Using Public Transportation in Santiago

In February 2007, Santiago went through a complete overhaul of its public transportation system and most travel literature on Santiago has not yet accommodated for the change. This article will explain in depth how to get around the Chilean megalopolis using public transit. Riding on Transantiago (the name of the new system) is pretty safe and efficient, even for foreigners. I get around the city almost exclusively on “micros” (buses) and “metro” (subway). The only times I ever take a taxi are if it’s late at night (past 11), and even then I’ll still take a bus after midnight (the metro closes around 10:30) if I’m with friends. However, I don’t recommend doing so if you don’t feel comfortable with the system nor speak spanish. Taxis at night are pretty cheap since there is little traffic.

I understand this is a lengthy article, so if you don’t have time to read it now, I suggest you print it out and bring it with you to Santiago, as it will give you all the information and resources you will need to navigate the city.

Tarjeta bip!

This charge card allows you to get on any metro or micro for 380 pesos (about 75¢ US). Furthermore, you can transfer from metro to a micro or vice versa and not get charged extra, as the fare carries over for 90 minutes from your first point of entry. The card itself costs 1,000 pesos ($2 US) and can be charged in any metro station or any corner store where you see the bip! logo. Sometimes when I go out at night, the only things I carry are cash and my tarjeta bip!

MapCity

Since there is no Google Maps website for Santiago (at time of writing), the equivalent is www.mapcity.cl. However, as a traveler, I know you will not always have access to the internet, and thus the website is not ideal. Luckily, you can buy a great little book that the company publishes and sells at newpaper/magazine stands anywhere in the city for 1,000 – 2,000 pesos ($2-4 US). Just ask at any kiosk if they sell “Mapcity” (pronounced “map see-tee”) and they’ll understand. In both English and Spanish, the booklet itself (pictured) has 153 pages of city maps, a metro plan, and a list of all the streets in the city (like any road atlas) so you can do your own analog Google map search. The book is really better than any tourist map you can buy because it has all of the metro stops displayed clearly on the maps, and you can get to a lot of sites of interest by metro. Unfortunately the information on using the buses (known as “micros”) in Mapcity is less than adequate, and getting to certain sites such as Plaza Ñuñoa, Estadio Nacional, and Parque Arauco will require the use of buses (see “Getting on a micro” below).

Transantiago map and/or website

Transantiago puts out both a website and a free paper map that are essential to the understanding of transit in the capital. The map lists all the bus routes and metro lines and is super user friendly. I get around exclusively by using the Mapcity book and the Transantiago paper map, which I keep posted on my wall. The map can be picked up at any Transantiago information center in the city (note that they all close 6pm weekdays, 4pm Saturdays, and aren’t open on Sundays) or online in nine pdf documents. You really only need 2 to 4 of these map segments, especially the maps of El Centro and Providencia which can be joined by placing them side by side, connecting the red metro line. I would actually say that if you are planning ahead, it’s worth going to a print center and paying a few bucks (or pounds, or whatever currency you readers use) to print color versions of the two map segments in particular.

Planning a trip on the Transantiago website can be confusing, and if you don’t speak a bit of Spanish, I wouldn’t even bother trying. The site works just like getting driving directions on Google maps: you can list a starting point and destination, and the site will tell you how to get there via public transit. In that respect the site is pretty unique, but unfortunately, this site is confusing even for me, and I speak Spanish. So for those of you wishing to try your luck, go to the Transantiago website and then click on “Planifica tu viaje”. Try getting to Plaza Ñuñoa by typing the intersection of Jorge Washington with Irarrazaval (use your own starting destination).

Metro

The Santiago Metro is very clean, efficient, and packed like sardines during rush hours. If you are planning on going in metro between 7 and 9 am, you may have to wait for a few trains to pass because of the packed conditions. Nevertheless, you will have to be aggressive if you want to get on, but don’t be scared. 95% of the time that I go in metro its not packed, the only real times you have to be worried about are if you are going toward El Centro or Providencia during those hours on a weekday.

When you walk into a metro station, there are generally maps of the entire metro network very clearly displayed. The lines are named by the last station that they reach in a given direction, so for example, Line 1 east is named Escuela Militar, and Line 1 west is named San Pablo. Check out this interactive metro map that lets you calculate travel time by metro. So once you know where you are going, just swipe your tarjeta bip! and head toward the line you want to get on. Transferring lines is also simple. When you get off a train in a transfer station, you will see a sign that says something like “Cambiar a Linea 4 – La Cisterna”. Make sure you get on the right direction or else you will be on the wrong side of the platform.

Getting on a micro (bus)

The Santiago micros can take a while to master, but riding them is a skill worth having as they provide access to the parts of the city that the metro doesn’t. The main micros that you will be using are the inter-communal buses (go to more than one zone as defined by the transantiago map), which can be discerned by their color: white with a green diagonal stripe (see photo). The local buses (those that stay within one zone) are painted the color of that zone on the map. Thus buses in Ñuñoa (zone D) are yellow, but depending on where you are staying in the city, you may not need to have to bother with the local buses. Anyways, at each metro stop there is a placard that says which buses should stop there. When a bus pulls up, it has its route # and a list of the main streets it runs posted in its front window in the lower right. If the bus stops, don’t be shy to step one foot on and ask the driver “a metro Baquedano?” or “a Parque O’Higgins?”. If he understood you he should let you know if you are on the right line, but if there is a problem communicating, you may just have to wing it… buena suerte

Taxi recommendations

Taxi drivers in Santiago are notorious for ripping off gringos, so you have to be careful, although I really can’t think of a way to prevent getting shafted. Actually I can, be with a Chilean and only have him speak, haha. Radiotaxis are the safest, they come right to your door after a quick phone call. They start the fare at 1000 pesos ($2 US) and then start charging you at the same rate as a normal taxi, which starts the fare at 200 pesos. The normal taxis are the ones that you see everywhere, yellow on top and black on the bottom. For some perverse reason, fake blonde girls here are called “taxis”, but I can’t seem to figure out why… Like I said, taxis at night should be cheap. The other day it cost me 3,000 pesos ($6 US) to get from Plaza Ñuñoa to Cerro Santa Lucia (in El Centro), so if you start seeing anything more than that on a short ride, start suspecting something. I’ve heard of gringos getting charged between 10 and 20.000 pesos ($20-40 US), but I think if your smart and agreeable, you shouldn’t run into too many problems.

So that’s pretty much it for the guide, if you've made it this far, you are now ready to tackle the mean streets of Santiago. I hope you enjoyed, and please, let me know if this guide helped you or if you feel it’s missing anything.