Buenos Aires Getting Around

Getting Around

The public transport in Buenos Aires is very good, if crowded during the rush hours. There is a fairly large metro network (one of the longest in Latin America), a large range of bus routes and many suburban railways used by commuters. Finding your way around is easy. Most of the city grid is divided into equal squares with block number in the hundreds. Most streets are one way with the adjacent parallels going the other way, so beware that the bus or taxi won't follow the same route back. Going by taxi, you simply need to tell the driver the street and block number, eg. "Santa Fe 2100"; or two intersecting streets, eg. "Corrientes y Callao". City maps are issued by many different publishers (Guía T, LUMI) and the local tourist authority. They are indispensable for those wanting to use public transportation, since they include all bus routes. By Taxi Taxis are not the quickest option for moving around in the most congested areas at rush hours, as traffic jams are common. Still, you will find that taxis are usually very inexpensive, convenient, and exciting (in a white-knuckled, the roller-coaster-seems-to-have-some-pieces-missing kind of way.) It is safest to have your hotel or host call for a radio taxi. If you must hail a cab on the street, watch out for private operators disguised as commercial services. Also avoid paying in large bills as there have been cases of counterfeit change. If a taxi driver says that your money is counterfeit and says that he will take you to an ATM, just tell him you want to get out there. I worked at a hostel in Buenos Aires and heard many stories of travelers (especially when they spoke little Spanish and were coming from the airport) being robbed under this premise. It also helps if you see a police officer nearby because if they are trying to rob you they will probably be scared off. If you are headed to a hostel or hotel, the receptionist will usually understand the situation if you honestly do have counterfeit money, and will lend you money to pay the cab. Also, if the cab "breaks down", I would recommend just getting out and finding another cab. It is sensible to keep your luggage in the seat with you if possible in case a situation arises in which you want to get out of the taxi. By Bus The principal means of public transportation within the city, are the buses (colectivos). They have a cheap maximum fixed price as long as you are moving inside the city borders (0.80 pesos, approx. 0.2 euros); be sure to have coins for the ticket (they don't accept bills). There are more than one hundred lines, covering the whole city. They work 24 hours a day, the whole year; but run less frequently on holidays and at late hours. For each route the bus is painted differently to make them easier to distinguish. The best way to figure out the bus system is to buy a Guía "T". It's essentially a little book with a directory of streets, which correspond to map pages, and have a bus listing on the facing page for each map. Once you get your hands on one, it's very easy to figure out. These can be bought for about three pesos (the smaller one that only covers the Ciudad Autónoma is three pesos, not the larger Gran Bs As one) at many kiosks around the city. Otherwise, visitors who are comfortable with speaking a little Spanish can call 131 toll-free from any phone for help finding which colectivo to take. You just have to tell the corner (or the street and the number) where you`re at and the one you want to get to. On many services, board the bus and tell the driver your destination (or do what Argentines do -- just say "ochenta, por favor" meaning you'll be traveling a normal distance and want to pay 80 centavos); he will press a button instructing the coin machine to take a certain amount of money for you, which will then appear on the machine as the amount to insert. Step a bit further back into the bus and insert coins into the machine which now knows your destination and has calculated your fare because the driver punched it in. You will receive change and your ticket automatically, collect it at the bottom of the machine. If you see a little metal knob on the coin machine, it's not for dispensing your ticket like the candy/toy machines in grocery stores in the U.S. ... it's the door to the inside of the machine to change the paper and whatnot. Don't turn it! You can also use buses to move to and inside the suburban area (Gran Buenos Aires), but the fares are higher (up to 2 pesos, depending on the distance and service). The suburban-only lines (you can differentiate them because their line numbers are above 200) have lower standards of confort, and many of them don't run after 11 pm. By metro The city has a long metro network (subte', short form of subterráneo, which means underground). It is very efficient - you can gain a lot of time by using it - and very cheap too (0.70 pesos for any combination, approx. 0.175 euros). The lines converge to the downtown area and connect the main bus and train terminals. The tree-shaped network extends almost to the outer limits of the city. In the southeast branch (the E line), the service is extended by a nice trainway known as premetro, but beware, it goes to some of the least secure places in the city. Premetro is 0.60 pesos (approx. 0.15 euros), or 0.70 with a Subte Transfer. The subte works approximately from 5 am to 10 pm, except on Sundays, when service starts at 8 am. The A line is a destination on its own because of the old wooden carriages. It is the one of the oldest lines in Latin America. The subte article on Wikipedia has some information on this. Many subte stations have interesting murals, tiles, and artwork. Transferring between lines is indicated by combinación signs. You may purchase magnetic stripe tickets encoded with more than one fare. This saves the time of individual cashier transactions; and you may also buy a rechargeable card at some stations. Tickets are not swiped upon exiting stations, therefore you may use one magnetic stripe ticket for more than one traveller, as long as it has the required number of fares. By Train There are a good deal of railways connecting the suburban area in a star shape. The quality of the service ranges from excellent to very bad, depending of the line; ask before using them at nighttime. The main railway terminals are Retiro, Constitución, Once and Federico Lacroze. From all of these you can then use the metro and bus network to get right into the centre. The suburban fares are very cheap. By Car If one is truly adventurous (and has a bit of a death-wish), cars are available to rent in Buenos Aires. There are several major reasons that this is not a great idea. First, Buenos Aires is such an excellent city for walking that if something is within 20 or 30 blocks, it is often worth the extra effort to go on foot and get to know the city on a more intimate level. The terrain is flat...get out there and put those legs to work! Second, if you aren't (or can't be) much of a walker, the public transportation system in Buenos Aires is cheap and efficient. It can get you anywhere, and fast! Third, and perhaps most importantly, is that the citizens of Buenos Aires drive like lunatics. Stoplights, signs, traffic laws...for many porteño drivers, those are just *suggestions.* Picture trying to get several thousand head of cattle to move down the street and stay inside the lanes, and you have a decent idea of driving in Buenos Aires. Surprisingly, one witnesses very few traffic accidents there, because traffic flows more by custom and intuition...the porteños understand the customs of driving and somehow manage to know what everyone around them is doing. As a tourist, *you* probably won't. My advice? Take the bus! Otherwise, lots of luck to you.