The Metro
Despite a couple of small fires in recent years, Calcutta's Russian-designed Metro , inaugurated in 1984, is every bit as good as its inhabitants proudly claim, a spotless contrast to the streets above, with trains operating punctually every few minutes. Services run from 7am to 9.30pm Monday to Saturday and from 2.30pm to 9.30pm on Sundays. Tickets are very cheap - you can travel the entire length of the line from Dum Dum in the north to Tollygunge in the south for just Rs7. The line follows Calcutta's main arteries including Chowringhee Road, with convenient stations such as Park Street, Kalighat, Esplanade and Rabindra Sadan.

Buses and minibuses
Calcutta supports a vast and complicated bus network, in operation each day between roughly 5am and 11pm, and subject to overcrowding and attendant pickpocketing problems. The profusion of bus routes, many privately run, is best explained in the dark-blue pocket guide, Calcutta & Howrah by DP Publications (Rs9) and available through roadside magazine and book vendors and at railway-station bookshops. Once the mainstay of Calcutta Transport Corporation - CTC - today just a handful of red double-decker buses are to be seen still in service. Useful bus routes include: #8 from Howrah via Esplanade and Gariahat Road to Gol Park; #S17 , from Chetla near Kalighat via Esplanade; and #5 and #6 , which both travel via Howrah and the Esplanade-Chowringhee area, and stop at the Indian Museum at the head of Sudder Street. The #C6 travels via Chowringhee, passing the top of Park Street before crossing the Vidyasagar Setu, the second Hooghly Bridge, to the Botanical Gardens. Buses with an "S" prefix denote special express buses charging marginally more. Of the three Executive bus routes, the #E3 runs from Esplanade to the airport.

In addition, private brown-and-yellow minibuses travel at inordinate speeds on ad-hoc routes; their destinations are usually painted boldly in Bengali and English on their sides, and conductors shout them out at bus stops or major junctions.

Don't be fooled by empty buses - they are either about to stop for a few hours or will fill up in a few seconds; be careful getting on and off buses as they tend to stop in the middle of the road

Taxis
Taxis in Calcutta prove to be extremely good value, especially on long journeys such as to and from the airport (around Rs130 for a twenty-kilometre ride), but a few drivers can be unwilling to go anywhere for less than Rs50, even for short journeys. Sudder Street's taxi touts are particularly averse to haggling, and you're better off walking around the corner and flagging down a cab. Alternatively, you could use the prepaid taxi service behind Trincas Restaurant on Park Street, in the parking lot of the Park Hotel (other such services are found at the main railway stations and the airport). Most cabs have working meters and tend to use them in conjunction with the conversion charts they are obliged to carry. To complicate matters, there are two meter systems operating simultaneously. New digital meters (located inside the cab) start on Rs10 but add on another twenty percent. Old meters (located on the outside) start on Rs5 but the fare will be charged at double what the meter says plus another twenty percent. When fare rises are announced, the Taxi Association finds it cheaper to issue the conversion charts rather than reset each and every meter. Note there is a small additional charge for placing your luggage in the boot, which is invariably dusty and filled with oily rags.

Trams
Calcutta's cumbersome trams , barely changed since they started operating in 1873, are on their way out; their inability to deviate from fixed rails to cope with the city's crazy traffic makes them more of a nuisance than anything else. However, for all their grime and general dilapidation, they do have an odd quirky charm, and provide an interesting way of seeing the city; women travellers may well be glad of the rush-hour women-only coaches. Routes include #21 , Howrah Bridge to Park Circus via BBD Bagh, Esplanade and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road; #20 , Howrah Bridge via Sealdah to Park Circus ( #26 follows the same route but continues, via Gariahat, to Ballygunge Station); #25 , BBD Bagh to Ballygunge via Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, Park Circus and Gariahat; and #32 , Howrah Bridge to Tollygunge via BBD Bagh, Esplanade, the Maidan and Kalighat.

Rickshaws, auto-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws
Calcutta is the only city in India to have human-drawn rickshaws , which are only available in the central areas of the city, especially around New Market where many drivers supplement their meagre income by acting as pimps. Rickshaws come into their own during the monsoons, when the streets get flooded to hip height and the rickshaw-men can extract healthy amounts of money for their pains. If you take one, take care not to lean back as your weight will unbalance the driver. Most of the rickshaw-pullers are Bihari pavement-dwellers, who live short and very hard lives. Haggle for a realistic price but feel free to give a handful of baksheesh too.

Auto-rickshaws , rare in the centre of town, are used as shared taxis on certain routes and link with Metro stations in suburbs such as Rashbehari and Gariahat; try to avoid a share of the front cab as accidents do happen. Cycle rickshaws , banned from much of the city, are only available in outlying suburbs.