Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cheaper options for more confident travellers include shuttle taxi - tell a taxi driver
na
dar baste
(no closed door) and he will look for other passengers going the same way - or
public buses to Enqelab and Vanak Sqs.
Car & Motorcycle
Motorcycle taxis loiter on corners all over town and make an adrenalin-inducing way to
get across town in a hurry. They cost as much as taxis but take half the time. Find them on
the corner of Jomhuri-ye Eslami Ave and Ferdosi St if you're heading north. Good luck!
CAR RENTAL
Few travellers bother to rent self-drive cars in Tehran largely because you can get a car
and English-speaking driver for not much more. If you want to drive yourself,
Europcar
(
5567 8316;
www.europcar.ir
)
at IKIA rents out cars from about US$50/320 per day/
week. But check out the boxed text,
Click here
,
first.
For private car hire the cost depends on vehicle type, how far you're going and whether
you want an English-speaking driver who can double as a guide. Reckon on paying
between US$70 and US$100 a day. One highly recommended English-speaking driver
and guide is
Ali Taheri
(
Click here
)
.
Just about any taxi (indeed, any car) in Tehran is available for hire (known locally as
taxi service
,
agence
or
dar baste
). For a driver who speaks no English expect to pay about
US$50 for the day, depending on your bargaining skills and how far you plan to go.
Public Transport
BUS
Tehran has an extensive local bus network but given they are crowded and slow compared
with the Metro and there are relatively cheap taxis, few travellers bother. If you do, you'll
find buses run from roughly 6am until 10pm or 11pm, finishing earlier on Friday and pub-
lic holidays. Tickets cost slightly more than nothing and you buy them from ticket booths
near bus stops or at bus terminals, and then give them to the driver when you board the
bus; see the boxed text,
Click here
,
for bus travel etiquette. Buses never show their destin-
ations in English; ask your hotel for route details or anyone at the bus stop.
BUS RAPID TRANSPORT
More useful is this system of rapid buses along four routes with dedicated lanes. The BRT
carries about 1.8 million people a day and on most routes buses depart every two or three
minutes. Tickets cost US$0.10. Two lines will be particularly useful to travellers;
Rah-Ahan (train station) to Tajrish:
Good for hops along Valiasr, but the traffic lights
and bus bank ups at major stops mean it's less than rapid.
