Posted on September 11th, 2009.
Getting ready to go on a holiday in Ukraine? If Kiev is on your to do list, then here’s some historical facts about the capital city and top destination in Ukraine.
As the capital and largest city in the Ukraine, Kiev is an important cultural and industrial city with many famous landmarks and historical buildings. It is located on the banks of the Dnieper River, making its setting unique and wooded. Over 2 million people live in the city and it is home to several renowned universities. Fortunately for travellers, Kiev has an extensive array of public transportation options including a Metro system. While it can be crowded, as can any large city public transportation systems, Kiev’s public transportation system is efficient and inexpensive. Here’s an overview of some of the public transportation options available in Kiev, and some helpful tips to help you get around in the city, provided this is your Eastern European holiday destination this year.
Kiev Metro
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Kiev built the first public metro system in the Ukraine and the third one in the former USSR. It forms a widespread network throughout the city, and in 2005 boasted making 600 million trips carrying over 1.6 million people daily. Many of the metro stops are built deep into the ground and could double as bomb shelters if needed, this was very important during the Cold war era when it was built. The metro operates via inexpensive tokens which can be purchased at any station or from automated kiosks found in metro stops. If you are going to be in Kiev on a long-term basis, you can also purchase a monthly metro pass.
Kiev Bus System
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The city runs two types of bus services, the city bus and the trolley bus. You can catch a ride on buses from assigned stops; look for signs posted on telegraph poles. You can pre-purchase tickets from self-service kiosks located throughout the city or from the bus drivers, and validate them when you board the bus by having it hole-punched in the validation machine. There is a stiff fine if you are caught riding on a bus with an unvalidated ticket.
Kiev also has a system of private route taxis called “Marshrutky†which follow designated routes and can be found at specific bus stops. If you hail a Marshrutky, make sure you bring coins to pay the driver directly. These do not operate on tokens or regular city bus passes.
Taxis
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Kiev has a couple of different taxi service options, there are official company taxis which are marked with typical taxi designation symbols and can be booked via phone or hailed on the street, and “gypsy†cabs which are unmarked vehicles belonging to Kiev citizens who wish to earn a bit of extra income by picking up travellers. If you want to hail one of these “gypsy” cabs, simply hold out your arm out and your palm down and negotiate a price with the car that stops to pick you up. Fares can vary wildly on both official taxis and “gypsy†cabs so you might ask at your lodging for what purveyors feel are accepted fares to get to various spots within the city.
Other
A scenic funicular is available to route passengers from the upper part of Kiev to Poshtova Ploscha in Podil. Beautiful views of the river Dnipro and its banks are available from the inexpensive funicular.
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A city tram, or streetcar, route is available to take travellers throughout some parts of the city.
This entry was posted on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 11:26 am; on the subject of Ukraine.