Riding in a Marshrutka

When traveling in unfamiliar places, one never knows what mode of transportation is reliable, dependable, reasonably priced and safe.  My colleagues have traveled extensively throughout Dushanbe and so I went along with them when they told me the best way to travel is in a shared taxi called a Marshrutka.   Normally, I would be hesitant to use something like a Marshrutka, but it seems to work well in Dushanbe.  Basically you wait at a bus stop (busses are infrequent and often inhabited by pickpockets).  There are several routes that Marshrutkas take around Dushanbe that they do not deviate from, so you need to know which route serves your destination.   When a car or minibus comes by with the number of your route, you wave your arms, the Marshrutka stops, each passenger jumps in and pays the driver three Somonis (about 35 cents) and off you go.  If there is room in your car or minibus and someone else flags you down, the Marshrutka stops, and a stranger jumps in.   When you want out, you tell the driver "Let me out at the next stop" and you jump out and then someone else might jump in.   Another nice feature of the Marshrutka is that there is usually one with your route number buzzing by every minute or two.

We rode in several Marshrutkas during our time in Dushanbe and had cheap and evidently safe travels as I am still here writing this blog.  Interestingly enough, the one time we had no alternative but to take a regular taxi, we encountered a surly driver, found ourselves stopped a kilometer from our destination until we agreed to a higher fare, and ended up paying ten times the rate we would have in a Marshrutka.  My regular taxi experience serves as a reminder that one must often discard one's American intuition when traveling and go with the local knowledge.  Remember, when in Dushanbe take the Marshrutka and you will get cheap, reliable transportation and you might just meet several interesting drivers and strangers along the way you ordinarily would have never encountered.

An example of a Marshrutka.  You can see from the number in the window that it will take you along Route #8 and you will also notice someone in a yellow jacket flagging down the Marshrutka so that they too can get a ride.