Public transportation in Montevideo and Uruguay

 Public transportation in Montevideo and Uruguay

   

     Palacio Salvo in Plaza Independencia, Montevideo.

 In this post I will tell you about the system of public transportation of Montevideo and Uruguay.

 In Montevideo you have a fair amount of options in public transportation such as buses, taxis (or cabs), Uber, trains (few destination and few frequencies though lower price) and remises (higher prices but better service). In Uruguay you also have long distance buses and short distance buses

 If you want to be like every Montevidean and really feel the true nature of the city then your best option it is to ride the bus (called “bondi” here). You may not be so comfortable, but look on the bright side; you will save a lot of money!

 The bus ticket is $28 (USD 0.89), you can access to a 50% discount if you are a student of certain institutions.

 You can expect a normal frequency of buses from Monday to Friday from 6 am to 12 pm. Weekends frequency tends to decrease a little. After 12 pm it is almost impossible to catch a bus as their frequency descends to about unit per two hours.

There are two apps by the city government that will totally save your life. The first one is called “A que hora pasa?” (Link here) And it tells you when is going to pass the bus you are expecting by tracking your position by GPS. You can also scan QR codes that are in the bustops or enter the address. The second will be particularly useful if you, like me, have no sense of orientation. It is called “¿Cómo ir?” (Link here) and it tells you how you can go from a one place to another by bus (telling you all the possible bus lines you could use) or by walking (and it tells you the distance you will have to walk). It also shows you your route in a map that you can print.

 Although you can always ask if you don’t know where to go down there’s an excellent and free app called mooveit (click here to download it if you have android (get it on google play, download on the app store)that will warn you when your stop have arrived.

 If you are planning on staying some time you should think on getting the STM (Public Transportation System) card. You can get it at this places with your passport for free. The card allows you to make one hour travels (“viajes de una hora”) where you can take two busses in one hour for the price of one. You can also make two hours travels (“viajes de dos horas”) that allows you to take all the buses that you want in two hours for a slightly higher ticket ( UY$44, USD 1.39)

                                                              Scan to download "Calcula Taxi"

I really don’t recommend taxis; they have a horrible screen that make going the back seat very uncomfortable and insecure. Some drivers can be very rude and dishonest. You have to be aware that taxis are hard to get, though not impossible, from 12 pm to 6 am. If after all this you still want to get one there’s an app that’s going to be very useful, it’s called “Calcula Taxi” and you can download it for Android using the QR code above this paragraph. This app not only gives you the best route to your destination but also calculates the estimated rate you are going to pay.

 For asking a taxi the most advisable app is easy taxi (get it on google play, download on the app store)

 Based on my personal experience I can recommend you Uber over taxis, it’s safer, more comfortable and a bit cheaper. (I won’t add a link here because I guess you already have the app) 

 Montevideo counts with a touristic bus that makes nine stops (click here to see route).

 Rates are UY$572 (USD 18.12) for a 24 hours ticket and UY$880 (USD 27.88) for 48 hours ticket.

 National transportation:

 If you want to go to the cities of Punta Del Este, Piriapolis, Maldonado, La Barra or Pueblo Garzon in the Department of Maldonado there are two bus companies that cover the route: COPSA and COT. I highly recommend COT, you can buy you tickets online here or book them by skype trough the user “cotreservas”. They also go to Colonia, Rocha, La Paloma and Chuy. These buses depart from Tres Cruces terminal which is also a shopping (Tres Cruces website)

Trips of less than 50 kilometres, short distance buses

 Buses that cover distances of less than 50 kilometres to destinations such as the Airport, Atlantida, Canelones, San Jose, etc. are known as “inters”.

“Inters” depart from the bus station of Galicia y Rio Branco (City Center, be careful in the night). If your destination is the airport or Atlantida you can also catch the “inters” in Av. Italia, the bus stops are duly signalized and are different from the local bus stops.

 You can find the frequencies of all “inters” in the app “BUS UY” (get it on google play, it also has the frequency of the national buses)

 “Inters” charge according destination, the cheapest ticket is UY$44 (USD 1.39). 

                     New train station, Montevideo, Uruguay.

 Trains in Uruguay have suffered from a chronic sloth and lack of inversion from the government during the last 40 years. A clear symbol of this situation is the state of the once beautiful building of the former central train station of Montevideo now abandoned and in a regrettable condition.

 Trains cover very few destinations but for a low price, accidents are extremely rare, check frequencies an destinations here and rates here.