As I was preparing to write about another blog post topic, I happened upon the Moscow Metro website. Curious as to what I might find, I began digging around. It turns out that there is quite a bit of useful information on this page. For example, if you are curious as to the temperature of the air at any of the stations (and really, you should be because it is important to find the cool stations now that temperatures are climbing into the ’80s), you will find that information here.
More seriously, there is information here about what to do should you fall on the tracks, what to do if someone is misbehaving on the metro and what to do if you forget your things on the metro. The website also answered one of my long held questions about kids riding on the metro. I keep seeing kids rushing ahead of their parents onto the metro and I wandered whether or not this is allowed. Turns out, according to the official rules of the metro, children under seven ride for free.
To answer some other frequently asked questions:
-You can have a dog on the metro if it is a service dog or in an enclosed container (such as a purse)
-You are not allowed to do anything on the metro that “мешает” the other passengers (a verb that means to do things that annoy other people). From personal experience, I can say that people do not always follow this rule.
-You must wear your shoes on the metro.
-Videotape without written permission is forbidden.
-Musical instruments ride for free (unlike on many airplanes).
There is also a place on the website for passengers to write in questions. Many people complain about the escalators being closed in busy stations (there are usually two escalators and often one of them is closed down). Apparently the decision to open the escalators is based off of close analysis of passenger movement.
The Moscow metro is truly a remarkable system (despite the qualms some of the passengers on the website raised). I am not the first person to write about the metro system; however, I think it is important to understand just how accessible the metro makes Moscow. It is truly an amazing resource.
And for anyone who is interested, here is a video about working in the metro: