Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [68]
Except on a few streets, there are no bus stops – just wave down the bus or buseta. Board via the front door and pay the driver or the assistant; you won’t get a ticket. In buses you get off through the back door, where there’s a bell to ring to let the driver know to stop. In busetas there’s usually only a front door through which all passengers get on and off. When you want to get off tell the driver ‘por acá, por favor’ (here, please).
Each bus and buseta displays a board on the windscreen indicating the route and number. For locals they are easily recognizable from a distance, but for newcomers it can be difficult to decipher the route description quickly enough to wave down the right bus.
Flat fares, regardless of distance traveled, are posted, and range from COP$1000 to COP$1200. It’s sometimes slightly higher at night (after 8pm) and on Sunday and holidays.
There are also minibuses called colectivos, which operate on major routes. They are faster and cost about COP$1200.
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Taxi
Bogotá’s impressive fleet of Korean-made yellow cabs are a safe, reliable and relatively inexpensive way of getting around. They all have meters and drivers almost always use them. When you enter a cab, the meter should read ‘25’ – which relates to a coded pricing scheme (a laminated card should be hanging on the front passenger seat to see). Taxi trips on Sundays and holidays, or after dark, include a COP$1500 surcharge; trips to the airport have a COP$3100 surcharge.
A 10km ride (eg from Plaza de Bolívar to Calle 100 in northern Bogotá) shouldn’t cost more than COP$15,000. If you are going to make a couple of trips to distant places, it may be cheaper to hire a taxi by the hour for about COP$14,000 per hour.
You can either wave down a taxi on the street or request one by phone from numerous companies that provide radio service; try Taxis Libres ( 311 1111), Taxi Express ( 411 1111), Radio Taxi ( 288 8888) or Taxi Real ( 333 3333).
Naturally don’t ride with a taxi that refuses to use a meter. Most drivers are honest, but it’s worth confirming the final fare with the price card. Some drivers, particularly in late hours, will round fares up a bit. Drivers don’t often get tips.
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TransMilenio
The ambitiously named TransMilenio (www.tranmilenio.gov.co) has revolutionized Bogotá’s public transport. After numerous plans and studies drawn up over 30 years to build a metro, the project was eventually buried and a decision to introduce a fast urban bus service called TransMilenio was taken instead.
It is, in essence, a bus system masquerading as a subway. Covering 84km with a fleet of 1100 buses, TransMilenio has 114 of its own self-contained stations (keeping things orderly and safe). Buses run have their own lanes, which keeps them free from auto traffic. The service is cheap (COP$1500), frequent and operates from 5am to 11pm Monday to Saturday, 6am to 10pm Sunday. Tickets are bought at the entrance of any TransMilenio station. TransMilenio serves up to one million people daily, so buses get very crowded at rush hour; transfers at Av Jiménez resemble punk-rock mosh pits.
On posted maps in stations, routes are color coded, with different numbered buses corresponding to various stops. The main TransMilenio line runs along Av Caracas from the north to south of town. There are also lines on Carrera 30, Av 81, Av de Las Americas and a short spur on Av Jiménez to Carrera 3. There are plans to build more lines, including one to the airport. There are three terminuses, but the only one of real use to travelers is the northern terminus (Portal del Norte; Calle 170).
It takes practice to understand which bus to take. ‘Ruta Facil’ routes, for example, stop at every station on a line, while others zip along some sort of express route – leapfrogging, in confusing patterns, several stations at a time.
You can also preplan