Transport - Central Asia - page 481

TAXI TIPS

¨ Avoid taxis lurking outside tourist hotels - drivers charge far too much and get uppity
when you try to talk them down.
¨ Never get into a taxi with more than one person in it, especially after dark; check the
back seat of the car for hidden friends too.
¨ Keep your fare money in a separate pocket to avoid flashing large wads of cash.
¨ Have a map to make it look like you know your route.
¨ If you're staying at a private residence, have the taxi stop at the corner nearest your
destination, not the specific address.

¨ Select your driver with
care, look over his car (we
took one in Kyrgyzstan
whose exhaust fumes were
funnelled through the back
windows) and assess his
sobriety before you set off.

train, and are still very
affordable.

down wave, not an upturned
thumb) and most drivers
will expect you to pay for
the ride.

¨ Cars often wait for
passengers outside bus
or train stations and some
have a sign in the window
indicating where they are
headed.

¨ When negotiating a
reasonable fare it helps to
know the equivalent bus or
shared-taxi fare.

¨ You'll have to negotiate
a price before you set off.
Along routes where there
are also shared taxis,
ordinary taxis are four
times the shared taxi per-
person fare.

¨ Some fares are so cheap
that two or three of you
can buy all four seats and
stretch out. Otherwise
smaller cars can be a little
cramped.

¨ Hitching to parks and
scenic spots is generally
much easier on the
weekends but you'll lose
some of the solitude at
these times.

¨ Make sure everyone is
clear which route you will be
taking, how long you want
the driver to wait at a site
and if there are any toll or
entry fees to be paid.

¨ The most common car
is the Russian Zhiguli,
fast being replaced by
modern Daewoo models
such as the Nexia (the
most comfortable) and the
smaller and cheaper Tico,
both made in Central Asia.

¨ Normal security rules
apply when trying to
arrange a lift; don't hitch
alone, avoid flagging down
cars at night and try to
size up your driver (and his
sobriety) before getting in.

¨ You can work out
approximate costs by
working out the return
kilometre distance; assume
the average consumption of
cars is around 12 litres per
100km and then multiply
the number of litres needed
by the per litre petrol cost
(constantly in flux).

¨ The front seat is always
the one to aim for; only
lemons get the middle back
seat.

Local Transport
Most sizeable towns have
public buses, and some-
times electric trolleybuses.
Tashkent and Almaty have a
metro system.
¨ Transport is cheap by
Western standards, but
usually packed; at peak
hours it can take several
stops for those caught by
surprise to even work their
way to an exit.
¨ Public transport in
smaller towns tends to melt
away soon after dark.
Bus, Trolleybus &
Tram
Payment methods vary, but
the most common method is
to pay the driver or conduc-
tor cash on exit. Manoeuvre

¨ Shared taxis are
particularly useful in
Kyrgyzstan along certain
major routes such as
Bishkek-Almaty, Bishkek-
Osh, and Naryn-Bishkek.

¨ Add to this a daily fee
(anything from US$5 up to
the cost of the petrol) and a
waiting fee of around US$1
per hour.

¨ Other useful routes
are Bukhara-Urgench/
Khiva, Samarkand-Termiz,
Dushanbe-Khojand and
Ashgabat-Mary.

SHARED TAXI
Shared taxi is the other
main form of car travel
around Central Asia, where-
by a taxi or private car does
a regular run between two
cities and charges a set rate
for each of the four seats
in a car.
Cars are quicker and just
as comfortable as a bus or

Hitching
In Central Asia there is
generally little distinction
between hitching and tak-
ing a taxi. Anyone with a car
will stop if you flag them
down (with a low up-and-