[...]
Post by TimBPost by Ross[...]
Post by RossAnd, going off topic, has anyone used the buses from the airport to
the city centre? Any comments or advice on those?
[...]
Post by TimBPost by RossDid you get the mag card bus ticket or were they still on paper then?
If the card, is the two-trip ticket usable as a return for one person?
The websites I've looked at are ambiguous on the topic, some inferring
it's a single journey for two people and others that it's a
straightforward two-trip ticket to be used however the passenger
wishes.
And, if I'm not asking too many questions, is the domestic arrivals
(which I believe is where the bus leaves from) on the same level as
the international or a lower level?
[...]
Post by TimBCan't remember about the airport arrangements (I usually take the
train to Romania), but a double ticket is definitely ok to use as your
return. It's common all over Romania - just a minimum purchase thing.
For anyone else who's heading that way:-
When you arrive at Otopeni airport and come out of customs into the
international arrivals hall, ignore the half-hearted taxi touts and
head diagonally ahead and to your right where you'll find a lift down
to domestic arrivals. Once out of the lift, go straight out of the
doors in front of you (ignoring a few more half-hearted taxi touts)
and you're out on the road. To your left is the (unmarked) bus stop;
to your right is a "hutch" where you can buy your tickets. In theory
you can buy both the two-trip ticket for the Express bus and a local
weekly season ticket for the urban services, but as Ada-in-the-hutch
doesn't speak English you might find it difficult to do more than buy
the two-trip ticket.
The two-trip ticket for the Express routes 780 (Gara de Nord,
infrequent) and 783 (City Centre, about every 20 minutes) costs 7 Lei,
but it is issued on a "Multiplu" non-rechargeable smartcard for which
there is a charge of 1.6 Lei, so a total of RON 8.60, which is all of
about GBP1.75.
When you get on the bus, validate your ticket. The validators are
_very_ finicky, so expect to take three or more goes to validate it,
but persevere. The locals seem to be able to offer shrugs instead of
tickets to the plainclothes grippers when they get on to check
everyone, but they were quite clearly really looking for tourists -
the one who checked me on the return trip was visibly disappointed
when my card showed as correctly validated [1].
If you want to use public transport (buses, trolleybi and trams)
during your stay in Bucuresti, the seven-day season becomes cheapest
option for two days or more as it issued on an "Activ" rechargeable,
personalised smartcard which is issued free of charge - you'll have to
hand over your passport as (part of) the passport number is printed on
the smartcard, along with your name, as the authorising ID. It comes
in at a massive 17 Lei for a week's unlimited travel (that's, ooh,
GBP3.50 at most).
You can also put an electronic purse on the Activ card which can be
used to pay for Metro journeys (there's no fully integrated ticketing
in Bucharest). Ada-in-the-hutch at Piata Presei Libere tram terminus
spoke some English, and there's generally a younger person around
who'll be willing to translate if asked politely.
Oh, and before you go, print off suitable bits of the latest network
map at <http://transbuc.info/> - there are virtually no decent maps at
any of the stops, so even if you have to print this one across 16
pages, it's worth its weight in gold.
The trams are worth travelling on simply to experience the appalling
state of the infrastructure.
Heading onto (heavy-ish) rails, the Bucharest Metro has its own
ticketing, and its own validating machines which will be familiar to
anyone who has ever travelled in Brussels. The day ticket for the
Metro runs to a whole 6 Lei, call it GBP1.25, so won't break the bank.
I can't comment on CFR (Romanian Railways) as in the end I didn't go
near them.
[1] But not as disappointed as the two Sofia grippers who thought
they'd caught almost a full tramload until it became obvious that no
matter how much they tried to encourage it, the ticket machine just
could not be made to work. They got off in disgust at the next stop.
;-)
--
Ross
Speaking for me, myself and I. Nobody else
- unless I make it clear that I am...