blue cruise zones

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Ford BlueCruise * Frequently Asked Questions

BlueCruise allows for true hands-free driving on 97% of controlled access highways in the U.S. and Canada in areas known as Blue Zones.

Learn answers to these frequently asked questions (FAQs) about BlueCruise below. For additional frequently asked questions, visit the BlueCruise homepage .

Select a link below to be taken to a specific section of the FAQs:

BlueCruise Software and Map Updates BlueCruise Troubleshooting BlueCruise Data Privacy

BlueCruise Software and Map Updates

Select from the drop-down options below to learn more.

How do I get the latest BlueCruise software updates and maps? 

Turn on automatic software updates and set a recurring update schedule, both of which can be done on your in-vehicle screen under Settings > Software Updates . Setting a recurring schedule is especially important for receiving non-drivable updates like new BlueCruise versions. For help, visit our article on how to set a schedule .

It is recommended that you connect your vehicle to a Wi-Fi network , where available, for faster software updates.  

BlueCruise Troubleshooting

Why is bluecruise not working.

To use Ford BlueCruise, you need to activate your FordPass ®** Connect modem and have your Vehicle Connectivity Settings set to On. If your vehicle is eligible for a complimentary trial, BlueCruise will automatically be available once your modem is activated and you have accepted the terms and conditions.  

If you have Ford BlueCruise 1.2 and In-Lane Repositioning or Lane Change Assist are not working, make sure the latest features are set to On by heading over to your in-vehicle screen and selecting Features > Driver Assistance > Adaptive Cruise Control , then toggle On In-Lane Repositioning and Lane Change Assist.

If you continue to experience issues, please let us help. Contact us at 1-800-392-3673 . If you prefer, you can also chat with us .

Why do I sometimes get “Watch the road” warnings even though I am watching the road? 

This warning pops up when the driver-facing camera is having difficulty detecting your eyes. This can happen if you look away for too long, if your seat and/or steering wheel are set in a combination where the camera cannot see you or if bright sunlight causes your eyes to squint.  For squinting, try using the sun visor, and/or closing the moonroof shade or wearing sunglasses. 

Ford BlueCruise works with most,  but not all, sunglasses, and it can also recognize your face when wearing face coverings such as masks or religious clothing. However, wearing both sunglasses and facial coverings may obscure too much of your face and make it difficult for the cameras to work properly. † 

Remember that this is a driver-assist feature. You will need to watch the road and be ready to take control at all times. 

BlueCruise Data Privacy

Software like Ford BlueCruise utilizes input from many data sources. So, you will probably want to know how your data is being used. Know that you are in control of your data. For more details, you have come to the right place.  

Looking for general BlueCruise information? We have your general BlueCruise answers here .

What is Ford's position on the collection of data from my vehicle?

Ford believes in transparency, helping protect your privacy, and obtaining appropriate consent in the collection and use of all your data.

Do Ford vehicles wirelessly transmit speed or location information back to Ford or to anyone else?

Yes. Ford can receive speed and location data from connected vehicles if you provide appropriate consent.

How do Ford technologies wirelessly transmit data?

Ford vehicles can wirelessly transmit data in various ways, depending on the feature or service. Those ways include Wi-Fi, embedded cellular modem, and wired or plugged-in cellular devices.

What types of information can be collected?

• Onboard vehicle data
• Data derived from physical access to the vehicle, such as service history
• SYNC ®†† and wireless software updates data 

Is Ford concerned that law enforcement agencies could retrieve stored data and violate a person’s privacy?

Ford is committed to helping protect our customers’ privacy. If Ford does not have the customer’s data, we would require consent from the owner of the vehicle to provide data based on sufficient legal authority, such as a valid subpoena, court order, or law enforcement warrant.

For additional information on BlueCruise visit the BlueCruise page on the Ford website .

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Additional Information

What is BlueCruise? What are software updates? How do I change my SYNC Connectivity settings? How do I enable and turn on BlueCruise?

* Driver-assist features are supplemental and do not replace the driver’s attention, judgment, and need to control the vehicle. BlueCruise is a hands-free highway driving feature. Only remove your hands from the steering wheel when in a Hands-Free Blue Zone. Always watch the road and be prepared to resume control of the vehicle. It does not replace safe driving. Requires purchased 3‑year connected service plan with regular map updates, FordPass® App, and modem activation.

** FordPass Connect, (optional on select vehicles), [SYNC Connect for 2017/2018 model year vehicles)] [, the FordPass App.,] and FordPass Connect Service are required for remote features (see FordPass Terms for details). Connected Service is now complimentary for remote features excluding Wi-Fi hotspots. Connected service and features depend on compatible AT&T network availability. Evolving technology/cellular networks/vehicle capability may limit functionality and prevent the operation of connected features.

† Some types of glasses and sunglasses may interfere with the operation of the driver-facing camera.

†† Don’t drive while distracted or while using handheld devices. Use voice-operated systems when possible. Some features may be locked out while the vehicle is in gear. Not all features are compatible with all phones.

We Tested Ford's BlueCruise Hands-Free Driving and Here's What It's Like

I, for one, embrace our new robotic overlords.

• Ford's hands-free BlueCruise tech is coming to the 2021 Mustang Mach-E and F-150 later this year.
• We've driven both vehicles with BlueCruise equipped, so we're here to tell you what it's like on the road.

General Motors got the jump on its rivals when it unveiled Super Cruise back in 2018, taking features like adaptive cruise control and lane centering to new heights with a hands-free mode that only works on certain premapped highways. Now Ford is getting into the hands-free game with its BlueCruise technology suite.

Is this a case of better late than never? Join us as we take an in-depth look at how BlueCruise works and — based on our seat time in an F-150 and a Mustang Mach-E — what it's like on real American roads.

How does Ford's BlueCruise work?

BlueCruise operates on the same principle as Super Cruise. Once the vehicle is traveling on one of the 100,000 miles of qualified roadways (Ford dubs these Hands-Free Blue Zones) and certain conditions have been met, a graphic appears in the instrument panel to let you know that BlueCruise is ready for activation. Simply press the cruise control button on the steering wheel and you can take your hands off the wheel to let the vehicle drive itself.

Like Super Cruise, Ford's BlueCruise system is not autonomous. As the driver, you have to be alert and prepared to take the wheel at any time. BlueCruise will not take evasive action if there is a small obstruction in the road — a box on the freeway, for instance — and you must be ready to perform advanced maneuvers if necessary. To that end, BlueCruise includes a head and eye position sensor to make sure you're watching the road ahead. Divert your attention for too long and the system will deactivate. And because BlueCruise relies on clearly visible lane markers, traveling on highway sections that lack them will deactivate the system.

With these limitations in mind, here are the first vehicles to receive BlueCruise — and we've driven both, so keep reading to find out what BlueCruise is like in the real world.

Which Ford vehicles have BlueCruise?

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The first vehicles to receive BlueCruise functionality will be two of Ford's newest models — the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E and 2021 Ford F-150 . In both cases, the BlueCruise hardware is tied to the Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 package.

For the Mustang Mach-E, all trims except the base Select model come standard with Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0, while the Select can get it as part of the optional Comfort/Technology package. Buyers speccing out fully loaded F-150s will find that Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 is already included in the top-trim Limited model. The package is also available on the Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum trims.

Each 2021 Ford vehicle with the Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 package will be outfitted with the hardware necessary to activate BlueCruise. However, BlueCruise isn't available just yet — it'll come online in the next few months via an over-the-air software update. For Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0-equipped models produced earlier in the 2021 model year, the hardware is included, and to activate BlueCruise, you'll have to pay a subscription fee. That fee is $600, which will cover the first three years of service. Models with the above package that launch after the software comes online will come with both the hardware and the software (though the price of the vehicle may rise with the software's inclusion).

Though we don't love the idea of subscriptions services in vehicles overall, it makes sense for Ford to charge a recurring rate. BlueCruise will constantly be updated with improvements to expand coverage and add features. For example, automated lane changes and slowing down for upcoming road curves are already being planned as post-launch additions.

What is BlueCruise like on the road?

I had the opportunity to drive both an F-150 and Mustang Mach-E with BlueCruise, and there was no functional difference in how the system behaved in each vehicle. The system itself melds several driver aids that are already present on the majority of cars today, but with a head- and eye-tracking component that makes sure you're paying attention. Once this is established — and you're driving on a preapproved road — a ring will appear around a graphic of the vehicle in the digital instrument panel. This lets you know that BlueCruise is ready to activate. Simply press the cruise control button and acceleration, braking and turning is handed over to BlueCruise.

In this way, BlueCruise functions similarly to GM's Super Cruise. The primary difference is that GM vehicles with Super Cruise have an LED light bar integrated into the steering wheel to let you know when Super Cruise can be activated. Ford's system isn't so obvious in letting you know when it's ready. When you press the cruise control button, however, the instrument panel graphics turn blue to inform you that BlueCruise is active and you can take your hands off the wheel.

The other difference between the two competing systems is that GM's Super Cruise has one prescribed distance for the adaptive cruise control (ACC) aspect. Ford has decided to treat BlueCruise like a typical ACC system in which you can choose one of four following distances.

When engaged, BlueCruise does a good job at approximating typical human driving behavior. I never had to adjust the following distance from one of the medium settings, and the system gives you a few beats to put your hands on the wheel when it needs you to resume control.

I didn't experience many technical issues in either vehicle on my limited test drive, but there was one instance in which I was forced to make an emergency maneuver. A Civic driver with little concern for their personal safety accelerated to merge right in front of my F-150, and the truck didn't slow down quickly enough. This wasn't necessarily a fault of BlueCruise itself — I have found that ACC systems in general are slow to react to vehicles merging into or out of my lane — but it goes to show that you still need to have your wits about you at all times.     

Edmunds says

Like GM's Super Cruise, Ford's BlueCruise provides a hands-free driving experience on certain limited-access highways. It certainly takes some stress out of driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and should be similarly pleasant on long-distance road trips. But these are not autonomous systems, and drivers need to be ready to take the wheel at any time to react to changing road conditions.

Cameron Rogers has worked in the automotive industry since 2013. He has tested and reviewed hundreds of vehicles over the course of his career. Today, he leads the news team in developing cutting-edge news articles, opinion pieces and sneak peeks at upcoming vehicles. Favorite cars that he's driven during his tenure at Edmunds include the 991-era Porsche 911 Turbo S, Rolls-Royce Ghost and several generations of Honda Odyssey (really).

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Hitting the Road With BlueCruise, Ford's Hands-Free Highway Helper

This advanced driver aid operates on some 130,000 miles of approved roadway in North America and, for the most part, it works well.

BlueCruise is Ford's latest and greatest advanced driver-assistance feature. This technology, which is available on select vehicles, enables hands-free motoring on certain sections of divided highway. I put this Super Cruise imitator to the test on a nearly 700-mile round-trip drive to Northern Michigan and the results are positive -- with a couple caveats, of course.

BlueCruise basics

But first things first, let's cover what BlueCruise is and what it is not. This technology is a hands-free driving aid that only works on approved, divided highways, so-called Blue Zones, which there are about 130,000 miles of in North America. The system can accelerate, steer and stop the vehicle as traffic and road conditions dictate. In simple terms, think of this as a hands-free version of adaptive cruise control with lane centering.

BlueCruise does not make your vehicle fully autonomous. When engaged, you cannot take a nap, play Wordle , organize your collection of superhero action figures, anything like that. So, don't even think about whipping out your phone. There's a surprisingly sensitive driver-monitoring camera system that makes sure you're looking ahead and paying attention because you have to intervene if the system needs it.

Ford BlueCruise Makes Hands-Free Driving Easy

There are situations, as I learned on a lengthy drive up Michigan's I-75, that will cause BlueCruise to temporarily disengage, that is, to revert to conventional adaptive cruise control where you have to steer. For starters, visibility might be poor. If it's raining or snowing heavily, the system will have issues. Lane markers could be faded or obscured. BlueCruise may also be averse to orange barrels, that is, the system could have trouble in construction zones. And finally, it will disengage if you drive out of a Blue Zone.

Action and inaction

If all this sounds familiar, it should. Ford basically built a version of General Motors' groundbreaking Super Cruise, which launched in the Cadillac CT6 sedan and has been out for about five years. The functionality of these two systems is almost the same, though GM's Enhanced Super Cruise does have two significant advantages. First, it can automatically change lanes. Just tap the turn signal stalk and if there's nothing in the way, the vehicle will move over on its own. Second, you can tow with Enhanced Super Cruise , meaning you can trailer your boat to the lake for a long weekend without having to steer, or at least, steer as much. Undoubtedly, Ford engineers are hard at work developing similar features that will be enabled in future updates.

Once you're on an approved divided highway, BlueCruise is a snap to engage. Just set your desired speed and the system activates. It starts in adaptive mode with lane centering, something that's indicated within the meter cluster by an icon of a steering wheel with hands on it. After the system finds its bearings, BlueCruise usually engages a few seconds later, with a large steering wheel icon emblazoned with "Hands-Free" taking up a sizable chunk of the digital gauges. This is nice because everything is clearly illustrated -- there's no ambiguity as to whether you need to steer or not. The clean iconography is also helpful for folks with color-blindness.

Hands-free driving on the highway can be very relaxing. 

Putting it to the test, BlueCruise works as advertised. The system steers smoothly and has no trouble with surrounding traffic. Though it's not quite as sure of itself as Super Cruise is. The Ford system tends to make more small steering wheel corrections and can ping-pong slightly between lane markers when going through tighter corners. Despite these minor issues, the system is confidence-inspiring and makes long highway drives much more relaxing.

In testing, the biggest weakness of BlueCruise is how it handles off-ramps. When a new exit lane opens and you're driving ahead in the adjacent lane, the system will sometimes disengage and revert back to conventional adaptive cruise control. Fortunately, BlueCurise usually reengages a few seconds later once it figures out you're not headed for the ditch, but this is still a bit annoying and it happens more often than I'd like.

This system's driver-monitoring cameras are surprisingly sensitive. If you pick up a bottle of water or cup of coffee to take a swig, you'd better be quick, because the system will start beeping at you if your face is blocked for more than just a couple seconds. Again, don't try to send an email while driving or look up sports scores. BlueCruise will know what you're trying to do and the system will not like it.

BlueCruise is currently available on the F-150 pickup and Mustang Mach-E SUV, though it's coming to more products in the future. 

Availability and pricing

BlueCruise is currently available on just two models, higher-end versions of the  F-150  -- like the fancy Platinum-trim example tested here -- and the  Mustang Mach-E  all-electric SUV. The  Lincoln  version of this tech is called  ActiveGlide  (try not to laugh) and it's available on the  2022 Navigator . Of course, more nameplates, including the refreshed  Ford Expedition , will be offered with this hands-free driving capability in the future.

As for pricing, on the 2022 F-150, BlueCruise should be available on the Lariat High trim and above (though not the Raptor) as part of the Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 Package, which also includes a forward sensing system and Active Park Assist 2.0. This options group is priced at $1,995, though BlueCruise -- and just about everything else -- is standard on the range-topping F-150 Limited. Things are a little simpler with the Mach-E. This hands-free driving aid is currently included in the $3,200 Comfort and Technology Package, which also bundles a bunch of other amenities. Higher-performance GT models offer BlueCruise in the $1,900 Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 and 360-Degree Camera options group. If you get a vehicle equipped with BlueCruise, you'll be set for three years. After that, a separate subscription fee will be required, though Ford has not released any details about what this entails.

With all those numbers and options packages out of the way, is BlueCruise worth it? I'd say yes, absolutely. This hands-free helper got us to our destination and back again safely with few interruptions. The system is mostly smooth and exceedingly easy to use, and it should get even better with future updates.

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K.C. Colwell is Car and Driver' s executive editor, who covers new cars and technology with a keen eye for automotive nonsense and with what he considers to be great car sense, which is a humblebrag. On his first day at C/D in 2004, he was given the keys to a Porsche 911 by someone who didn't even know if he had a driver's license. He also is one of the drivers who set fast laps at C/D 's annual Lightning Lap track test.

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Ford BlueCruise Rivals GM’s Super Cruise for Balancing Automation and Driver Monitoring

This new active driver assistance system stands out for allowing the driver to intervene without shutting off

We just evaluated the new Ford BlueCruise active driver assistance system on a 2021 Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle and came away with mostly positive feelings. The system can allow for hands-free driving on sections of premapped divided highways, automating the vehicle’s steering, acceleration, and braking for the driver. It stands out for its driver monitoring and appropriate warnings when driver attention appears to have wandered, plus it effectively encourages collaborative driving. 

BlueCruise is similar to General Motors’ Super Cruise—currently the top-rated active driver assistance system in Consumer Reports’ tests —in that it uses a direct driver monitoring system, via an infrared camera mounted on top of the steering column, to make sure the driver is looking at the road. 

CR feels it is imperative that active driver assistance systems—which combine lane centering assist (LCA) and adaptive cruise control (ACC)—use direct driver monitoring to make sure the driver is looking at the road to help keep their car and other vehicles around it safe. Most current active driver assistance systems, including Tesla’s Autopilot , do not use effective direct driver monitoring, and instead require occasional hand pressure on the steering wheel as a means to make sure the driver is paying attention.

BlueCruise has a big advantage over Super Cruise and Autopilot: It allows for driver collaboration. If the driver wants to steer around a pothole, pedestrian, or cyclist, for example, the system doesn’t immediately shut off or go into a standby mode, as with Autopilot and Super Cruise. After the maneuver is completed, the system will recenter the car in the lane automatically. This allows the driver to work with the system, rather than seemingly passing the control back and forth between automation and the driver.

Although BlueCruise has taken notable steps in the right direction for active driver assistance systems, Ford has made some missteps, too. We found that it doesn’t communicate enough information to the driver about when and why they are being told to suddenly put their hands back on the wheel when the system is in its “hands-free” mode. 

Plus, Ford’s marketing of the system as a “hands-off highway driving experience” is sure to leave some customers confused about the system’s capabilities when they get alerts to put their hands back on the wheel for reasons that aren’t always clear. 

“If consumers expect that BlueCruise will do the driving for them, they are going to be disappointed,” says Jake Fisher, CR’s senior director of auto testing. “The reality is this is a unique, collaborative approach that balances making driving easier while keeping drivers engaged during the boring parts of driving.”

During an interview with representatives from Ford, we were told that they “choose very carefully what to show drivers” in terms of messaging on the instrument cluster. But they also acknowledge that they’ve been listening to feedback from customers and “are looking at a future enhancement” to the system, although they wouldn’t elaborate on the details. To further help their customers understand the nuances of BlueCruise, Ford says it is developing how-to videos on the system.

@consumerreports Tesla’s system fails to keep a driver's attention on the road. Ford's issues an alert when the driver's eyes are diverted. #cartok #tesla #ford ♬ original sound - Consumer Reports

BlueCruise worked well during our preliminary evaluations on a Mustang Mach-E rented from Ford. The system is easy to activate because it takes only a single press of the cruise control button on the steering wheel to simultaneously engage the ACC and LCA. After that, all the driver has to do is stay attentive, ready to take over the steering on certain curvy sections of highways and manage the little stuff, such as steering to avoid potholes and manually adjusting the ACC’s speed, if they wish. 

We found BlueCruise enjoyable to use because it provides steering assistance on straight, boring sections of highway, or when you’re stuck in a traffic jam, which can make driving less stressful and more relaxing. 

We’re happy with Ford’s decision to utilize a driver monitoring camera to ensure that the driver is paying attention to their surroundings any time the system is active, whether on highways or secondary roads. 

We will fully test BlueCruise when the system becomes available through an over-the-air update on our 2021 Mustang Mach-E test car.

Photo: Consumer Reports Photo: Consumer Reports

BlueCruise Strengths

• Direct driver monitoring to make sure the driver is paying attention to the road.
• Allows for the driver to make their own steering-wheel inputs without immediately shutting the system off.
• Simple to activate by pressing a single button on the steering wheel.
• The system works on nonhighway roads with lane lines, but it still requires the driver to have their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

BlueCruise Weaknesses

• BlueCruise doesn’t make it clear to the driver why it’s telling you to suddenly put your hands back on the wheel, or why the system won’t engage “hands-free” mode at times on divided highways.
• Hands-free mode doesn’t always engage immediately after pressing the cruise-control button, with no explanation as to why.
• Ford’s marketing of BlueCruise as “a hands-off highway driving experience” overstates the true experience.

Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports

The Camera Is the Key

BlueCruise hands-free driving is available only on “prequalified” (Ford’s term for GPS mapped or premapped) sections of divided highways called “Hands-Free Blue Zones.” Those zones cover about 130,000 miles of North American roads, according to the automaker. Thanks to Ford’s mapping data, BlueCruise knows information such as the GPS location of the lane, lane width, lane curvature, and changes in elevation. The information is onboard the vehicle, and Ford will update the maps over the air as needed.

But a key reason BlueCruise works so well is that the driver has to pay attention to the road. The system uses a driver-facing infrared camera perched atop the steering column that monitors the driver’s eyes and head gaze. If the driver glances away from the road for too long (about 5 seconds in our experience)—whether to look at their cell phone, fiddle with the infotainment screen, or because they fell asleep—the system will give the driver a visual warning to “Watch the road” within the instrument cluster, followed by an audible warning chime. The driver monitoring works effectively at detecting when the driver is looking away from the road, and it was not thrown off by sunglasses or a face mask. We didn’t find that it warned us so quickly that it became annoying.

Among BlueCruise’s advantages over competing systems is its simple activation process: All the driver has to do is press the cruise control button on the steering wheel (provided the system is set to adaptive cruise control, as opposed to “normal cruise control,” within the driver assistance settings on the infotainment screen) and the system is activated. 

But although pressing the cruise control buttons turns the system “on,” the hands-free aspect won’t necessarily engage immediately—sometimes it does; other times it can take a few seconds to a couple of minutes. The system has to be on a section of divided highway that it deems safe for hands-free driving. The driver will know the hands-free mode has been engaged when the instrument cluster background turns from white to blue, while showing a steering wheel with the words “hands-free” below it. 

We asked Ford representatives what parameters cause the system to suddenly switch out of hands-free mode, and were told it could be a number of things, from overly curvy lanes to unclear lane lines.

Works With the Driver, Not Against

As with Autopilot and Super Cruise, the BlueCruise system steers the vehicle to keep it near the center of the lane, yet unlike those other systems it doesn’t fight the driver if they want to take corrective action to dodge a pothole, or steer around a pedestrian or cyclist. Once the steering correction is made, the system seamlessly resumes control. With some competing systems, adding your own steering inputs deactivates the steering assistance, which means the driver will then have to reactivate it. 

Not only is it annoying to have to reactivate the system, but having to do so can also be a deterrent to the driver adding their own steering inputs, or using the system at all. With BlueCruise, even if the driver takes over the steering, the system still provides lane centering steering-wheel torque, but we found that it works with the driver instead of feeling like it’s working against them.

We see this as a big win, because systems shouldn’t “penalize” the driver for adding their own steering inputs.

BlueCruise Correctly Suggests Its Limitations

Unlike the inappropriately named Autopilot and other active driver assistance systems, the BlueCruise system is “more honest” about its limitations, says Kelly Funkhouser, CR’s manager of vehicle technology. “In our experience so far, BlueCruise seems to perform well in areas such as lane centering, ease of use, and driver monitoring,” she says. “But one of the aspects we really like about BlueCruise is that it doesn’t say to the driver, ‘I’ve got this, don’t worry about steering,’ which can lead to a false sense of complacency.”

Instead, BlueCruise asks the driver to “Keep hands on steering wheel” on curvy stretches of highway. “It’s not necessarily ending its steering assistance,” Funkhouser says, “but the system wants the driver to have their hands on the wheel for safety just in case the automation can’t actually handle the turn.”

“I love driving,” Fisher says. “But not on boring, straight stretches of highway or in stop-and-go traffic.” In those situations, BlueCruise can automate the steering, braking, and accelerating for you pretty well.

“I still want to be in charge during higher-risk driving, such as through fast or tight curves,” Fisher continues. “BlueCruise has the ability to sense those sections ahead of time, and it makes sure you have your hands on the wheel so you’re at the ready.”

Mixed Messaging

Ford’s marketing of BlueCruise as a “hands-off highway driving experience” is potentially misleading to consumers. People may be confused or feel misled when they find out that BlueCruise wants them to have their hands on the steering wheel quite often on curvier sections of highway. Many customers may assume “hands-free” actually means “hands-free at all times,” and in our experience so far, that simply isn’t the case with BlueCruise, even on premapped sections of divided highway.

BlueCruise is currently available on the F-150 full-sized pickup and Mustang Mach-E EV. The system will be coming to the 2022 Expedition Platinum soon, as well as the upcoming F-150 Lightning EV pickup. A Ford spokesman told us BlueCruise would be heading to more vehicles, as well, but declined to give specifics as to which models, and the time frame.

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Ford to Launch BlueCruise: How it Works & How it Compares to Similar Systems

Carl anthony.

• April 16, 2021

Ford will begin offering its new BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system later in 2021. Via over-the-air software updates, the feature will be available for 2021 F-150 and 2021 Mustang Mach-E models equipped with the optional Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 Prep Package. Ford is anticipating the sale of more than 100,000 vehicles equipped with BlueCruise in the first year, based on sales and take-rate projections.

Testing & Validation

In 2020, Ford sent a fleet of 10 test vehicles – five F-150 pickups and five all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs – to complete what test drivers dubbed the “Mother of All Road Trips.” The trek covered more than 110,000 miles through 37 states and five Canadian provinces to challenge BlueCruise against a wide range of road, weather, and traffic conditions.

“There are highway intricacies and driving conditions that you simply cannot replicate in a lab,” explained Hau Thai-Tang, Ford chief product platform and operations officer. “Sending these vehicles out for real-world driving experiences is just one of many ways we ensured that BlueCruise technology offers confidence and convenience for drivers all across the continent.”

The test vehicles spent much of last November and December traveling across the United States and Canada, searching for every possible road condition and scenario. With each passing mile, test engineers logged data and monitored the system’s performance to highlight any areas of improvement. This late 2020 trip was the final stretch of a development process that spanned a half-million miles, broken down into smaller tests, each configured to evaluate and validate a specific aspect of BlueCruise.

“I drive long-distance quite often, whether out to Boston or down to Florida to visit family or friends, and usually I mentally tire out on drives that far,” said Alexandra Taylor, BlueCruise feature development engineer, who logged more than 3,000 miles in an F-150 on the journey. “The one thing that became clear is that, when using BlueCruise, long drives aren’t nearly as mentally taxing to me.”

Mission Control

Taylor and fellow engineer Shruti Gotadki set out on an eight-day journey covering the southeast United States, targeting driving differences between Jacksonville, Louisville, Atlanta, and other major urban areas. Meanwhile, back at the Ford lab, driver-assist technology supervisor Justin Teems monitored the entire fleet’s progress, corralling essential data that will help shape the BlueCruise driving experience in the months and years ahead.

“It was like mission control,” Teems recalled. “We really wanted to push BlueCruise to its limits. Every state builds roads a little differently. When you include factors like lane line degradation, weather and construction, building a hands-free driving system becomes extremely complex. Those complexities are why Ford has the best team of engineers in the world working on it.”

How BlueCruise Works

Using camera and radar-sensing technologies and building upon Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop-and-Go, Lane Centering and Speed Sign Recognition, BlueCruise is designed to add another layer of convenience for drivers. According to Ford, the feature allows a driver to operate truly hands-free on prequalified sections of divided highways called “Hands-Free Blue Zones.” Ford’s Lane Centering feature and a driver-facing camera in the instrument cluster (monitors eye gaze and head position) help ensure the system’s overall safety.

As of this writing, more than 100,000 miles of highways across North America have dedicated Hands-Free Blue Zones in the Ford GPS mapping system. BlueCruise uses blue lighting (naturally!) on the digital instrument cluster to indicate when a driver is entering a hands-free zone.

BlueCruise vs. Super Cruise

As described by Ford, BlueCruise is an SAE Level 2 driver-assist technology that, while in Hands-Free Mode, does not require a driver’s hands to stay in contact with the steering wheel unless prompted by vehicle alerts.

“Unlike other approaches – such as GM’s Super Cruise , which uses red and green lighting, or Tesla’s Autopilot, which requires a driver keep their hands on the steering wheel – BlueCruise communicates with drivers in different ways,” Ford said in a statement. “The instrument cluster transitions to communicate that the feature is in Hands-Free mode through text and blue lighting cues, effective even for those with color blindness.”

Pricing & Availability

Beyond the 2021 F-150 and 2021 Mustang Mach-E, additional vehicles will also receive BlueCruise, while current owners will receive over-the-air software updates to add new features and capabilities. Future updates include systems like Lane Change Assist (allows the vehicle to change lanes by tapping the turn signal) and Predictive Speed Assist (adjusts speed for curves, roundabouts, and more). Regular mapping updates are also in the works.

2021 F-150 and Mustang Mach-E customers will be able to purchase BlueCruise software – including a three-year service period – for $600 in the second half of 2021. Hardware pricing varies by vehicle.

For F-150, BlueCruise is available as a part of the Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 package for a total of $1,595: $600 for the software and $995 for the hardware. The Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 package is standard on F-150 Limited and available as an option on Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum.

For Mustang Mach-E, BlueCruise comes standard on CA Route 1, Premium, and First Edition variants. It’s an available package on the Select trim for $3,200: $600 for the software and $2,600 for the rest of the package – as part of the larger Comfort and Technology package, which includes a 360-degree camera, heated front seats, and a heated steering wheel.

News of BlueCruise comes on the heels of two other significant mobility announcements from Ford: the availability of  Active Drive Assist  for the F-150 and Mustang Mach-E, and the formation of  Team Upshift , a collaboration from Ford and Google focused on the modernization of product development, manufacturing, and supply chain management (among other objectives). 

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HOW LINCOLN BLUECRUISE WORKS

• Hands-Free Highway Driving Technology</div> " }" data-fd-metrics-open="{"id":"action0018","app":"Brand","variables":{"onclick_onclickLinkName":"{($sitePrefix)}:bluecruise:lp:content:action","onclick_onclick":"bluecruise:lp:content:accordion:hands-free highway driving technology"}}"> Hands-Free Highway Driving Technology Lincoln BlueCruise † allows the driver to take their hands off the steering wheel while keeping their eyes on the road on certain roadways, while the system accelerates, brakes and steers the vehicle in the lane. The system uses a driver-facing camera to ensure that the driver is paying attention to the roadway while the system is actively providing support.
• Blue Zone Indication</div> " }" data-fd-metrics-open="{"id":"action0018","app":"Brand","variables":{"onclick_onclickLinkName":"{($sitePrefix)}:bluecruise:lp:content:action","onclick_onclick":"bluecruise:lp:content:accordion:blue zone indication"}}"> Blue Zone Indication When activated, a mode indicator in the display cluster will show a graphic of a steering wheel with the text “Hands-Free” when it’s safe to remove your hands from the steering wheel, then indicate when you need to put your hands back on the steering wheel to take control. † ††
• Attentive Driving Alerts An infrared driver-facing camera will track eye gaze and head position to ensure drivers are paying attention to the road while in Hands-Free Mode. Drivers will be notified by visual prompts on their instrument cluster when they need to resume control of the vehicle. † ††

† BlueCruise requires a Connected Service plan that provides regular map updates, Lincoln Way® app, and modem activation. Lincoln BlueCruise-equipped vehicles come with either a 90-day trial or a 2- or 4-year BlueCruise Connected Service plan, after which purchase is required. See your retailer to confirm BlueCruise Connected Service plan options for your vehicle. Owners, see the Connected Services section of your Lincoln Account for your BlueCruise Connected Service plan status. Driver-assist features are supplemental and do not replace the driver’s attention, judgment and need to control the vehicle. Lincoln BlueCruise is a hands-free highway driving feature. Only remove hands from the steering wheel when in a Hands-Free Blue Zone. Always watch the road and be prepared to resume control of the vehicle. It does not replace safe driving. See Owner’s Manual for details and limitations.

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How do you create your own ‘Blue Zone’? Here are 6 tips

From prioritizing breakfast to allowing yourself to indulge, these small changes recommended by author Dan Buettner can help improve your overall well-being.

These six powerful food practices create a virtuous circle between food, healthy social networks, moving naturally, strong spiritual life, and overall well-being. Try incorporating them into your daily routine and create your own personal “Blue Zone”—a place to live your longest, healthiest life.

( The 5 'Blue Zones' where the world’s healthiest people live. )

Make it sacred

Knowing which foods to eat—and in what quantities—is the first step toward eating to 100. But there’s more that we can learn from people in the Blue Zones about food. For them, growing, preparing, serving, and eating are all sacred practices with the power to bring their families, their homes, their communities, their beliefs, and the natural world together in daily rhythms and harmonies. After watching how Blue Zones principles can come to life in North American communities, I’ve zeroed in on six powerful food practices that create a virtuous circle between food, healthy social networks, moving naturally, strong spiritual life, and overall well-being. Here they are, along with a few thoughts on how you can put them into practice in your own home too.

Breakfast like a king

An Adventist adage reminds people to eat “breakfast like a king; lunch like a prince; dinner like a pauper.” In other words, make the first meal of your day the biggest, and eat only three meals per day. The routine is the same in almost all of the Blue Zones: People eat a huge breakfast before work, a mediumsize late lunch, and a light, early dinner. They may occasionally grab a midmorning piece of fruit or a midafternoon handful of nuts, but most don’t make a habit of snacking. The average meal contains about 650 calories, so with just three meals a day and a small snack, most people get all the calories a day they need. Adding a fourth meal, even a small one, can push your calorie consumption over the top for the day. Most food is consumed before noon. Nicoyans often eat two breakfasts and a light dinner. Lunch tends to be the big meal for Ikarians and Sardinians. Okinawans like to skip dinner altogether. Many Adventists who follow the “breakfast like a king” rule eat only two meals a day, one midmorning and another around 4 p.m. Recent research supports frontloading calories early in the day.

( This American diet could add 10 years to your life. )

Take control of ingredients

For the most part, people in the world’s Blue Zones eat at home. In most Blue Zones, eating out is considered a celebratory event, a rare treat usually reserved for a wedding or other festive occasion. When you cook at home, you can control the ingredients. You can choose the freshest, highest-quality ingredients and avoid consuming cheap fillers and flavor enhancers that end up in much restaurant food. (Even high-end restaurants typically pile on butter and salt.) Cooking also nudges you into action, requiring you to stand, stir, mix, knead, chop, and lift. All of this physical activity counts more than you know, especially when compared with sitting down at a restaurant. One study followed the eating habits and caloric intake of 1,000 people for a week and discovered that people who ate out consumed on average about 275 more calories per day than people who ate at home. Why? Restaurants serve meals containing more calories. This may not sound like much, but by most estimates, just 200 extra calories per day could add up to as much as a 20-pound gain over the course of a year.

( These traditional diets can lead to long lives. )

Get back on track with a fast

Devout Catholic Sardinians and Nicoyans fast during Lent, the 40 days before Easter, during which time they abstain from meat. Studies show that occasionally going without food, even for a day, can provide health benefits. It can recalibrate insulin release, giving the pancreas a break. It can temporarily lower cholesterol and blood pressure. It works as a short-term way to lose weight, break food addictions, and perhaps even cleanse the digestive tract. Moderate fasting for longer periods can create a form of caloric restriction and may slow aging. Fasting puts the cells in our bodies into a survival mode, with at least two benefits. First, cells produce fewer free radicals, the oxidizing agents that “rust” our bodies from the inside out. Lower levels of free radicals strengthen arteries, brain cells, and even the skin. Second, fasting also seems to reduce levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a hormone important for cell growth but potentially dangerous after about age 20, as high levels may promote prostate, breast, and other cancers.

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Indulge a little

None of these rituals should feel like a restriction, limitation, or deprivation. Don’t cheat yourself. Go ahead and enjoy the good meals and the occasional indulgent celebration. We eat about 1,100 meals a year. If we celebrate a couple of times a week and enjoy what we love to eat, that still leaves almost 1,000 meals a year to eat the Blue Zones way. “What dieters forget is that eating is one of the greatest pleasures of the living,” said Antonia Trichopoulou, arguably the greatest living expert on the Mediterranean diet. If it makes you happy, don’t give up that slice of pie at Thanksgiving, or that piece of birthday cake, or even that weekly steak. It may not be optimally healthy, but as residents of the Blue Zones have shown us, the body has some capacity to equalize after an occasional indulgence. The trick is to painlessly find that happy balance between savoring our lives and behaving in a way that saves them for the longest possible time. In our world, those two forces are at odds, but in the Blue Zones, those two forces harmonize. So go ahead and indulge in the occasional celebration.

( Seaweed is a superfood you can forage. Here’s how. )

Make meals a time to share

Mealtimes in the Blue Zones are a time to give thanks, share stories, talk out problems, and bond as a family. As a rule, people there never eat alone, never eat standing up, and never eat with the other hand on the steering wheel. As my Ikarian guide Thea Parikos pointed out, when her family sits down to a meal, she leaves the stress of the day elsewhere. Ikarians, she said, eat slowly while holding conversations with family, a ritual good for building not only stronger family ties but also healthier bodies. How you eat can be as important as what you eat. Eating fast promotes overeating and, as research shows, can double your risk of obesity. A study found that children and adolescents who eat meals with their families at least three times a week are more likely to be in a normal weight range and have healthier dietary and eating patterns than those who don’t. A report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse also points out that teens who eat dinner with their family more than three times a week are less likely to do poorly in school. Make sure you have a comfortable table—ideally a round one—that is small enough to encourage family conversation.

( Hoping for health and fortune in the new year? Put this meal on your menu. )

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In Transit: Notes from the Underground

Jun 06 2018.

Spend some time in one of Moscow’s finest museums.

Subterranean commuting might not be anyone’s idea of a good time, but even in a city packing the war-games treasures and priceless bejeweled eggs of the Kremlin Armoury and the colossal Soviet pavilions of the VDNKh , the Metro holds up as one of Moscow’s finest museums. Just avoid rush hour.

The Metro is stunning and provides an unrivaled insight into the city’s psyche, past and present, but it also happens to be the best way to get around. Moscow has Uber, and the Russian version called Yandex Taxi , but also some nasty traffic. Metro trains come around every 90 seconds or so, at a more than 99 percent on-time rate. It’s also reasonably priced, with a single ride at 55 cents (and cheaper in bulk). From history to tickets to rules — official and not — here’s what you need to know to get started.

A Brief Introduction Buying Tickets Know Before You Go (Down) Rules An Easy Tour

A Brief Introduction

Moscow’s Metro was a long time coming. Plans for rapid transit to relieve the city’s beleaguered tram system date back to the Imperial era, but a couple of wars and a revolution held up its development. Stalin revived it as part of his grand plan to modernize the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 30s. The first lines and tunnels were constructed with help from engineers from the London Underground, although Stalin’s secret police decided that they had learned too much about Moscow’s layout and had them arrested on espionage charges and deported.

The beauty of its stations (if not its trains) is well-documented, and certainly no accident. In its illustrious first phases and particularly after the Second World War, the greatest architects of Soviet era were recruited to create gleaming temples celebrating the Revolution, the USSR, and the war triumph. No two stations are exactly alike, and each of the classic showpieces has a theme. There are world-famous shrines to Futurist architecture, a celebration of electricity, tributes to individuals and regions of the former Soviet Union. Each marble slab, mosaic tile, or light fixture was placed with intent, all in service to a station’s aesthetic; each element, f rom the smallest brass ear of corn to a large blood-spattered sword on a World War II mural, is an essential part of the whole.

The Metro is a monument to the Soviet propaganda project it was intended to be when it opened in 1935 with the slogan “Building a Palace for the People”. It brought the grand interiors of Imperial Russia to ordinary Muscovites, celebrated the Soviet Union’s past achievements while promising its citizens a bright Soviet future, and of course, it was a show-piece for the world to witness the might and sophistication of life in the Soviet Union.

It may be a museum, but it’s no relic. U p to nine million people use it daily, more than the London Underground and New York Subway combined. (Along with, at one time, about 20 stray dogs that learned to commute on the Metro.)

In its 80+ year history, the Metro has expanded in phases and fits and starts, in step with the fortunes of Moscow and Russia. Now, partly in preparation for the World Cup 2018, it’s also modernizing. New trains allow passengers to walk the entire length of the train without having to change carriages. The system is becoming more visitor-friendly. (There are helpful stickers on the floor marking out the best selfie spots .) But there’s a price to modernity: it’s phasing out one of its beloved institutions, the escalator attendants. Often they are middle-aged or elderly women—“ escalator grandmas ” in news accounts—who have held the post for decades, sitting in their tiny kiosks, scolding commuters for bad escalator etiquette or even bad posture, or telling jokes . They are slated to be replaced, when at all, by members of the escalator maintenance staff.

For all its achievements, the Metro lags behind Moscow’s above-ground growth, as Russia’s capital sprawls ever outwards, generating some of the world’s worst traffic jams . But since 2011, the Metro has been in the middle of an ambitious and long-overdue enlargement; 60 new stations are opening by 2020. If all goes to plan, the 2011-2020 period will have brought 125 miles of new tracks and over 100 new stations — a 40 percent increase — the fastest and largest expansion phase in any period in the Metro’s history.

Facts: 14 lines Opening hours: 5 a.m-1 a.m. Rush hour(s): 8-10 a.m, 4-8 p.m. Single ride: 55₽ (about 85 cents) Wi-Fi network-wide

Buying Tickets

• Ticket machines have a button to switch to English.
• You can buy specific numbers of rides: 1, 2, 5, 11, 20, or 60. Hold up fingers to show how many rides you want to buy.
• There is also a 90-minute ticket , which gets you 1 trip on the metro plus an unlimited number of transfers on other transport (bus, tram, etc) within 90 minutes.
• Or, you can buy day tickets with unlimited rides: one day (218₽/ US$4), three days (415₽/US$7) or seven days (830₽/US$15). Check the rates here to stay up-to-date.
• If you’re going to be using the Metro regularly over a few days, it’s worth getting a Troika card , a contactless, refillable card you can use on all public transport. Using the Metro is cheaper with one of these: a single ride is 36₽, not 55₽. Buy them and refill them in the Metro stations, and they’re valid for 5 years, so you can keep it for next time. Or, if you have a lot of cash left on it when you leave, you can get it refunded at the Metro Service Centers at Ulitsa 1905 Goda, 25 or at Staraya Basmannaya 20, Building 1.
• You can also buy silicone bracelets and keychains with built-in transport chips that you can use as a Troika card. (A Moscow Metro Fitbit!) So far, you can only get these at the Pushkinskaya metro station Live Helpdesk and souvenir shops in the Mayakovskaya and Trubnaya metro stations. The fare is the same as for the Troika card.
• You can also use Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Rules, spoken and unspoken

No smoking, no drinking, no filming, no littering. Photography is allowed, although it used to be banned.

Stand to the right on the escalator. Break this rule and you risk the wrath of the legendary escalator attendants. (No shenanigans on the escalators in general.)

Get out of the way. Find an empty corner to hide in when you get off a train and need to stare at your phone. Watch out getting out of the train in general; when your train doors open, people tend to appear from nowhere or from behind ornate marble columns, walking full-speed.

Always offer your seat to elderly ladies (what are you, a monster?).

An Easy Tour

This is no Metro Marathon ( 199 stations in 20 hours ). It’s an easy tour, taking in most—though not all—of the notable stations, the bulk of it going clockwise along the Circle line, with a couple of short detours. These stations are within minutes of one another, and the whole tour should take about 1-2 hours.

Start at Mayakovskaya Metro station , at the corner of Tverskaya and Garden Ring,  Triumfalnaya Square, Moskva, Russia, 125047.

1. Mayakovskaya.  Named for Russian Futurist Movement poet Vladimir Mayakovsky and an attempt to bring to life the future he imagined in his poems. (The Futurist Movement, natch, was all about a rejecting the past and celebrating all things speed, industry, modern machines, youth, modernity.) The result: an Art Deco masterpiece that won the National Grand Prix for architecture at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. It’s all smooth, rounded shine and light, and gentle arches supported by columns of dark pink marble and stainless aircraft steel. Each of its 34 ceiling niches has a mosaic. During World War II, the station was used as an air-raid shelter and, at one point, a bunker for Stalin. He gave a subdued but rousing speech here in Nov. 6, 1941 as the Nazis bombed the city above.

Take the 3/Green line one station to:

2. Belorusskaya. Opened in 1952, named after the connected Belarussky Rail Terminal, which runs trains between Moscow and Belarus. This is a light marble affair with a white, cake-like ceiling, lined with Belorussian patterns and 12 Florentine ceiling mosaics depicting life in Belarussia when it was built.

Transfer onto the 1/Brown line. Then, one stop (clockwise) t o:

3. Novoslobodskaya.  This station was designed around the stained-glass panels, which were made in Latvia, because Alexey Dushkin, the Soviet starchitect who dreamed it up (and also designed Mayakovskaya station) couldn’t find the glass and craft locally. The stained glass is the same used for Riga’s Cathedral, and the panels feature plants, flowers, members of the Soviet intelligentsia (musician, artist, architect) and geometric shapes.

Go two stops east on the 1/Circle line to:

4. Komsomolskaya. Named after the Komsomol, or the Young Communist League, this might just be peak Stalin Metro style. Underneath the hub for three regional railways, it was intended to be a grand gateway to Moscow and is today its busiest station. It has chandeliers; a yellow ceiling with Baroque embellishments; and in the main hall, a colossal red star overlaid on golden, shimmering tiles. Designer Alexey Shchusev designed it as an homage to the speech Stalin gave at Red Square on Nov. 7, 1941, in which he invoked Russia’s illustrious military leaders as a pep talk to Soviet soldiers through the first catastrophic year of the war.   The station’s eight large mosaics are of the leaders referenced in the speech, such as Alexander Nevsky, a 13th-century prince and military commander who bested German and Swedish invading armies.

One more stop clockwise to Kurskaya station,  and change onto the 3/Blue  line, and go one stop to:

5. Baumanskaya.   Opened in 1944. Named for the Bolshevik Revolutionary Nikolai Bauman , whose monument and namesake district are aboveground here. Though he seemed like a nasty piece of work (he apparently once publicly mocked a woman he had impregnated, who later hung herself), he became a Revolutionary martyr when he was killed in 1905 in a skirmish with a monarchist, who hit him on the head with part of a steel pipe. The station is in Art Deco style with atmospherically dim lighting, and a series of bronze sculptures of soldiers and homefront heroes during the War. At one end, there is a large mosaic portrait of Lenin.

Stay on that train direction one more east to:

6. Elektrozavodskaya. As you may have guessed from the name, this station is the Metro’s tribute to all thing electrical, built in 1944 and named after a nearby lightbulb factory. It has marble bas-relief sculptures of important figures in electrical engineering, and others illustrating the Soviet Union’s war-time struggles at home. The ceiling’s recurring rows of circular lamps give the station’s main tunnel a comforting glow, and a pleasing visual effect.

Double back two stops to Kurskaya station , and change back to the 1/Circle line. Sit tight for six stations to:

7. Kiyevskaya. This was the last station on the Circle line to be built, in 1954, completed under Nikita Khrushchev’ s guidance, as a tribute to his homeland, Ukraine. Its three large station halls feature images celebrating Ukraine’s contributions to the Soviet Union and Russo-Ukrainian unity, depicting musicians, textile-working, soldiers, farmers. (One hall has frescoes, one mosaics, and the third murals.) Shortly after it was completed, Khrushchev condemned the architectural excesses and unnecessary luxury of the Stalin era, which ushered in an epoch of more austere Metro stations. According to the legend at least, he timed the policy in part to ensure no Metro station built after could outshine Kiyevskaya.

Change to the 3/Blue line and go one stop west.

8. Park Pobedy. This is the deepest station on the Metro, with one of the world’s longest escalators, at 413 feet. If you stand still, the escalator ride to the surface takes about three minutes .) Opened in 2003 at Victory Park, the station celebrates two of Russia’s great military victories. Each end has a mural by Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, who also designed the “ Good Defeats Evil ” statue at the UN headquarters in New York. One mural depicts the Russian generals’ victory over the French in 1812 and the other, the German surrender of 1945. The latter is particularly striking; equal parts dramatic, triumphant, and gruesome. To the side, Red Army soldiers trample Nazi flags, and if you look closely there’s some blood spatter among the detail. Still, the biggest impressions here are the marble shine of the chessboard floor pattern and the pleasingly geometric effect if you view from one end to the other.

Keep going one more stop west to:

9. Slavyansky Bulvar.  One of the Metro’s youngest stations, it opened in 2008. With far higher ceilings than many other stations—which tend to have covered central tunnels on the platforms—it has an “open-air” feel (or as close to it as you can get, one hundred feet under). It’s an homage to French architect Hector Guimard, he of the Art Nouveau entrances for the Paris M é tro, and that’s precisely what this looks like: A Moscow homage to the Paris M é tro, with an additional forest theme. A Cyrillic twist on Guimard’s Metro-style lettering over the benches, furnished with t rees and branch motifs, including creeping vines as towering lamp-posts.

Stay on the 3/Blue line and double back four stations to:

10. Arbatskaya. Its first iteration, Arbatskaya-Smolenskaya station, was damaged by German bombs in 1941. It was rebuilt in 1953, and designed to double as a bomb shelter in the event of nuclear war, although unusually for stations built in the post-war phase, this one doesn’t have a war theme. It may also be one of the system’s most elegant: Baroque, but toned down a little, with red marble floors and white ceilings with gilded bronze c handeliers.

Jump back on the 3/Blue line  in the same direction and take it one more stop:

11. Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square). Opened in 1938, and serving Red Square and the Kremlin . Its renowned central hall has marble columns flanked by 76 bronze statues of Soviet heroes: soldiers, students, farmers, athletes, writers, parents. Some of these statues’ appendages have a yellow sheen from decades of Moscow’s commuters rubbing them for good luck. Among the most popular for a superstitious walk-by rub: the snout of a frontier guard’s dog, a soldier’s gun (where the touch of millions of human hands have tapered the gun barrel into a fine, pointy blade), a baby’s foot, and a woman’s knee. (A brass rooster also sports the telltale gold sheen, though I am told that rubbing the rooster is thought to bring bad luck. )

Now take the escalator up, and get some fresh air.

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Welcome to Russia!

We are Sergey and Simon, a Russian and a Frenchman, both  passionate about Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and classic cars. Together, we have created Put-in tours. Our goal is to help you experience Russian culture off the beaten path. Join us onboard our classic Soviet van and let’s get rolling!

In Moscow we offer you a city tour to discover most of the city in an original way as well as a night tour to admire the lights. Our pubcrawl is ideal to explore Moscow’s night-life and have fun. If you are craving to discover Russian culture, come impress your senses during our monastery diner or join our 100% Russian Banya Excursion . The latest will also bring you to Sergiyev Posad and it’s famous monastery!

For the most extreme travellers, our shooting tour will deliver your daily dose of adrenaline whereas our tank excursion will let you ride a real tank and shoot a bazooka.

We also offer help to receive your visa , safe and multilingual airport transfers , as well as organisation services for team-building events or bachelor parties .

All our excursions (but the monastery diner) happen onboard our Soviet military vans and can be covered by our  professionnal photographer or videographer.

In Saint Petersburg

We welcome you in Saint Petersburg onboard our Soviet van to discover the imperial city with our city tour and night tour .

Continue your discovery in style! The adrenaline lovers will like our shooting tour  which brings 3 Russian weapons to the tip of your trigger finger.

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At Put-in tours, we put you in our classic Soviet vans to go explore Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Russian culture off the beaten path. Discover our Moscow city guided tour, visit Moscow by night, join our banya & Sergiyev Posad excursion, visit and dine in one of Moscow's oldest monastery or even Luzhniki stadium, before you party on our famous pubcrawl! Original and atypical tours : Shoot AK47 and a bazooka after riding on a tank with our tank & bazooka excursion ! Extreme tours: Fly a fighter jet in Moscow onboard a L-29 or L-39 aircraft!

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