Iran - Andrew Burke [98]
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Line 3 (Light Blue)
Line 3 is the one Tehranis are praying for. Running from satellite town Islamsharh in the south to the far northeastern suburbs, Line 3 will be most useful for both Tehranis and travellers because it includes a section from the train station (Rah Ahan) north along mega-crowded Valiasr Ave before veering east underneath Dr Beheshti Ave. It will connect with Line 2, Line 4 and Line 1 (at Shahid Beheshti), and hopefully take thousands of cars off Valiasr Ave.
Line 4 (Yellow)
Work for Line 4 began in 2005 and the first stations are scheduled to open in 2008, with the whole line completed by 2013. This east–west line will eventually run from the western terminal (Azadi terminal) underneath Enqelab Ave to Tehran’s eastern suburbs. The western leg will be most useful to travellers, with a spur running to Mehrabad airport.
Line 5 (Green)
The completed Line 5 is largely above ground and is, in effect, an extension of Line 2. It runs from Tehran (Sadeghieh) out past Karaj to Golshahr.
MINIBUS
Crowded public minibuses are found in the suburbs and most travellers are unlikely to need them. If you do, finding the right minibus is not easy, so ask, ask and ask again. The place you’re most likely to need one is going north of Tajrish Sq; for an idea of prices, the trip from Tajrish to Darakeh or Tochal costs IR1000.
TROLLEYBUS
An electric trolleybus runs between the eastern bus terminal and Khorasan Sq.
Taxi
Tehran taxis come in a variety of colours that, in theory, govern what services they can offer. In practice, however, it’s anything goes. The vast majority of taxis are Paykans, many of them shitboxes of the first order. Then there is every other car on Tehran’s roads, almost all of which have the potential to be a taxi if the driver needs the rial.
PRIVATE TAXI
Yellow taxis are supposed to be private taxis, but any empty car will usually take you dar baste if you ask; just say, for example, ‘Meydan Azadi dar baste’. The alternative is to get your hotel to call a ‘wireless taxi’ (133), which cost a little more. You could also call the Women’s Taxi Company (1821), whose green taxis are driven by women, for women passengers only, and when you call to book you’ll speak only to women then, too.
Unless you’re familiar with the going rates, agree on a price before setting out. In Tehran most drivers won’t go anywhere for less than IR10,000, and will push prices up in lots of IR5000 or IR10,000 for longer trips. Negotiation is encouraged.
Sample fares include the following: Imam Khomeini Sq to Valiasr Sq for about IR15,000/25,000 in off-peak/peak hour; and Imam Khomeini Sq to Tajrish Sq about IR40,000/60,000. To hire a taxi for an hour or so to visit several sites should cost about IR50,000, so long as they’re not too distant. To get from southern Tehran to the north, even in a private taxi, takes a minimum of half an hour, much longer in peak hour when prices rise accordingly.
Meter taxis do exist, but we’ve yet to see a meter actually working.
SHUTTLE TAXI
Taxi fares in Tehran are higher than elsewhere in Iran. The minimum fare is IR1000 for one or two meydans (squares) of travel, climbing to about IR7000 for the longest trips. Watch what other passengers are paying and you’ll soon get an idea of the going rate.
Shuttle taxis ply main thoroughfares between major meydans and the best way to use them is to learn the names of the meydans and know which one you want to go to. Meydans such as Imam Khomeini, Vanak, Valiasr, Tajrish, Arzhantin, Azadi, Ferdosi, Enqelab, Haft-e Tir, Rah-Ahan and Imam Hossein are major shuttle-taxi hubs. However, even these meydans may have several ministations for shuttle taxis heading in different directions. You might be lucky and get a shuttle taxi all the way from, say, Valiasr Sq to Tajrish Sq (IR6000), but often you will have to change at Vanak Sq. Metro stations also have plenty of loitering shuttle taxis.
When trying to hail a shuttle taxi,