Transportation in Lhasa

Lhasa's transport is built around its bus network and taxis, with no metro or rail within the city itself according to available data. Buses are the cheap backbone, frequent enough to be useful, though signage is almost entirely in Chinese. Taxis are a moderate splurge and plentiful. But drivers rarely use meters for tourists. Agree on a fare before you get in. Walking works for the compact old town. But the altitude makes even short climbs surprisingly tiring. For Gonggar Airport, the shuttle bus is the budget choice, cheap and direct to the city center, though it fills fast on incoming flights. Taxis wait outside arrivals as the comfort option. Expect to bargain hard as there's no meter enforcement at the airport rank. Skip the private car touts inside the terminal, they're consistently the priciest option and often exaggerate the distance.