Moscow Central Circle, Magistral route system and new transport standards: results of the Moscow transport system’s work

Moscow Central Circle: Modern Lastochka trains and free interchanges

The Moscow Central Circle (MCC) was launched on 10 September, on Moscow City Day. Currently, 29 stations are open, and the remaining two – Zorge and Panfilovskaya – will open by the end of the year. Trains run every six minutes during rush hours and every 11-15 minutes during non-peak hours. All MCC stations have interchanges to ground transit: 25 percent of all routes have stops within 500 metres from transit hubs of the Moscow Central Ring.

Thirty-three Lastochka trains run on the MCC. Passengers have access to free Wi-Fi, power outlets and lavatories. For passengers’ convenience, all cars are equipped with electronic displays and climate control systems. Moreover, trains are adapted for people with limited mobility.

The stations have five information/enquiry desks “Real-life communication”, and audio information is transmitted in trains to provide feedback.

Passengers could travel on the MCC for free during the first month of its operation. Now standard fares are in force: you can travel using the Unified and 90 Minute tickets and the Troika card. Passengers can change to the MCC for free within 1.5 hours of when they entered the metro system.

In almost two months, the MCC has been used by 10 million passengers. The most popular stations are Ploshchad Gagarina, Vladykino and Botanichesky Sad.

The MCC managed to improve the city’s transport infrastructure: the Metro Circle Line has become less busy, as passengers actively use the MCC to change to radial lines. The greatest decrease in passenger traffic during peak hours was recorded on the section between the Prospekt Mira and Komsomolskaya stations (15 percent) and on the section between the Komsomolskaya and Kurskaya stations (11 percent).

Also, passenger traffic decreased by up to 31 percent on some sections of the Sokolnicheskaya, Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya, Zamoskvoretskaya, Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya and Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya lines.

News standards for surface transit

In September, Moscow surface transit switched to a new mode of operation. Two thousand new buses run on 211 routes. The number of seats increased by 30 percent, amounting to over 100,000 seats.  These buses are adapted for wheelchair users.

In addition, travel fares were reduced. Previously, the minimum fare was 35 roubles, whereas now it is only 17 roubles.

The average age of rolling stock is now one year compared to eight years previously. Buses meet current environmental requirements, and harmful emissions have been reduced.

The main advantages of the innovation are single transport standards, service quality control by the Moscow Government and illegal carriers leaving the market. The reform was supported by over 70 percent of citizens.

Magistral new route system

In October, the Magistral route system was launched in Moscow. It helps people commute without taking the metro. Passenger traffic within the Kremlin Ring grew by 40 percent, and daily ridership stands at 350,000 within the Garden Ring.

About 400 buses, trolleybuses and trams run on 17 main, 11 district and seven social routes. The fastest and most frequent are the trunk (main) routes, which connect the suburbs and the city centre. District routes are shorter, and social routes help people get to government service centres and clinics.

Vehicles operating on these routes are adapted for peoples with disabilities.

Now transit runs every eight minutes instead of 16. In addition, six new sections with dedicated lanes were created.

About 5.5 million passengers have used Magistral routes since their launch.

Metro, bike rental and car sharing: achievements and plans

New metro stations opened in Moscow, which improved the situation at some busy stations, including Troparyovo, Timiryazevskaya and Petrovsko-Razumovskaya.

The creation of park and ride lots and the redesign of transit routes after the opening of new stations made the road network less busy.

The bike rental scene continues to grow. This year, 330 rental stations had 3,300 bikes to loan out, 700 bikes more than last year. Moreover, 150 electric bikes were available at six rental points. During the season, bikes were rented over 1.6 million times. Compared to 2013, their popularity grew 15-fold.

The Moscow car sharing project celebrated its first anniversary; it was launched last September. Now the network includes five companies: Delimobil, Car5, YouDrive, AnyTime and BelkaCar. Rental cars can park in city lots free of charge.

The network has over 200,000 users and 1,150 cars.