Yandex.Drive parking at Sheremetyevo Airport
Yandex.Drive parking at Sheremetyevo Airport
Moscow has the largest car-sharing park in the world with more than 15 000 cars waiting for you to be rented for any amount of time, starting from 1 minute. Cars can usually be left almost anywhere within MKAD and in Moscow airports. City parking is also free for those cars. To be able to rent a car, you should register yourself in an app of the company providing the service. There are more than 15 car-sharing operators in Moscow, here are the market leaders:
Sixt pick up & return office
Hertz, Europcar, Sixt and Avis have offices in three of four Moscow airports (Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo). Budget has no offices in Russia. It is always cheaper to rent a car using company local site, not the international one. For a night pick up you should contact local rent office a few days upon arrival.
Vnukovo exit road
Russian registration certificate, driver license and vehicle insurance
While driving in Russia every driver is required to have the following set of documents:
Traffic police officers
Traffic police officers can stop every car just to check the documents. Every road inspector must introduce himself pointing his title and last name.
The cameras can record not only speeding but other minor violations as well. Driving along the bus lanes, driving in the oncoming lane, incorrect parking or even driving without a full stop where there’s a stop sign – all those violations are in their competence. Numerous traffic cameras are installed in all city regions along every major road. The detailed list of cameras and places of their location is presented on this site. After the camera registered a violation, the appropriate fine is sent to the owner of the car by post and must be paid for a one-month term (there’s a 50% discount if you pay within 2 weeks). For serious violations (Russia has a zero tolerance policy on drinking and driving), the driving license can be confiscated by a court.
All the fines should be paid only at the bank or via internet, so never give any money (or bank cards) to the road inspectors.
Moscow parking ATM
Moscow has paid parking in the city center, within the Garden Ring. There are several parking zones and also special fares for specific streets. Parking within the Boulevard Ring may cost up to 380 roubles (€4) per hour, 50 roubles (€1) for the first hour and 150 roubles (€2) for every next hour within the Garden Ring and 60 rubles (€1) per hour within the TTK ring.
How to pay:
Yandex.Maps service
Moscow has a very hard traffic situation. To avoid long traffic jams use Yandex.Maps service. It offers reliable live traffic map (apps are available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone) with online navigation. Offline Moscow map is available. It is the most popular and up to date service. Yandex can show and search latin-written street names.
Common look of «Notice about accident» form
In a case of a car accident in Moscow, stay right where the accident took place – even if you are in the middle of a busy road – and call 112 (emergency services number, most operators speak English). Provide them with all details of the accident (location, number, and kind of vehicles involved, injuries, etc.). You can also ask somebody else, speaking Russian (e.g. the other driver involved in the accident, your office, your friend) to call them. Then call your rent-a-car company if you hired a car and your insurance company if you are the car’s owner. After that wait for a GIBDD (traffic police) officer. Do not expect the GIBDD officers to speak English.
If the damage is small, it is possible to handle the situation and prepare all documents for the insurance company without the presence of a GIBDD officer (whose attendance is not required by law), if both drivers have the insurance policy and the damages are caused only to property, with no injury to people.
Both parties have to agree on the reason for the accident and the guilty party, and to fill in both «Notice about accident» forms (Извещение о дорожно-транспортном происшествии). According to law, in the case of this simplified procedure of accident reporting, insurance compensation cannot exceed 100 000 rub. (€1,004). It can be increased to 400 000 rub. (€4,016) in case of using insurance company app by providing them photos of the accident.
Moscow driving school
A foreigner, temporarily staying in Russia can drive with an International Driving Permit (IDP) or national driving license, translated into Russian and notarized. Foreigners that are going to stay in Russia for more than six months must obtain a Russian driving license.
To apply for a Russian driving license, you must provide the following documents:
If your national driving license is still valid, you will only have to pass a general driving test. If your license has expired, you must also pass a practical driving exam to get the Russian license. However, to do so, you must speak fluent Russian: the theoretical and practical instruction is conducted only in Russian.
If you want to get your first driving license in Russia, you should also go to a local driving school, pass a medical test, have about two months of theoretical and practical driving instruction, and pass state driving exams.
Gazpromneft station
We suggest you to fill up at good gas stations nets, such as Lukoil, BP, Rosneft, Shell, Gazpromneft or TNK.
Gas stations are particularly can be met outside the Garden Ring. The price of petrol in Russia is still significantly lower than in Europe.
Snowfall near GUM
Driving in Moscow in winter could be a difficult thing, especially if you are not used to such weather conditions. During the winter period, remember to keep in your car a good snow brush and an anti-frost windshield washer fluid.
Before winter arrives, have your car protected with winter tires. Studded tires are allowed and highly recommended outside of Moscow. It is better to change tires in advance – in autumn, and not to wait until the first snow. Otherwise, you run the risk of spending a lot of time in queues to service stations.
Do not hurry to change winter tires in spring; it is better to wait until April.
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