Riding Buses in Montevideo
Posted on February 15, 2007
Filed Under Montevideo, Transportation, Expat Tips |
7 Comments
Next time you are in Montevideo don’t miss out on the fun: ride the city buses. Once you get the hang of it, you will find that taking a bus is simpler and often just as quick as taking a taxi. At 15 pesos per person, buses are a bargain. No tokens, cards or exact change are needed, just regular cash. Here’s how to do it.
Discover the bus route that goes where you want. This can be done by purchasing the Eureka Montevideo pocket guide; you can also look up most bus routes in the intro section of the MVD yellow pages; this information can also be found online here or in the UY Resources. In all cases, you will need a good city map to see the route details. Note that most buses return through slightly different streets. Once you discover the most useful routes, you will rarely need to do this again.
Proceed to a nearby street in the bus route and look for a stop. Make sure that the number of your bus route is written on the sign at the bus stop. In busy streets, bus routes alternate stops in order to prevent traffic jams. You may need to walk a couple of blocks until the next stop.
When your bus approaches, make sure you signal by extending your hand 45 degrees away from your body. I have been told that raising your hand over your head is for hailing cabs, although I’m sure it will also work. If you don’t signal, the bus may not stop.
Enter through the front door. In some buses, you pay directly to the driver. Yes, he drives, shifts a manual transmission, makes change and talks; and all at the same time (video). Surprisingly, the drivers are good natured and pleasant. Some buses, have a fare collector sitting to the left as you enter (video). In that case, pay to him/her.
If you have exact change (or if you raise your finger to signal how many tickets you are buying), you do not need to say a word. You will receive a tiny ticket. Keep it. Occasionally, an inspector from the bus company will come onboard and ask everybody for their ticket. This only happened to me once in about 40 rides.
There are two seats up front for the handicapped (lisiados). You will also notice that most people will offer their seats to the elderly or to any frail looking person. Do likewise if you do not want to look like an insensitive jerk.
When you get near your destination move toward the back door. There is a very conspicuous button near the top. Press it to signal the driver. Alternatively, if the bus is not full, proceed to the front door and stand there, next to the driver. He will stop and let you out the front door.
A few buses allow you to transfer to another bus from the same company. In that case, there will be a sign in front of the bus indicating the routes you can ask a transfer for.
It is quite common for street vendors to climb onboard and offer items for sale: cookies, candy (caramelo de guaco y miel hmmm), cell phone accessories, stickers, band-aids, herbs etc. Sometimes there will be guitar players of varying skills. None of them are pushy and you do not need to buy anything or give any money. In my experience, it was always 100% entertaining.
One route stands out in my mind: 60 Ciudad Vieja-Portones. It wends its way along smaller streets of the coastal barrios, from Buceo to Carrasco ending at the Portones Shopping Center. Since the bus goes more slowly than usual, you get to see much more. I recommend it to anyone wanting to get a quick feel for those barrios.
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7 Responses to “Riding Buses in Montevideo”
The bus I like most is the 104, try it!
The reason why I like that bus is because of the views. It goes along the coast, you can see a lot of the beach and when it leaves the coast you start seeing the nicest medium class neighborhoods with gardens, people, very lively, specially in a sunny day. Then the trip ends in the most expensive neighborhood, Carrasco, where you’ll find very nice architechture and a lot of peace.
Thanks for the tip. I’ll put it on my list of things to do when I get there.
Hi Brazzie,
Interesting subject! I usually take my daily bus rides for granted, not considering what a great perspective it gives on a city.
Where did you buy your pocket guide and maps? I found very few materials related to Uruguay at book stores here in the states.
How true. It is very hard to get maps and guides about Uruguay.
The guide I was referring to is the Guia de Montevideo “Eureka” and it has the add on word “Pocket” on top. It can be found at most Kioscos in MVD and the price printed on it is: 99 pesos. Although I saw it being sold for more. Whatever the price, it is well worth it. You can write to them at guiadoteurekaatadinetdotcomdotuy (please substitute the dots (3) and the at (1)) to inquire about purchasing it from abroad.
One additional comment about the process.
There are several bus companies e.g CUTCSA, RAINCOOP etc. Actually most of them are cooperatives in which individuals (the drivers?) may own their buses. Which may explain why each bus is so different from the other. Usually each company exclusively operates a number of routes (or lineas) such as the #114. There will be many different buses of a given company that will serve that same route, usually spaced by a few minutes. The route number is usually displayed on the center top front part of the bus next to the destination. The buses of a given route will always stop at the same predetermined stops, provided you signal. The most difficult part of the process is to find where they go and where they stop.
Hi again!! It was really funny the description of Montevideo´s buses, i don´t live there, what when I go it is as you wrote! If you have a computer there you can learn bus routes in a digital guide, I don´t know if it online yet, but if you want I can try to send you, it is very easy to learn bus lines, places, etc
Thanks Cristobal, please do send the guide.
My email is at the bottom of the About Me age.