Combis Y Micros - Buses, Lima

Lima public transit system is pretty intimidating. Combis are rickety and confusing.

Why is this guy yelling at me? Is there a limit to how many people can ride this thing? Is that man going to stab me?

Don't ask questions. Get on, pay the man when he asks for it, enjoy the ride. Worrying about getting lost will just distract you from all the uniqueness that combi rides offer.

Check out my video of a combi ride: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/vv/4657/

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Most people in Lima don't have cars and can't afford taxis, so they travel by foot, bike or bus. There are many configurations of buses around Lima - from the big tourist buses which tower over everyone, down to the little vans. Micros were the large buses and combis were minibuses and vans. They both had set fares.

I've taken the van type bus in the Bahamas, and seen them in the Dominican Republic, but I didn't have a chance to do that in Lima because we were cocooned in the big tourist bus.

There are bus stops/bus lanes on the streets which is why there seem to be buses lined up along the curb lane. The lane is marked BUS, but from the top of our tourist bus it seemed to read SUB. (Photo 5)

Public transport is very good in Lima. Collectivos (also called combis) are criss-crossing town every 30 seconds or so and cost virtually nothing.

Taxis are plentiful, just make sure you take green & white taxis with the official sticker outside (ask your hotel what it should look like, I can't remember).

I found using collectivos in Lima a great way to get real close to Peruvians and observe the world inside and outside of those minibuses. At first the routes etc.. are a bit bewildering but once your Lima mind map is built, you'll enjoy hoping on & off all over town.

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Viajar en "combi " es barato , divertido y rápido
Hay que enterarse de la ruta que se quiere hacer , acercarse a la calle y luego dejarse llevar , pues cada combi además del conductor lleva un cobrador que con medio cuerpo fuera va voceando la ruta y cogiendo los clientes a lazo

Traveling in combi is cheap , amusing and quick
You must ask about the route that you want to do , go to the street and then let you go , because each combi besides the driver takes another person ,that with half body outside the combi, is shouting the route , practical grabbing the future customers

Busses and microbusses are the most used transportation vechiles in Lima. They are also the most common source of pollutation. The co-driver is keeping the door open and crying people to step in and telling where the bus is going to. Price of ticket is 1 - 2 soles. Old North-American school busses are commonly seen. Bus stop is everywhere.

If you have the hostel in Miraflores or Barranco, the chaepest way to get to the historical center is by public bus. There are several buses that follow the "Via Expresa" urban highway, so they go faster than normal ones. To catch one, just go walking to the Via Expresa, look for the bus stop and take it towards the north. In 15 minutes you will be at the center. 1,20 soles (0.30 cts of USD)

I took the bus from the airport to the hotel that was the cheapest and best only around 5 soles and they drop you off right at your hotel.

This is much cheaper than the hotel cab that wanted 15 US$ for the trip.

The bus people are right at the check out and you can buy the tickets right there. No problem about luggage as it can be stored in the luggage compartment below (by the driver).

Safe convenient and very cheap.

It's a fairly simple matter to find your way around the rest of this huge, spread-eagled city. Almost every corner of it is linked by a regular municipal bus service , known to everyone as El Bussing, with flat-rate tickets (around $0.2) bought from the driver as you board. In tandem with these are the privately owned microbuses , older and smaller, more colourful and equally crowded, but again with flat rates (25¢). Quickest of all Lima transport, combi colectivos race from one street corner to another along all the major arterial city roads. You'll see "Todo Arequipa" or "Todo Benavides", for example, chalked up on their windscreens, which indicates that the colectivo runs the whole length of Avenida Arequipa or Avenida Benavides. Colectivos dash dangerously fast, frequently crashing and speeding off before their passengers have got both feet into the vehicle, and might be anything from a ramshackle Dodge Coronet to a plush fifteen-seater minibus; wave one down from any corner and pay the flat fare (around $0.4) (1 sol )to the driver or fare collector. You can catch colectivos or buses to most parts of the city from Avenida Abancay. Taxis can be hailed on any street, and cost $2-4 to most central parts of the city. It's worth reiterating that driving in Lima is incredibly anarchic - it's not that fast, but it is assertive, with undertaking happening as often as overtaking and drivers, especially taxistas, finding gaps that don't appear to exist (one reason why there are so many damaged cars).