TRANSPORTATION IN LIMA

As I said in one of my previous posts, you can always take a taxi from the street or call a taxi company. Most tourists usually hire a taxi service because they don't know how to get around and because they've heard Lima's dangerous. I personally think Lima isn't as dangerous as people make it out to be. You just have to be careful is all. Common sense goes a long way here. Miraflores, San Isidro (sahn-ee-SEE-droh), San Borja (sahn BORha), and Surco are generally safe but it's always best to keep an eye open just in case. If you go to any other district, then you definitely want to keep a look out for suspicious activity.

TAKING BUSES....

    WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?

• If you have never taken a bus in Peru then you're in for a real surprise. Buses here come in a variety of colors and sizes. In Peru, people refer to all buses as carros or "cars" in English. We have four different kinds of buses and sometimes they have different names. The really small ones are called combis (KOHM-bees). The medium-sized ones that are round-ish in the front like in the picture to the right are sometimes referred to as cousters (KOO-sters). The really big buses like in the picture are called omnibuses (OHM-nee-boos-siz). The ones that are slightly smaller than the omnibus but still rectangular shaped with no curves are micros (MEE-krows) but they're still much bigger than combis so I don't understand why they gave it that name. Don't worry about remembering the correct name for each type of bus. Just refer to them as carros and everyone will understand. It's pretty difficult having to get into a combi because they are ridiculously tiny! You literally have to hunch over to get into your seat if you're more than five feet tall. A great majority of the buses are old buses and they're usually in really bad condition. I don't think they do the maintenance on them like they should. You will see a lot of buses that  have that black smoke stuff come out of the exhaust, which is probably the main reason why Lima has a wonderful gray cloud looming over it and I can never see beautiful blue skies.

    ARE THEY COMFORTABLE?

• Buses in Lima can be extremely uncomfortable sometimes. Especially in the summer because of all the heat and smelly armpits. I literally have to hold my breath for as long as I can sometimes until the smelly man next to me gets off. No street buses have air conditioning. When a bus gets packed, it gets REALLY packed! To better explain myself, imagine being pressed up against strangers in an elevator that has a maximum capacity of 15 people. That's kind of what it's like here except in our imaginary elevator, the people have their faces pressed against the walls because we have twenty-five people on instead of fifteen. Buses which have those little cash machine things in them don't exist here. A cobrador (koh-brah-DORE), the person who charges you the bus fare and is usually standing at the bus door, will try to get as many people on as possible, because the more people they have on the bus, the more money they make. Don't panic because the buses aren't always packed. This mostly happens during rush hour which is early in the mornings from 7-9:30 or in the afternoons from 5-9.  The cobrador walks around the bus every few minutes to charge you the appropriate fare and give you your bus ticket. 

    HOW MUCH IS THE BUS FARE?

• To most places it's a sol, depending on the bus company, which is usually a 45 minute bus ride or more than 10 blocks. The cobradores will usually ask you "¿dónde?" which means "where?" and you just tell them your bus stop or the block number of the street you're going to. If you didn't give them enough money then they'll either tell you how much more you need to give them or just the total price. 

ARE THEY SAFE?

• No, not really. As I said before, most of them are old and they don't do maintenance on them like they should. What makes matters worse, is that bus drivers here actually compete with each other. They speed and cut each other off all the time just to get as many passengers as possible. They'll also zigzag through traffic, abruptly stop because of speeding, therefore making you go flying forward, bumping into people, stepping on their feet, etc. Not to mention almost crashing into each other or running over pedestrians all the time. A lot of people lose their lives everyday because of bus accidents. If you don't feel safe on a bus because the bus driver is driving like a maniac, then get off and take another one or a taxi. 

     WHAT'S THE "METROPOLITANO?"

•  The Metropolitano is a bus system created by the ex mayor of Lima, Luis Castañeda Lossio. It goes through via Expresa, which is a highway. This bus system was officially inaugurated last June and was free for a month. I believe the route takes you from the district called Chorrillos, which is in the south, to Comas, in the north. They have a regular bus and an express bus. The fare for the regular bus is S/1.50. I'm not sure how much it costs to get on the express bus. The regular bus stops at all bus stops whereas the express stops at about 5 stops or so. You need to have a bus card. The card doesn't cost you anything, but you have to put a minimum of 5 soles on the card if you're getting it for the first time. There are instructions in Spanish on how to get a card and how to put money on it. There's usually an employee there to help you if you're having trouble. 

• Once you have your card, all you have to do is swipe it so you can go through the turnstile and walk to the correct platform (sometimes there are two boarding platforms) and the correct side of the bus platform since you can take buses from either side depending on if you're going north or south. If you're not sure which side you have to take the bus from or which bus you have to take, just ask an employee. If you already have a card but no more money on it then all you have to do is re-charge it by using one of the machines on the side. I believe the buses run from 7a.m.-9 p.m. They can really save you a lot of time! If I take a regular bus from via Expresa in Surquillo (sur-KEE-yoh) to downtown Lima, it takes 45 minutes to over an hour, whereas the Metropolitano takes just under 15 minutes. The best part is that these buses come every five minutes or less. Taking them during rush hour can be a bit of a pain because they also get packed,  more than a hundred people can be on one of these buses at a time, but at least you don't usually have much of a wait.

 TAXIS...

• Street taxis also come in all shapes in sizes. You have to be careful about the taxis you get in. Rule of thumb for Peruvians is, if he has an untrustworthy face then don't get in. Just as buses in Lima, taxi drivers are also dangerous behind the wheel. The first time I rode in a Mexican taxi I felt I was gonna have a heart attack but after a while I got used to it. However, when I came to Peru in 2009, I realized my Beaner friends had nothing on us Peruvians. These people drive like they're in a NASCAR or Formula 1 competition. Ask the driver to slow down if you feel uncomfortable, although I doubt he'll be happy about it and probably argue. For more information about taxi rates, etc please look at my previous post for more information. 

THE ELECTRIC TRAIN...

• Ex president Garcia started this project back in the 1980s during his first term in office. He started it again a litter over a year and a half ago and didn't get to finish it before the end of his second term but he still inaugurated it before he left office lol. Once it's finish, people estimate sometime in October, the fare will be around 1.50. I'm not sure what the route is going to be like but I'll post something as soon as it's up and running.

ARRIVING IN LIMA....HOW TO GET AROUND

For first time travelers in Lima, it can turn out to be the experience of a lifetime or one you'll somewhat regret because of complications during your trip.

You'll first arrive at Jorge Chavez Airport in El Callao (pronounced kah-YAOW). It's a bit overwhelming because once you go through customs and walk out of the door, you'll see a large crowd of people waiting for their loved ones and  there will  be many people in the front holding up name cards of people they're there to pick up. I remember when I first arrived I was so confused. I couldn't see my family but I just kept walking like I knew where I was going :P You can exchange your money at a small exchange desk that's directly in front of the door from which you come out of. I'm not sure how many feet away it is but just keep walking straight and you should get to it in about a minute. It's close to the escalator you see in the picture. If you have no one waiting for you, then as soon as you walk out of the door, you can walk to the exit doors directly to your right so you avoid the crowd.


NEED TRANSPORTATION FROM THE AIRPORT? YOU HAVE A FEW OPTIONS:

• Take a taxi directly from the airport. Those guys are right outside the airport exit doors and they have prices posted on a board that tell you the fares for each district. It's also much safer to go with them. However, they tend to charge you 10 or more sols (that's the currency here) than a taxi driver from the street would. 

• If you're trying to save some money, then you can walk out of the airport and walk towards the street. Just turn to the right and follow the sidewalk until you get to the airport entrance.You can use the luggage cart thing most of the way but you can't take it out of airport property which means you will have to carry your bags for about less than two minutes to the bus stop that's on your right. If you're confused now, don't worry because as soon as you pick your bags up to start walking, some men are probably going to walk towards you or they may even already be there asking you "taxi? taxi?" They'll also help you carry your bags. 

• If you're a backpacker and you're REALLY trying to save as much as possible, then you can always take a bus from outside the airport entrance as well. Most tourists stay in Miraflores. There's this one combi (KOHM-bee), a small bus, I know of that you can take. It's mostly white and red with some black. If you have any doubts about where the bus is going, just ask the cobrador (koh-brah-DORE) the person charging you the bus fare, and he'll tell you. The last time I went, the fare was S/2.50 to Miraflores. These buses are tiny so it may be a little uncomfortable but they get you to Miraflores in about less than 30 minutes early in the morning. I've never taken one at night.

*NOTE: You can always negotiate the price of the taxi fare with the street taxi drivers. The fee they tell you initially is usually slightly higher because if you're willing to pay it, then it's better for them but if not then you can always get him to bring it down to the normal fare. Taxi fares are a little more expensive during rush hour times. To have an idea of what the normal fare is, ask a few taxis before you decide to get into one. You can even ask the airport employees that are at the airport entrance preventing you from taking the luggage carts before you go to the taxi/bus stop area. Whatever taxi you take, make sure to put any valuable bags/purses that you take with you in the front, on the floor as a precaution. Some people will break windows to steal your things. I'm not saying it always happens but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Once you begin taking street taxis it's EXTREMELY important that you ALWAYS ask how much the fare for a taxi is going to be before you get in it. Foreigners usually get charged much more because they are thought to have lots of money. I can not stress how important it is to have a general idea of what the normal fare is. I went on vacation two months ago to the mountains and two tourists got charged 60 soles to be taken to the airport when the original fare was only 20. Also make sure you give them some sort of reference to a main street and tell them which block it's on or close to. If you don't know or you forgot to ask the receptionist from the hotel or hostel you're going to be staying at, then look up the address here. Even if you DO know the address, it's always nice to have an idea of where you're going.

To get a map for an address in Lima, just follow these simple steps.

1. Select the name of the district you're going to in "Buscar en."

2. Type in the street name where it says "Calle." Don't forget to include whether it's an Av (Avenida), Jr (Jiron), Ca (Calle), Psje (Pasaje).

3. Type in the block number where it says "Cuadra."

4. Click on "Buscar" and you should have a list of addresses appear underneath.

5. Click on the one that best applies to you. A map will appear on the right.

So just to be clear. If you need to get to Av. Arequipa 4736, then type in the following information like so. I can now tell my taxi driver that I need to get to the 47th block of Arequipa and that it's close to Av. Angamos.

Street taxis can be a little dangerous in Lima, so if you don't feel comfortable just getting into any taxi then you can call a taxi company for one. Two common companies are Taxi Seguro and Taxi Satelital. I believe both of those taxi companies have small vehicles enough for two people with three or four suitcases depending on the size. If you need a bigger vehicle then please look at the previous link. They usually charge 60 soles or more depending on how many people they need to pick up.

Most tourists choose to stay in safer districts such as Miraflores and San Isidro. In some cases, Barranco, San Borja and Surco are also potential options. San Borja is about 30 minutes from the airport without traffic. With traffic, it can be more than an hour. The cheapest taxi fare from the airport to San Borja is 25 soles.
I assume going to San Isidro is between 25-30 soles and to Miraflores it should be between 25-35 depending on where you want to go. I'm sure you can find it even cheaper though. Taxi drivers tend to charge a little more for Miraflores and San Isidro because "rich" people live there or stay there.








USEFUL PHRASES:

IN THE TAXI.

Buenos dias/buenas tardes/buenas noches ¿Cuánto me cobra a la cuadra (20) de (Arequipa)?
Good morning/afternoon/evening. How much will you charge me to block 20 of Arequipa? 

Está cerca de....
It's close to...

Nada menos?
Nothing less?

______________________________________________________________________________________
ON THE BUS.

¿Va a ....(Miraflores)?
Do you go to...(Miraflores)?


Me avisas por favor
Let me know when we're there please.

¿A (San Borja) cuánto?
How much is it to San Borja? 


¿A que parte de..... (Angamos/San Isidro)?
Where exactly on (Angamos)?
Where exactly in (San Isidro)? 

______________________________________________________________________________________
IN THE STREET.

Disculpa, usted sabe cuánto es de aqui hasta (el centro de Lima) en carro/taxi?
Excuse me, do you know how much it is from here to (Downtown Lima) by bus/taxi?


Una consulta, usted sabe que carro tengo que tomar para ir a .....(Barranco)?
Quick question, do you know which bus I have to take to get to....(Barranco)?