Ехать на маршрутке: курс для начинающих :)
В повседневной жизни мне иногда бывает тяжело выражаться на русском…
…for example, when I travel by marshrutka. It’s just an ordinary situation, but one which requires very specific vocab. Let’s take a look:
So first a bit about what a marshrutka is.
Marshrutkas are basically privately-owned minibus taxis that seat 15-20 passengers and follow a fixed route that may or may not be same as a state bus route. The route is always posted on the side of the marshrutka. They are less crowded than the buses here and usually get you quicker to your destination. They’re also a pretty cheap way of getting around, especially if you’re going to places such as Pushkin and other towns close to St Petersburg. Another advantage of marshrutkas is that you can pretty much get on (by flagging one down) and off where you want (by telling the driver – so you can’t be shy!). This means (unlike on the bus, tram, trolleybus or metro) you can’t just be the anonymous foreigner and sit there until you get to your stop. Here are some phrases you might need:
1. You sometimes pay the driver when you get on (in some marshrutkas you can just give the money to the driver before you sit down), but sometimes you might need to ask the other passengers to pass your fare to the driver (depending on the type of marshrutka or if it’s really full):
Give your money to a nearby passenger (as near as possible to the driver, of course) and say: “Передайте, пожалуйста.” If it’s not the exact amount, you need to stress that it’s “за одного” so you get change. You can also stress how much change you need: “Сдача…рублей.”
2. You want to get off, you’re sitting by the window and someone is sitting next to you. In English you would probably say, “Excuse me, I’m getting off here”. In Russian, you can say:
“Разрешите, я выйду.”
Or you can ask if the person sitting next to you is also getting off at the next stop (it has the same pragmatic force as “excuse me”):
“Выходите на следующей остановке?” (All needing the correct questioning intonation)
“Извините, вы сейчас выходите?”
“Выходите?”
3. OK, you want to get off and you need to tell the driver where to stop:
“Остановите, пожалуйста, на остановке (at the bus stop)/на следующей остановке (at the next bus stop)/перед сфетафором (just before the traffic lights)/до сфетафора (before the traffic lights).”
“На следующей остановке, будьте добры”
А это всё, что нужно знать!
