Transportation in Moscow

Moscow moves on the metro, fast, clean, and cheap enough that a single ride costs a fraction of any other option. Buy the Troika rechargeable card at the bright yellow machines in any station. It works on the metro, buses, trams, and even the river boats, sparing you the queue at every turn. Trains arrive every 90, 120 seconds during the day, so you can skip the timetable apps and just show up. For surface travel, buses and trams fill the gaps the metro doesn't reach, but during rush hour they sit in the same traffic you're trying to avoid. Taxis booked through Yandex.Go or Citymobil are a moderate splurge and usually cheaper than hailing on the street, never accept rides from drivers who approach you inside stations. From the airports, the Aeroexpress train is the insider move: direct, frequent, and lands you at centrally connected terminals (Belorussky, Paveletsky, or Kievsky depending on which airport). Miss the last departure and the official taxi ranks outside each terminal are the only safe fallback, ignore the unofficial touts inside the arrivals hall.