BA Basics: Colectivos

Colectivos (bondis, or buses) in Buenos Aires are a great method of transportation. Not only are they cheap and relatively quick, but most buses also operate 24 hours per day, unlike the subway.

Generally, buses charge $1.10 for a short trip (10-15 blocks), $1.20 for a medium distance trip (15-45 blocks) and $1.25 for a long trip (45-max blocks). Since buses are owned by a series of private companies, these prices can vary with respect to their definitions of a short, medium or long trip. The best way to ensure you are paying the correct amount is to tell the driver where you are going by saying, “Hasta _______________ (street name, park name, area in general).” By telling the bus driver your final destination, you will also ensure that you are traveling on the correct bus and in the right direction.

Before hopping on the bus, however, you will need to figure out which colectivo is right for you. To do so, pick up your own copy of the Guia T, a book of bus maps that you can buy at most any newspaper stand or kiosk. This helpful guide illustrates all of the streets in Buenos Aires through a series of gridded maps, and lists which buses travel to those areas within corresponding grids on  opposing pages. Let’s take a look at how the Guia T works:

On the first or second page of the Guia T, there is a large map of the city indicating the location of the barrios (neighborhoods) of Buenos Aires. This map is overlaid with a numbered grid. The first step in planning your collectivo trip is to identify the rough location of your starting and destination points on this map. Once you have done so, take note of the numbers within the grid that correspond to these rough locations. For example, let’s say your current location is on the corner of Juan B Justo and Santa Fe (in the barrio of Palermo), and you need to get to Parque Las Heras (in the barrio of Recoleta).

Article Continues on Page 2 »

	Colectivos (buses), Part 1 How old were you when you got your first car? Rare is the day when a fellow American makes it to ad
	Super Advanced Colectivo Etiquette If the 152 is your favorite colectivo or you can only name two buses that go down Las Heras, the fo
	Colectivos (buses), Part 2: On Board For all of you colectivo joyriders and aficionados….. For all of you determined to improve your c