Where to get a Marshrutka or a shared bus to Kokand in Tashkent

Hi again,

I need to get to Kokand when I arrive at Tashkent. I heard several means of transport available in Uzbekistan, namely, shared taxi and Marshrutka.

1. Where, in Tashkent, can I get on each of mode of transport? I heard the Marshrutka bus stand is located at Sabir Rahim Metro, but cannot find this metro station! By the same token, for shared taxi, I was told to go to Qo'yliq Vodiy stoyanka (Qo'yliq Fergana Valley taxi stand), but cannot find it on Google Map...
2. Do you recommend Marshrutka or shared taxi for the Tashkent - Kokand route?
3. How much does each mode of transpor roughly cost?

Thanks in advance,
Tezzy

Hi Tezzy,

I traveled from Tashkent to Kokand about a year ago. At that time, there were no marshrutkas allowed on this route, only shared taxis. There's a big shared taxi stand way out in the eastern suburbs of Tashkent which serves the whole Fergana Valley. There is more hassle here than any other transport depot I've ever been to (and I've been to some bad ones before). I can't remember what it's called, but the information in the Lonely Planet is correct. I don't think there's a metro stop anywhere nearby: details of how to get here by bus are given in the LP. Allow an hour from Central Tashkent. It's probably considerably quicker by (local) taxi, but I don't know how much that would cost. I'm fairly sure that the marshrutka stand you speak of does not serve Kokand, but things might have changed since I was in Tashkent.

I can't remember exactly what I paid for a seat in a shared taxi, but I think it was 10,000 Sum (certainly in the range 8000-12,000. You'll need to bargain, and you'll also need to put up with a lot, a lot of hassle. Tashkent-Kokand by shared taxi is perhaps 3 hours.

Giora