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Moscow Metro Rates to Rise in New Year

A first-person view of a Moscow metro card and turnstile. D. Abramov

Getting there from here will be a little bit more expensive for commuters on the Moscow metro starting in the new year, as the cost of one trip will increase from 30 rubles ($0.91) to 40 rubles ($1.22).

The metro increase will accompany 10-ruble jumps for trams, buses and trolleybuses, the head of Moscow's transportation department Maxim Liksutov said Friday, RIA Novosti reported.

Cards with a larger number of trips, which can be bought at discount rates like 60 rides for 1200 rubles ($36.50), will not see price hikes, Liksutov said, adding that the cost of cards that allow travel on both the metro and the region's monorail system will also stay the same.

Liksutov said that only 5 percent of Moscow metro riders use single tickets.

Though the increase will likely result in groaning, the Moscow metro still stacks up fairly well when compared to other urban transit systems worldwide. Earlier this year, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority raised the cost of a single trip on the city's subway system to $2.75, with multiple-ride cards costing $2.50 per trip plus a $1 fee for a new card.

The Mexico City metro is among the world's cheapest at 3 pesos ($0.23), though last week's increase to 5 pesos per ride led to protests in stations and refusals to pay.

However, should the 10-ruble fare raise work Muscovites up into a fit, they could always save themselves the fare and burn off some extra calories at the same time by doing a few squats at Vystavochnaya station.

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