Q&A: Transportation

While in the US this spring, I was keeping in mind the questions I was being asked about Romania. This is the fourth installment in a "Q&A" series to answer your questions about Romania. Today's topic: transportation in and to Romania. 


Q: Do you have a car in Romania?
A: No. I walk or rely on public transportation. On some occasions, I’m able to use a vehicle that belongs to another rmissionary.


Q: What types of public transportation are available?
A:  Sighisoara is small enough that I can walk nearly everywhere. There is a bus system, and taxis are inexpensive. To get to towns near Sighisoara, I can take a “maxi-taxi,” which is basically an 18-passenger van that stops in each of the nearby towns and villages. Romania has a well-developed train system, although it does not support high-speed trains. It takes about 5 hours to reach Bucharest. Once in Bucharest, it is easy to get around through the city’s well-developed public transportation system which includes a subway, buses, trams, and trolleybuses. Below are pictures of the various forms of transportation available:

Bus in Sighisoara:

 Tram in Bucharest:

Maxi-taxi (what I often use to go to Tigmandru)

A typical train in Romania:

A newer train in Romania:

In villages, it's not uncommon to see horse-drawn carts like this one:

Q: What types of cars do people drive in Romania? 
A: If you had asked this question 10 years ago, the overwhelming response would have been the Romanian-made Dacia car. However, today, Dacias no longer make up the majority of cars on the road. You can find everything from Volkswagen to Ford to BMW to Mercedes to Dacia to Citroen to Toyota.

This is the model of Dacia that was produced during the Communist era and remained the most-used car in Romania until about 5 years ago.

Every once in a while, I see a Kia Pride like the one below -- the European version of a Ford Festiva (what I drove for 5 years in Kansas City)

Q: How long does it take to travel to Romania? 
A: There is no direct flight from the United States to Romania, so I have to change planes somewhere in Europe. I prefer flying British Airways with layover in London. It takes about 8 hours to fly from Baltimore to London, and then almost 4 more hours to fly to Bucharest, Romania. In addition to flight time, there is also the hour and a half drive to the airport in Baltimore from my parents’ home, the time of the layover, and the 5-hour train ride from Bucharest to Sighisoara. The time that I am actually traveling is about 18 hours, but when you add in waiting at airports and the train station, the total “door to door” travel time is closer to 30 hours.