Tehran Transportation System
Tehran has 12 million populations in a day and around 8.7 million people live in the metropolis capital of Iran at night. Tehran is a large metropolitan area that covers the central part of Tehran province and the eastern part of Alborz province. Tehran is the highest populated city in entire Western Asia. All of those people need transportation, and that’s why Tehran has the worst traffic in Iran. Lord knows it’s unbearable, but the fact of the matter is that Tehran is the most important city in Iran, and everyone who visits Iran no matter the reason, be it for pleasure, adventure, or business, has to traverse it, for better or worse. The goal of this article is to help you not only survive this monster of a city but also maybe even learn to ride the concrete waves.
Tehran has 22 districts and an area of about 730 km². The most important part of planning your travel or existence in Tehran is transportation. For instance, if you choose the wrong restaurant for lunch you could be stuck in traffic for so long your whole day is gone. The three main means of public transportation in Tehran are Taxis, Subway, and Buses.
Taxi
Taxis are everywhere in Tehran, and you’ll face no problem in finding them. The hard part is choosing the right taxi with the right price. There are two ways to use taxis in Iran, either shared, meaning you share the cab with other people, or “dar-bast”, which means that you have the private taxi to yourself. Sharing your taxi can greatly reduce your transportation fees, at the cost of comfort. Shared taxis usually have a fixed price, but you should negotiate the price and come to an agreement before getting into a “Dar-Bast” taxi.
Taxis have three subgroups, official, internet, and private.
Official taxis are known by the color of their vehicles, either yellow or green. Authorized by the government and employed by the Taxi Organization of their respective cities, official taxis are equipped with taximeters and driven by experienced drivers.
Private taxis are either employed by a transportation company, in which case they will have a sign with the company’s name on their car, or are random people in society looking to make a quick buck. The first ones are okay to use and recommended. The second ones are a bit risky because they don’t answer anybody or any companies, and we don’t recommend them.
There are a few different internet taxi companies in Iran, but the biggest ones are Snapp and Tap30 (pronounced Tapsi). Snapp has an English app, but Tap30 does not. All internet taxis require an Iranian sim card to use. It is very beneficial to know the price beforehand, and all the drivers are vetted by the government.
Bus
Tehran has two bus systems, the general one that covers every nook and cranny of this huge city, and BRT (Bus Rapid Travel) which covers the most important areas of the city. You can use both with a chargeable magnetic card that is sold in subway stations all over the city, you can use the same card to use the subway. While using a public bus in Iran, remember that the ladies’ seat is at the back of the bus and while the section in front is shared by both genders, men are prohibited from entering the ladies’ section. Unlike general public buses and the subway, Tehran BRT buses are active 24 hours for the whole week, although they may not be as many of them running routes in the dead of night compared to the day. They have 10 lines running throughout the city, each known by its number and color:
- Line 1: Azadi Terminal – Tehranpars Crossroads
- Line 2: Azadi Terminal – Khavaran Bus Terminal
- Line 3: Elm-o Sanat Bus Terminal – Khavaran Bus Terminal
- Line 4: Afshar Bus Terminal – Tehran South Bus Terminal
- Line 5: Elm-o Sanat Bus Terminal – Bayhaghi Bus Terminal
- Line 6: Afshar Bus Terminal – Laleh Bus Terminal
- Line 7: Tajrish Bus Terminal – Railway Square
- Line 8: Khavaran Bus Terminal – Tehran South Bus Terminal
- Line 9: Laleh Bus Terminal – Javanmard-e Ghassab Subway Station
- Line 10: Azadi Terminal – Olum Tahghighat Azad University
Subway
Tehran subway is called Metro. It currently has 7 lines as shown on the map, in addition to 2 lines that are under construction and 3 lines that are planned. Metro is usually the best way to beat the traffic in Tehran. It has its rush hours, generally between 07 to 09 AM and 17 to 19 afternoon. Although, it depends on the line, and unless you want to be trampled by hordes of people, you should avoid it during these times.
Metro has stations in both airports of Tehran (Mehr Abad and Imam Khomeini) and almost any other place that you may want to visit in Tehran. It is very cheap to use compared to other modes of transportation, and you can use the subway system of Tehran or Metro by a chargeable magnetic card that is sold in metro stations and kiosks all over the city, the same card that is used for the buses. Remember that, unlike BRT, Metro is not open 24 hours and each line has its working hours, but they generally run from 5:30 to 22.
- Line 1: Tajrish – Kahrizak
- Line 2: Sadeghieh – Farhangsara
- Line 3: Ghaem – Azadegan
- Line 4: Shahid Kolahdooz – Eram-e Sabz
- Line 5: Golshahr – Sadeghie (Tehran)
- Line 6: Dowlatabad – Imam Hossein & Shahid Sattari – Tarbiat Modares University
- Line 7: Basij – Sanat Square