How to book a taxi in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, or in other Russian cities

Last Updated on December 1, 2023 by Irena Domingo

Taxi service is a bit different in Russia, given the large number of “pirate” taxi drivers that exist in the country. In this post I explain how to catch a taxi in large Russian cities like Moscow or Saint Petersburg and provide recommendations on how to do it and how not to, after international sanctions due to the conflict in Ukraine.

Introduction

On trips through the center of large cities like Moscow or Saint Petersburg, the option that I prefer to use is the Metro. It is fast, safe, and cheap. However, taxis are a good transportation method for trips from the airport or other places where there is not a good connection to the Metro system.

I would say that, like in any other city of the world, there are basically four different ways to catch a taxi in Russia:

• Catch one on the street (lift your hand to signal one)
• Making a telephone call to a Russian taxi company
• Reserving it ahead of time through the Internet on their website
• Using an app on your phone, like Yandex Go (I believe this is the best way to reserve a taxi from the airport to the city)

1. Catching a cab on the street

The most basic way to catch a cab in any city in the world is to do so on the street. Lift your hand and wait for a taxi to come to you.

The problem with this option is that two different types of taxis could come: illegal taxis (or “pirates”) and the official ones.

1.1. Illegal taxis, or “pirates”

In Moscow, it is said that for every official taxi there are 3 illegal ones. Every car that you see on the street is a potential taxi.

This is a phenomenon that has arisen over the 90 years since the fall of the Soviet Union, which required people to earn a living somehow. Many people became illegal taxi drivers, a phenomenon that still persists today despite efforts at regulation.

If you signal with your hand for a taxi to stop in Moscow, it is a certainty that one of these illegal taxis will drive up. The procedure is the following: the car will come up to you and the driver will offer to take you where you are going for a negotiable price. You should negotiate the price in advance (if you do not negotiate before, the trip can end up being more expensive). The problem is that if you are a foreigner and you do not speak Russian, the taxi will try to charge you a higher rate. It is also possible that you will see a second car stop and wait behind the first one in the hopes that your negotiations will fall through.

In many cases these taxis are citizens of the former Soviet Republics in the East and the models of their cars can also be very old (Lada) or sometimes modern cars.

Personally I do not advise taking illegal taxis. It is possible for it to end up being cheaper, but sometimes it is possible that it can end up being more expensive and also not as safe.

1.2. Official taxis

Besides the illegal taxis, you can also get an official taxi on the street as well. These taxis are usually yellow and have a visible sign that says TAXI, but there are also other colors as well.

Catching a cab this way is basically the same all over the world. Lift your hand so a taxi will know to stop, get in, and tell them your destination (if you have it written out in Russian, even better), the taxi driver will start the meter, and at the end of the trip you pay.

2. Reserve a taxi over the phone

Another option is to reserve a taxi in advance by telephone. The problem with reserving a taxi by phone is that you have to know Russian although with some companies it is possible that they have some staff that speak English. In these cases it is preferable, if possible, to ask the hotel receptionist to make the reservation for you (or any other person that you trust who speaks Russian).

3. Reserve a taxi on the Internet

There are many companies that allow you to reserve a taxi through the Internet. This is an easy way to reserve a taxi in advance of going from the airport to the city center (or whatever other site) knowing head of time what price you are going to have to pay (although not all company clearly specify their prices).

For example, Gettransfer offers service in most Russian cities: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Sochi, Saransk, Krasnodar, Velikiy Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, etc.

4. Use a mobile app

In my opinion, the best way to order a taxi is to do it through the Android or iPhone mobile application of the Russian company Yandex Go, since after international sanctions due to the conflict in Ukraine, applications such as Uber or Gett no longer work.

Yandex Go is very easy to use and comes in many languages (including English). Taxi payment can be made in advance (using a Russian bank card) or in cash when taking the taxi. To register in the application you only need your mobile number.

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