It would be a good idea to have an aquaintance with a bilingual local person who will give you advice on how & where to go around Poltava. But if you don't have one, you can ask for help at local English-speaking message board en.poltavaforum.com
Notice that most of city transport is operating between 6AM and 10PM on major routes, and only until 8-9PM to suburbs. During hours different from this, prefer taxi.There are crowdy routes, where you may not be able to take a seat. During rush hours 6-9 AM, 5-6PM and possibly throughout the day on suburb routes you may loss up to 1 hour of your time due to municipal transport being filled up. Be aware of suburb routes as well as of the dates of holidays/other celebrations, where serious delays are likely.In trolleys, buses and marshrutkas you pay a single fixed price for each trip at each vehicle, no matter how far away you go within city limits.
By Bus / Marshrutka
There are 62 bus routes, connecting most districts of the city. Most often it is an optimal way to get around. Both bus and marshrutka cost 1.75 hryvna $0.22, no matter how far you go. The difference is that buses are larger yellow minibuses are considered buses too and you pay money to conductor who asks you; marshrutkas are small minivans where you pay directly to the driver. Don't rely on the fact that you can enter/exit marshutka outside from official bus stops: it is sometimes possible, but actually prohibited by law.
Routes 19,20,21 "ÐÑлÑÑевий" makes good connection round across the city clockwise and counterclockwise, connecting downtown with main residential districts and the bus station Avtovokzal. Large buses Man, Volvo etc. provide the best service.
Other routes are listed here
By taxi
It is recommended to order a taxi by phone, not to hire somewhere on the street. This way you'll be safer, and meet better service and possibly lower price. See for phone number and car number written down on the car - so you will differ between taxi service and unlicensed individual.Costs from 15 to 35 hryvnas 2-4 US$ across the city, or more if you go to several locations. You pay for kilometers, not minutes, however additional costs include waiting time, distant areas.
By Trolley
There are 11 trolley routes across the city. This is the cheapest kind of transport, however particularly slow and often crowded, sometimes delayed. Ticket costs 1 hryvna $0.12, payed to a conductor, who will ask you soon after you enter the trolley.
Route 1 goes directly between two railway station - Kyivsky & Pivdenny vokzal.
Route 15 "ÐÑлÑÑевий" goes round across the city, connecting downtown with main residential districts and the bus station Avtovokzal.
By Foot!
Poltava is relatively small city, where it is possible to cross it one border to another in 1.5 hours. If you're walking around downtown & historical centre called simply "centre" - "ÑенÑÑ", you're 30 minutes away from any destination within it. So if you know where to go across centre, you may not use transport at all. However, for safety reasons, don't walk by foot to distant suburbs, if you don't know your way or if it is late evening/night.
Bear in mind that the bottom part of the city Ðодол near Vorskla river and Yuznaya Train station is situated really deep down, so walking up to the train station can be VERY tiresome.