Marshrutnoye taksiTHE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH AND LITHUANIAN: TRANSPORT TERMS AND SOME METHODS OF DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE SCIENCE WRITING STRATEGIES BY NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH Valerija Marina, Igor Marin, Genovaitė Snuviškienė. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Saulėtekio al. 11, 10223 Vilnius, Lithuania. September 2009 (p. 221). (; ; ), commonly known by the colloquialism Marshrutka (Russian: маршру́тка, , plural marshrutki), are share taxis found in Eastern Europe and the republics of the former Soviet Union. Usually vans, they drive along set routes, depart only when all seats are filled, and may have higher fares than buses. Passengers can board a marshrutka anywhere along its route if there are seats available.

Fares are usually paid before the marshrutka leaves; riders near the driver are responsible for handing up the other passengers' fares and passing back change.Marshrutka moscow.info

Etymology The Russian word маршрутка is the colloquial form for маршрутное такси, which literally means "routed taxi" (маршрут referring to a planned route that something follows, and такси meaning "taxi"). The word маршрут is from the French phrase marche route, which is composed of the words marche ("a walk, march") and route ("route").

History

Early days (pre-1992) "Route taxicabs" were introduced in Moscow for the first time in the USSR in 1938, operated with ZiS-101 limousines.RAF-977DM marshrutnoye taksi, "Avtomobil Na Sluzhbie," No.28, DeAgostini, 2012, ISSN 2223-0440 (in Russian) They offered ordinary people a chance to ride in luxurious ZiS cars, otherwise reserved for high officials. At first, they were used mainly for tourists and serviced mostly stations and airports.

Unlike ordinary taxicabs using taximeters, routed taxicab rides are charged by zones, like trams, buses, and trolley buses. The fares were cheaper than those of ordinary taxis but higher than those of large-scale public transport. Unlike ordinary taxis, where a passenger could enjoy a private ride, the routed taxicab would pick up and drop passengers along its route. During communist rule, state-owned taxicab parks operated all marshrutkas.

Outside of Moscow, other large Soviet cities organized routed taxis. For example, Gorky had a routed taxi line between Sormovo and the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. , the full fare was Rbls 3.50; a similar service cost 1 rouble by bus or 50 kopecks by tram.The Soviet rouble was denominated twice: in 1947 and 1961.

During World War II as the Red Army requisitioned cars, routed taxi services ceased. They resumed in Moscow in 1945. Only by the 1950s did they re-appear in most cities where they had operated before the war. ZiS-110 and GAZ-12 ZIM cars were widely used in this role until the mid-1960s.

Routed taxicabs also offered interurban services. From Moscow, they drove to distant cities, such as Simferopol, Kharkiv, Vladimir, Tula, and Riazan. For example, the Moscow-Yalta route operated in the summer, taking two days, with a night stop in Belgorod (near Kursk).

In the 1960s, RAF-977 minibuses became the most common routed-taxi vehicles, replacing passenger cars. Municipal authorities operated the routes. The quality and concept varied greatly between regions. The fare gap between buses and routed taxicabs lessened. In Moscow, for example, the standard bus fare was 5 kopecks, and the minibus fare was 15 kopecks on most routes; in Gorky a regular bus-ride was 6 kopecks, and a routed-taxi ride was 10 kopecks.

Later, the new model RAF-2203 Latvija (introduced in 1976) replaced the RAF-977 minibusses. Eventually, practically all marshrutka services used RAF-2203 Latvijas; many people referred to marshrutkas as "Latvias" or "RAFicks".

Marshrutka boom (1992–2000) The introduction of market economies greatly changed the supply of transportation to the urban population in the CIS. The demand for faster and more versatile public transit came to be fulfilled dramatically, while the demand for the underfunded municipal transportation system dropped; people were willing to pay a premium for better service. Although buses (like Ikarus, LAZ, PAZ, RAF, and KAvZ, as well as irregularly imported used minibuses), obtained on a secondary market, had been used by entrepreneurs as a backup on the busiest routes since the early 1990s, it was not until the auto manufacturer GAZ rolled out in 1996 the first mass-produced Russian minibus, GAZelle, that the modern system took shape.

GAZelle was an instant hit as it was a cheap (around US$8,000), easy-to-repair, and lease-friendly passenger minibus with a capacity of twelve seated passengers. Many individual entrepreneurs entered the market, as well as some larger companies. At this time, licensing for public transportation in particular was not required. The vehicle only had to pass annual safety check-ups, which were relatively easy, since local authorities trusted GAZ cars. Moreover, the GAZelle could be easily equipped to run on natural gas.

During this period, most marshrutkas followed well-established public transit routes.

Modern days (2000–present) Witnessing the success of privately owned public transportation led to some reaction from the society. Local authorities responded by toughening safety and licensing requirements—like mandatory free transportation of a certain number of disabled passengers upon request and "package deals" in route licensing—tying the privilege to drive on a lucrative route to the chore of driving several not-so-profitable ones. The market became dominated either by large companies or by unions of owner-operators of individual minibuses. Some of municipal public transportation companies entered the business, and prices dropped due to increased competition.

Another consequence was a massive response from car and bus manufacturers. Old manufacturers introduced smaller, more maneuverable models (like PAZ or KAZ) and started licensed assembly of minibuses (KrAZ started assembling Iveco minibuses). Diesel models in the form of the new Isuzu Bogdan, Tata Etalon and others have seen immense popularity. The capacity grew from fifteen sitting passengers to jam-packed small buses of fifty. The busiest routes in major cities now use full-size privately owned buses operating at the same price with municipal companies. The original GAZelle saw a few official modifications to its body, length and passenger capacity to better serve buyer demands, including models featuring diesel engines.

Baltic states

Latvia Historically, marshrutkas (formally "mikroautobuss" or "minibuss" in Latvian, informally "mikriņš", "maršrutnieks") were a common means of transport in larger cities of the Latvian SSR and then in Latvia, the RAF-2203 was the only minibus used for this purpose.

In year 2012 Liepāja included marshrutkas in its bus network by cancelling all 6 routes and making two in their place.

In year 2013 "Rīgas Mikroautobusu satiksme", the company founded by Riga, took over all of the existing marshrutkas routes and old rolling stock was replaced by new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Volkswagen Crafter minibuses primary assembled in Latvia by "Universāls" by year 2015. Some of the minibuses included a spot for passengers with reduced mobility with a door in the rear of the compartment. Private companies continued passenger operations illegally up until year 2015. In May of 2018 Riga made it possible to for people eligible for discounts in regular city transit network use some of the routeshttps://www.rigassatiksme.lv/lv/aktu%C4%81la%20inform%C4%81cija/no-7-maija-lielakaja-dala-minibusu-marsrutu-pasazieri-vares-izmantot-rigas-domes-pieskirtas-atlaides-1/. On September 9th 2022 "Rīgas Mikroautobusu satiksme" declared bankruptcy and suddenly seized all operationshttps://www.rigassatiksme.lv/lv/aktu%C4%81la%20inform%C4%81cija/-rigas-mikroautobusu-satiksme-pazinojusi-par-maksatnespejas-procesu-un-pakalpojuma-partrauksanu/.

Nowadays, marshrutkas are no longer in service in most cities of Latvia, including Riga. Marshrutkas were replaced by regular busses or minibuses with a fixed schedule and fixed stops in places where marshrutkas once dominated.

Lithuania

In Lithuania, marshrutkas ("maršrutiniai taksi", informally "mikriukai" - lit. "minibuses") had been in service in a variety of cities since the end of the 1980s, with the largest networks in Vilnius and Kaunas, though also present in Klaipėda, Šiauliai and elsewhere, mostly operating on routes in the city limits with some exceptions. They operated in usual hail-and-ride model, with fixed bus stops only at the start and end of the route, marked with a signpost. In order for the service to be the most profitable, some routes identical to existing bus and trolleybus ones were operated, with the drivers sometimes driving erratically, weaving in and out of traffic, stopping in forbidden locations in order to gain a speed advantage that made them attractive to the passengers. Other kinds of routes were operated on narrow streets in the outskirts of the cities, especially in allotments, where the larger city buses simply wouldn't fit or weren't convenient to operate. In Vilnius, various marshrutka companies (all with similarly old stock) used to operate, which saw a gradual decline in growth since the late 2000s, and completely fell out of favour in 2013, when the city municipality reorganised public transport in the city. The duplicate routes were closed, spiritually replaced by express buses, while some unique routes were added to the city bus system, and operated with smaller buses. In Kaunas, where marshrutka routes were less duplicative, there were attempts to regulare the network, which included a tender to select a single operator, however, the service became unprofitable and was stopped in 2019. The only major city in Lithuania that still operates marshrutkas is Klaipėda, where, since 2018, they are regulated with strict standards, consist of new low-floor stock, and are officially integrated into the public transport system, though only a separate, more expensive ticket is valid.

Estonia

In Estonia, marshrutkas ("Marsruuttakso" in Estonian) are used in Tallinn. They are mostly used on routes connecting the city to small towns nearby, such as Saku, Saue and Kose where most people have cars and demand for public transport is lower but the many departure times are still useful. Late evening departures may have higher fares because local trains and other alternative means of transportation are not running. In late evening marshrutkas are also a good choice for suburbs where bus services end around midnight, but some marshrutkas continue to run.

Central Asia

In Central Asia (at least in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan), standing room is allowed on marshrutkas. Indeed, drivers will often encourage passengers to board the marshrutka and cram together until there is not enough space for another passenger to board. In such a case, once a passenger exits the marshrutka, the driver will stop for others and allow them on until it is full again. Marshrutkas may be boarded at bus stops, but will usually stop at other places if hailed, and often won't stop at bus stops unless a passenger requests an exit or a prospective passenger hails the marshrutka.

Passengers may request to exit at any point but may have to wait until the driver deems that it is convenient to stop.

The typical Central Asian marshrutka is usually a white minibus branded "Mercedes", though may come in any number of colours, sometimes used to distinguish a specific route. The models most commonly used have a vent in the roof that may be opened by passengers if the atmosphere inside becomes too stuffy. Though not the norm, other vehicles are used as well.

Prices range throughout Central Asia, dependent on whether it is a city or village, the local cost of living, the distance covered by route, and government policy.

Kazakhstan