In the last 16 years of my life, I have been used to driving a car. It is like a bare necessity that one thinks one has a car all the time. We are, however, still using Bratislava's great public transportation system until we buy our car. We are into walking to the stops, checking connections, possibilities, etc. It is to me an additional experience to get lost and waste time getting lost but I would never know some places if I never got lost.
Let me begin with taxis. Everybody says that getting a taxi from the street is much more expensive. I just don't know why. Perhaps when I am able to speak (????!!!!????) Slovak, I will be able to ask a taxi driver if this is true or not. I got a taxi from Bratislava (http://wwwbratislavahotels.com) to pick us up from the airport in Vienna. This apparently is more economical than getting one from Vienna itself. Plus one is sure that the driver knows his way in Bratislava and will be able to bring us directly or with side trips to our aim.
Taxis within Bratislava are ordered via phone. I got once a number in the internet and they advertise that they speak in addition to Slovak, German and English. It was however not correct but I did manage to order a taxi. If you are somewhere without a phone, most hotels and restaurants would call a taxi for you.
Fun Taxi 16777 or +421216777 from your mobile
Hello Taxi 16321 or +421216321 from your mobile
Profi Taxi 16222 or +421216222 from your mobile
Trend Taxi 16302 or +421216302 from your mobile
MB Taxi 16916 or +421216916 or +421905916916 from your mobile - only Mercedes and Skoda Superb vehicles, slightly higher rates
Trams are trains, trolleys are run by electricity so it is environment friendly without the fumes and buses are buses. They are really great to bring you from one side of the city to the other. It is possible to combine the three transport systems to arrive to your destination. There is just this thing of how to understand what kind of ticket you have to buy. There are two kinds of ticket: prepaid (24-hour, 48-hour, 72-hour, 168-hour, 30-day, 90-day and 365-day) and the time-ticket for travel with transfers. I will elaborate on time tickets as it is what I used most. There are two time-tickets (15 min and 60 min). At the beginning we really didn't understand what to do with the ticket, if we are allowed to use it to board another public transport or not. After checking the website of Bratislava public transport, it is said that one can use the 15 min ticket for destinations which is reached within the 15 min time limit regardless of how many connections you get. If however you are not sure how long your travel will be, it is safe to buy the 60 min ticket (extended to 90 min during Saturday, Sunday and Holidays). Of course, one could be quite lost in checking out what connections you can get. For me, I achieved this only by checking their website. It is quite a hassle if you do not have access to the internet so perhaps asking the hotel or a local or taking a taxi will be the most suitable. As I have a 5 yr old child, he still doesn’t pay. Children below 6 travel free. So do seniors above 70 years.
Happy riding!
No comments:
Post a Comment