The minibus, or maršrutinis taksi to give it its correct name (you may also hear one referred to as a Latvija), is a privately-owned phenomenon as favoured in many former Soviet republics. Often but not always bright yellow, minibuses currently follow similar routes to buses and trolleybuses, are much faster, and accordingly cost a little more to use (currently 3Lt). They have no official stops, so in order to stop one you need to stand by the side of the road and get its attention by waving your arm. Likewise, you need to tell the driver when you want to get out again. When crowded, hand your payment via other passengers to the driver. At the time of going to press there’s a lot of talk about these routes being changed so they don’t clash with the city-owned buses. There’s also talk of stopping the services altogether. As usual, nobody knows what’s going on, although it’s interesting to note the city-owned bus company has just introduced their first two minibus routes in the city. Coincidence?