Within the city of Quito and in the main cities in the
country, taking a bus is relatively easy. Buses are continual
and make their routes all day long from 6:00 am to 8:00
pm. To catch a bus, simply find a stop and stick out your
hand toward the bus driver. If this doesn’t work,
don’t worry, the next time it will.
There are two basic kinds of city transport. One is the
Integrated Transport System (Trolley
and Ecovia that you will see in detail at the end of this
chapter) and the City Bus System composed
of private companies. In both cases, the cost for adults
is 25 cents and 12 cents for handicapped, children, students
and senior citizens. The Trolley charges an extra 25 cents
for the trip all the way out to Calderon (a neighborhood
on the outskirts of Quito).
City Transport
In Quito
There are two types of buses in the Bus System. The private
buses are notorious and painted blue and called “Bus
Tipo” where you can go standing or sitting;
and the “Selectivos” which
are red and white and you can only travel seated.
All of these buses have different destinations and routes
and by using these, you can go to anywhere in the city.
The main roads in Quito go from north to south and vice
versa. The main streets where you can get buses are Ave.
América (if you are going to the Middle
of the World or vice versa), Ave. Amazonas,
the Ave. De Los Shyris (if you want to
go towards the historical center of the city and the streets
where there are the main shopping centers), Ave.
Patria (if your destination is in the south of
Quito) and Av. De La Prensa and Av.
10 de Agosto (if you are going to the north or
south of the capital).
Trolley – Ave. 10
de Agosto
The integrated system of the Trolley and Ecovia are part
of the Municipality of Quito. The Trolley has two main
stations: the North Station located on Av. 10 de Agosto – near “La Y”, behind the Plaza de Toros
(bull ring); and the South Station found in front of the
El Recreo Shopping Center. The trip south now extends
down to the Moran Valverde Station.
Trolley circuits are:
C1: North Station “La Y” – South Station
“El Recreo” (Yellow) / Schedule: 5:00 – 24:00
C2: “Morán Valverde” Station –North
Station “La Y” (Blue) / Schedule: 5:00 – 24:00
C3: North Station “La Y” – Centro Histórico
(Red) / Schedule: 7:30 – 18:00
C4: “Morán Valverde” Station –
“La Colón” Stop (Green) / Schedule:
6:30 – 22:00
C5: South Station “El Recreo” – “La
Colón” Stop (Green) / Schedule: 6:30 – 20:00
These circuits run from Monday to Friday. On weekends
and holidays, only circuits C1 and C2 operate.
From each station, meaning “La Y”, “El
Recreo” and “Morán Valverde”,
you can take different feeder buses (Integrados) to neighborhoods
in the North and South. You only have to get off the trolley
and get in like for the bus without paying extra except
in the case of the feeder bus to Calderon. The hours for
the feeder buses are: from Monday to Friday: 5:00 –
24:00 / Weekends and Holidays: 6:00 – 22:00
Taking the trolley can be the best decision when you
need to go from one end of the city to the other in the
easiest way and without so much traffic. The problem is
that during peak hours, there amount of people is terrible
and it could be a huge headache to travel with so many
people. It is different with the Ecovia because not so
many people accumulate within the buses.
