 1955 feature marble columns, chandeliers, bronze sculptures, and mosaic panels designed by architects Alexey Dushkin, Ivan Fomin, and Alexey Shchusev as "palaces for the people" under Soviet architectural doctrine. Mayakovskaya station, opened 1938 on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line (Line 2, green), received the Grand Prix at the 1939 New York World's Fair for Dushkin's design using rhodonite stone columns and 34 ceiling mosaics by Alexander Deyneka depicting "24 Hours in the Land of the Soviets." Komsomolskaya station on the Koltsevaya Line, opened 1952, displays eight yellow mosaic panels by Pavel Korin in baroque ceiling vaults designed by Shchusev showing Russian military leaders including Alexander Nevsky and Mikhail Kutuzov. Kievskaya station on the same line features 24 frescoes by Vasily Elkonin depicting Ukrainian agricultural and industrial themes in friendship between Soviet republics.
The Moscow Central Diameters (MCD) system integrated suburban commuter rail with metro fare structure starting November 2019. MCD-1 runs 66 kilometers east-west from Odintsovo through Belorussky railway station to Lobnya with 28 stations. MCD-2 operates 78 kilometers north-south from Nakhabino through Kursky and Paveletsky stations to Podolsk with 38 stations. Both lines charge metro fares for trips within Moscow city limits and allow free transfers to metro within 90 minutes using Troika cards. MCD-3 opened in June 2023 running 85 kilometers from Zelenograd to Ramenskoye. MCD-4 is under construction from Aprelevka to Zheleznodorozhny scheduled for 2025 opening.
Surface transport includes 700 bus routes, 47 tram routes, and 6 trolleybus routes as of 2024. The Moscow Metro purchased 1,050 low-floor LIAZ buses and 300 Vityaz electric buses between 2021-2023 for fleet renewal. Tram route A, the Annino line, opened in 2019 connecting Varshavskaya metro station to Annino metro station with modern Vityaz-M trams at 3-minute headways during peak hours. Night bus routes identified by "Н" prefix operate from 1:00am to 5:30am when metro service ceases. Night bus Н1 follows the Sokolnicheskaya Line stopping near metro stations from Okhotny Ryad to Bulvar Dmitriya Donskogo. Troika card fares on surface transport match metro pricing at 46 rubles per ride with transfer allowances.
The Moscow Monorail opened in 2004 connecting Timiryazevskaya metro station on Line 9 to VDNKh metro station on Line 6 over 4.7 kilometers with 6 stations. Monorail trains operate every 15-30 minutes from 8:00am to 8:00pm using Troika cards with standard metro fares. The system carries approximately 15,000 passengers daily, primarily serving the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy (VDNKh) exhibition grounds. The technology uses Intamin P30 vehicles built in Switzerland with capacity for 50 passengers per train.
Taxis operate through smartphone applications Yandex Taxi, which merged with Uber Russia in 2017, and local competitor Citimobil. Yandex Taxi calculates fares by distance and time with base rate around 150-200 rubles plus 15 rubles per kilometer and 3 rubles per minute in standard economy class as of 2024. Surge pricing multipliers apply during peak hours, bad weather, or high demand. Payment occurs through app-linked cards; drivers do not handle cash in app-booked rides. Street-hail taxis exist but operate without meters; negotiate fare before entering or expect significant overcharging. Official taxi vehicles display a checkered strip and orange roof light, though app-based services use private vehicles.
Car-sharing services include Delimobil, Yandex Drive, and BelkaCar with combined fleets exceeding 30,000 vehicles across Moscow. Registration requires uploading driving license and passport through smartphone apps. Delimobil charges 8 rubles per minute for compact cars plus 16 rubles per kilometer after first 2 kilometers within city limits as of January 2024. Parking in designated car-share zones in all Moscow administrative districts incurs no additional charge. The Moscow parking payment system requires fees in nearly all central areas inside the Third Ring Road from 8:00am to 8:00pm weekdays, 150-380 rubles per hour depending on zone, paid through the Parking Moscow app or SMS to shortcode 7757.
The Moscow Ring Road (MKAD) forms a 109-kilometer highway loop marking the historical city limits until 2012 when municipal boundaries expanded. Traffic density on MKAD exceeds 180,000 vehicles daily on southern and western sections. The Third Ring Road (TTK) runs 36 kilometers through central districts including underpasses and tunnels at 13 major intersections. Average traffic speed on TTK falls to 15-20 kilometers per hour during weekday morning rush (7:00-10:00am) and evening rush (5:00-9:00pm). The Moscow government introduced paid parking inside the Boulevard Ring in 2013, expanding progressively to cover 4,100 streets by 2024.
Sheremetyevo International Airport lies 29 kilometers northwest of central Moscow accessible by Aeroexpress rail departing Belorussky railway station every 30 minutes from 5:00am to 12:30am with 35-minute journey time, fare 550 rubles as of 2024. Domodedovo Airport sits 42 kilometers south, served by Aeroexpress from Paveletsky station every 30 minutes, 45-minute journey, same fare. Vnukovo Airport 28 kilometers southwest connects via Aeroexpress from Kievsky station. The M11 Moscow-Saint Petersburg motorway opened fully in 2020 covering 669 kilometers with 15 toll sections; total toll from Moscow to Saint Petersburg ranges 2,500-3,000 rubles depending on vehicle class and payment method.
River transport operates on the Moskva River from April through October ice-free months. Radisson Royal Flotilla runs tourist routes between Kievsky railway station and Novospassky Monastery covering approximately 12 kilometers in 2.5 hours with stops at Gorky Park and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Regular commuter river buses operated until 2018; current river transport serves primarily tourist functions. The Moscow Canal, completed in 1937, connects the Moskva River to the Volga River over 128 kilometers with 11 locks enabling navigation between Moscow and the Caspian Sea, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, White Sea, and Sea of Azov through Russia's unified deep waterway system.
Bicycle infrastructure expanded from 40 kilometers of dedicated lanes in 2011 to approximately 700 kilometers by 2023. Velobike, the municipal bike-share system launched in 2013, operates 5,500 bicycles at 650 stations from April to October. Registration costs 150 rubles annually; first 30 minutes of each ride free, subsequent 30-minute blocks cost 30 rubles. Winter operations ceased due to snow and ice rendering cycling impractical in below-zero temperatures averaging minus 6 Celsius in January. Electric scooter rentals from Whoosh, Urent, and Yandex Scooters appeared in 2018; Moscow government banned scooter parking on sidewalks within the Boulevard Ring in 2023 requiring designated parking zones.
Walking remains viable for central districts inside the Garden Ring where metro stations average 600-800 meters apart. The pedestrian Arbat Street spans 1.2 kilometers from Arbatskaya metro to Smolenskaya metro as a commercial zone closed to vehicles since 1986. Pedestrian underpasses cross major roads at intervals because surface crossings without traffic lights are illegal on highways and many arterial roads. Winter conditions from November through March include ice on sidewalks; the city deploys sand and salt, but traction remains inconsistent. Pedestrian infrastructure prioritizes motorized transport; sidewalk widths narrow significantly outside central areas.
Accessibility for wheelchair users varies dramatically by construction era. Metro stations built after 2005 include elevators and tactile paving; stations built before 1990 generally lack elevators, requiring stair or escalator access only. The Moscow Metro published a 2022 list identifying 109 of 263 stations as fully accessible. Surface buses purchased after 2015 feature low floors and ramps; older buses require step climbing. Sidewalk curb cuts exist inconsistently; new construction includes them, Soviet-era infrastructure often does not.
English-language announcements on metro trains and at stations were introduced systematically in 2014 ahead of preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosted partly in Moscow. All metro maps and station names display Latin alphabet transliterations alongside Cyrillic. Bus and tram stops show route numbers but announcements occur only in Russian. Yandex Metro app provides route planning, real-time train locations, and station information in English; Yandex Maps offers navigation across all transport modes with English interface.