Tehran, the capital of Iran, is populated as high as New York City. It is not surprising that fourteen million people make a huge mess in the streets every day in Tehran. Sometimes it takes more than two hours to drive from east to west or south to north. The government has done its best to make an efficient public transportation system in this metropolis and lessen the traffic during the day. The article below guides you to have an outline of the public transportation system in the biggest city in Iran; Tehran.
Metro
The subway system in Tehran has rescued all the citizens and visitors of Tehran from the crazy, annoying traffic in the city. Even though the metro itself gets too crowded in some hours of the day, it still saves you a lot of time.
There are 7 metro lines in Tehran as shown in the map below. The most used ones are line1 (red), line 2 (dark blue), line 3 (light blue) and line 4 (yellow). Metro is the best and fastest Tehran transportation system.
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Tehran Metro Map
The metro stations are spotted with a yellow sign like the photo below. They all open at 05:30 in the morning and close at 22:30 at night.
Tehran Metro sign
How do I enter metro stations? There are two options:
1. Buying a single-trip ticket. This is a good option if you are going to use the metro just a couple of times.
2. Buying a “transportation card”. The card can be used for metro, bus and BRT lines in the city.
Once you pass the entrance gates of a metro station in Tehran, you will not need to pay again if you are going to change the lines.
Tehran Metro Card
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How to use Buses in Tehran
There are more than 250 bus lines in the Tehran metropolis. Even the senior citizens of the city do not know and use all of them!! The photo below shows how complex it is.
Keep in mind that when using the busses in Tehran, you will pay cash or tap your card at the end of your trip.
Tehran Bus Map
Also check out: Iran bus travel guide
BRT
BRT stands for Bus Rapid Transit. BRT lines cruise the main highways in Tehran. The main BRT lines move east-west wise or south-north wise. The only way to use a BRT it to have a “transportation card” or ask another person to tap his card for you—if you are lucky to find one.
The map below shows Tehran BRT lines:
Tehran BRT Map
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Taxi in Tehran
Shared taxis or shuttle taxis are pretty common in Tehran. Four strangers going to the same destination get a cab and share the cost. Sounds legit, Nah?
There are taxi stations in all the main squares and other crowded places. Keep in mind that the authorized taxis are either yellow or green.
In addition to the certain taxi stations all over the city, you can always catch a cab on the street for the shorter rides.
Yellow Taxi in Tehran
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Can I use Uber in Iran?
No, you can’t but there are two alternatives for Uber in Iran: Snapp and Tap30 (pronounced tapsi) Snapp offers an English version. Don’t worry about the payment; You can pay the driver in cash
Snapp & Tap30
Fanny facts about public transportation mean in Iran:
In the metro, the first and last compartments are dedicated to women only. It means women can use all the compartments but men are not allowed to enter the women’s area.
In the busses, men sit in the front half and women in the back half.
In the BRTs, women go to the front part and men in the back.
I know it sounds confusing but these are all easily explained by signs in all stations and vehicles; you will do fine.