Surface transport
Electric buses, buses and trams: how Moscow street transport works and how it has changed.
The metro is the backbone of Moscow transport, but the last stretch home is usually covered by electric bus, bus or tram. The fare is paid the same way everywhere: with the Troika card or a bank card.
Electric buses
The first electric bus route opened in September 2018. Electric buses replaced the trolleybuses and are gradually taking over from diesel buses. They charge at terminals and depots. According to the city, more than 2,300 electric buses were in service in spring 2025.
Buses and the Magistral network
In 2016 the routes in the centre were rebuilt into the Magistral network: instead of many overlapping routes there are direct, frequent lines along the main streets. Many stops are placed at metro exits.
Cable car
In 2018 a cable car opened across the Moskva River between Sparrow Hills and Luzhniki. It has three stations — Vorobyovy Gory, Novaya Liga and Luzhniki — and 35 enclosed eight-seat cabins.
Bicycles
Since 2013 the city has had the Velobike rental scheme: regular bikes and e-bikes can be taken at one station and left at another. The scheme runs from spring to autumn.
Trams and river transport
Trams and regular river routes have their own pages — see the Trams and Water transport tabs.
The trolleybus — now history
The Moscow trolleybus opened in 1933. Regular service ended in August 2020, when the last routes were switched to electric buses and buses.
History
- 1924First city bus route
- 1933Trolleybus opens
- 2013Velobike bicycle rental launched
- 2016Magistral network launched
- 2018First electric bus route and the Luzhniki cable car
- 2020Regular trolleybus service ends
Fleet sizes, routes and timetables change. Current figures are published by Mosgortrans and the Moscow transport authority.
Sources
- mos.ru — электробусы: парк и планы на 2025 год (04.04.2025)
- Коммерсантъ — «Москву оставили без троллейбусов», 25.08.2020
- mos.ru — канатная дорога «Воробьёвы горы — Лужники»
- Photo: An electric bus on an embankment by the Kremlin (illustration) — Иллюстрация, созданная с помощью нейросети; предоставлена автором проекта / AI-generated illustration supplied by the project author
- Photo: A KAMAZ-6282 electric bus on Putevoy Proezd — Artyom Svetlov · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Photo: The cable car over Luzhniki — Правительство Москвы · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Photo: Velobike rental bicycles — ATI1999 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Other transport
- Trams
Trams
The Moscow tram: from the horse tram of 1872 to modern Vityaz and Lvyonok cars, track free of traffic jams and plans for New Moscow.
Read more - Water
Water transport
Electric river boats paid with Troika, the Northern River Terminal, the Moscow Canal and river trips.
Read more - Hubs
Interchange hubs
Hubs (TPU) bring together the metro, MCC, MCD, railway terminals and surface transport: the largest hubs and their transfers.
Read more - To St Petersburg
High-speed to Saint Petersburg
Sapsan between Leningradsky and Moskovsky stations, the history of fast trains and the high-speed line under construction.
Read more