🚗 Transportation

“Don’t expect the Time of the Red to be like the 20th century—a network of crowded freeways, packed trains, and swarming airports. Think of it as a patchwork of badly up-kept roads, abandoned airports, and trains plagued by gangs and intermittent service.”

Getting around Night City—and especially between cities—is harder than it used to be. Years of economic collapse and civil unrest killed most transportation infrastructure. The Dark Future runs on CHOOH2 and desperation.

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🏙️ Getting Around Night City

NCART (Night City Area Rapid Transit)

The subway system still exists… barely.

Status	Details
Condition	Most lines flooded after the 4th Corporate War
Coverage	Limited service in functional areas
Safety	Gangs and floods make it unreliable
Future	City plans to rebuild as elevated monorail

Safety Advisory

The NCART subway floods periodically with the tides. When it works, it’s cheap. When it doesn’t, you’re swimming. Gangs also operate in the less-patrolled stations.

Planned Monorail Extensions:

• North Oak
• New Westbrook
• Pacifica
• Heywood
• Watson

These plans require time and money the City doesn’t have.

NCTC (Night City Transit Corporation)

Bus services on major city thoroughfares. More reliable than NCART in some areas, but:

• Slow
• Vulnerable to ambush in dangerous zones
• Drivers sometimes refuse to enter Combat Zones

Walking

Often the safest option in the City. You control your route, see threats coming, and don’t depend on infrastructure that might fail. The downside: you’re exposed and on foot if things go bad.

Private Vehicles

If you can afford it, your own ride is freedom:

• Go where you want, when you want
• Storage for gear
• Quick getaway available
• But: parking, theft risk, maintenance costs

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🚙 Vehicle Types

Cybercars

The standard automobile of 2045.

Spec	Details
Fuel	CHOOH2 or methane
Speed	100-300 MPH depending on model
SDP	50
Design	Conservative, practical—“if it works, keep it”

Most cars look like they’re from decades past. In the cash-poor 2000s, manufacturers kept to unimaginative designs. The average family car is little changed from antique ancestors.

Cyber Control: Many vehicles offer cybernetic control—plug in via Interface Plugs and think the car through its motions. Most still have manual controls for non-cybered drivers.

Cyberbikes

Popular, maneuverable, cheaper than cars.

Spec	Details
Fuel	CHOOH2 or hydrogen
Speed	100-300 MPH
SDP	35
Brands	Kundalini, Harlon-Dawson, Zondo, Toyo-Tomo

Gyrocopters

Light helicopters for urban use.

Spec	Details
Fuel	CHOOH2-powered rotary engine
Range	50 miles
Speed	100 MPH
Users	Police, Corporate defense, Solo teams, drug gangs, recreation

AVs (Aerodynes)

The closest thing to a sci-fi flying car.

AV-4: The workhorse urban assault/transport vehicle

• Used by police, Corporate troops, Trauma Team, and Corporate deliveries
• Can hover and land vertically
• Often armored and armed

AV-9: Rich person’s toy

• Faster, lighter, twin engines
• Recreation vehicles for the wealthy
• Some Edgerunners have “found” one

Helicopters (Tilt-Rotor)

Spec	Details
Range	600 miles
Speed	200 MPH
Uses	Commuter flights, Corporate transport, rooftop operations
Cost	Super Luxury (50,000eb)

Wings fold for rooftop helipad storage. Standard Corporate transport between offices and airports.

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🛣️ Long-Distance Travel

The Open Road

Intercity highways are dangerous:

• Badly maintained roads
• Roving boostergangs on spiky vehicles
• Raffen Shiv raids on travelers
• Only safe in convoys

Nomad Convoys

The Nomads are the lifeline between cities:

• Armed caravans transport people and goods
• Escorts available for hire
• Know the safe routes (and the dangerous ones)
• Essential for anything that needs to move overland

Hiring Nomads

Need to get from Night City to somewhere else? Find a Fixer who can connect you with a Nomad convoy heading that direction. Expect to pay for armed escort.

Air Travel

Commercial aviation is nearly dead:

• Most airports abandoned or destroyed
• Fuel costs prohibitive
• Risk of Highrider or Corporate interference
• AVs serve short-range elite travel only

Rail

Some intercity rail exists but:

• Intermittent service
• Gang activity along routes
• Not reliable for anything urgent

Sea Travel

For bulk cargo and Nomad ship clans:

• Smuggling routes still active
• Ship Rats operate small-craft networks
• Large container ships largely abandoned since the global shipping collapse

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⛽ Fuel

CHOOH2

The standard fuel of 2045.

• Complex grain alcohol produced by genetically engineered yeasts
• Created by Biotechnica in the late 1990s
• Burned by almost all vehicles and power plants
• Distributed by licensed Agricorps and PetroCorps

Pronounced “chew two”—not its actual chemical formula.

Methane

Alternative fuel source:

• Liquefied methane tanks
• Used in some vehicles
• Less common than CHOOH2

Electric

The exception, not the rule:

• Rapid charging infrastructure doesn’t exist
• Some specialty vehicles are electric
• Not practical for most uses

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🎲 GM Resources

Travel Complications

d6	Problem
1	Vehicle breakdown in dangerous territory
2	NCART flooding—reroute or wade
3	Gang checkpoint demanding “toll”
4	Boostergang chasing the convoy
5	Road collapse or obstruction
6	Nomad convoy stopped—opportunity or threat?

Distance & Time

Route	Method	Time	Risk
Cross-city	NCART/Bus	30-60 min	Low-Medium
Cross-city	Private vehicle	15-30 min	Depends on route
To suburbs	Vehicle	30-60 min	Medium
Night City → Badlands	Vehicle	1-2 hours	High
Night City → Another city	Nomad convoy	Days	Variable

Using Transportation in Play

• Time pressure: The NCART is flooded—now what?
• Social dynamics: Who can afford an AV and who’s on the bus?
• Mission requirements: Extracting someone? Need a getaway vehicle.
• Atmosphere: Describe the rusted NCART stations, the smell of CHOOH2

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🔗 Related Topics

• Nomads — Long-distance travel experts
• Vehicles — Full vehicle database
• The Badlands — What’s outside the City
• Night City — The metroplex itself
• Economy — What vehicles cost

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(Source: Cyberpunk RED Core Rulebook, pgs. 322-326)