Taking the Bus in Cuenca
Getting Around Cheaply

Taking the bus in Cuenca should be as simple as hopping on, paying your fare, and getting off when it's time. Unfortunately, it's not quite as simple as that.

Paying Your Fare

Every city transit bus has two ways to pay:

1. A box where you insert 25 cents (yes, fares are just 25 cents, and only 12 cents for any citizen or permanent resident over 65!) and a chime indicates to the driver that you've paid.
2. An Urbania bus pass, which you press to a device that then says "Gracias," which indicates that you've paid your fare. The quarter is then deducted from the balance on your card.

Per-Trip Fares

As mentioned, fares are 25 cents (less if you're over 65). The machine accepts nickels, dimes and quarters (or the Ecuadorian equivalents—cinco centavos, diez centavos and veinticinco centavos).

That's simple enough, right? But what if you don't have 25 cents? Here are all the scenarios we've encountered when taking the bus in Cuenca:

• Jeff only had a 50 centavos coin, and had to wait at the front of the bus until someone else got on, who had 25 cents. He was then given that person's 25 cents and paid for both.
• A driver gave Jeff two quarters as change for a 50 centavos coin, at which time he deposited one of the coins in the box.
• A driver gave Jeff one quarter change and let him continue into the bus.
• A driver gave Jeff one quarter change and gave him a pass to swipe against the card reader.

When we traveled together on the same bus, we've had these experiences:

• The driver pressed a few buttons and the coin box accepted 50 centavos. Problem solved.
• We gave the driver a one dollar coin. He gave us 50 cents back and gave us two passes to swipe against the card reader.

Confused? We're not surprised.

Due to all of these inconsistencies, we gave up dealing with coins and bought bus passes.

The Urbania Pass

The Urbania pass is definitely the way to go if you get around Cuenca a lot. You buy it (there's a small fee) and load it with as much money as you want on it—$3.00, $5.50, $10.00, or more.

Each ride deducts 25 cents until you've run out of money on the card, at which time you recharge it. You can do that at many of the little convenience stores that pepper the city, if they have a Recarga Urbania or similar sign outside or in the window.

You can use it for two people; however, you have to wait at least 30 seconds before you can use the card a second time.

So you never have to worry about having change for the bus. And believe us, this can be an issue!

Where To Go

Taking the bus in Cuenca will get you just about anywhere you need to go—the terminal terrestre, the the Cuenca airport, Mall del Rio for shopping, Milenium Plaza (yes, that's the correct spelling) to see a movie in English, El Centro for Gringo Night, or even Baños, the small town with hot springs.

Some buses run from one side of the city to the other, while others do a circuit. So they're a great way to see parts of Cuenca that you might not ever see.

Unfortunately, if you're taking a bus into El Centro, the return bus is never on the same street, since all the streets are one way. So it might take you a while to find the return bus you need.

Here's a link to two images of the guide to Cuenca bus routes (guía de buses). Since it only goes as high as Route 29, you won't find Route 50 on it, one of the ones that travels along Ordóñez Lasso, in the west end of Cuenca.

The paper version of the map seems hard to come by in Cuenca, so open up both pages in your browser, and then print them out. It's better than no map.

Getting Off the Bus

Getting off can be tricky on Cuenca buses. You have to indicate to the driver that you want off, but the only way to do that is by pressing a button at the back of the bus, near the exit. That's not much of a problem when the bus is empty. When it's full, you'll need to give yourself an extra couple of minutes to get down the packed aisle.

Summary

The above may make it sound like taking the bus in Cuenca is a nightmare. We find it a money-saving alternative to taking taxis in Cuenca. You will too if you use the information above and plan to make your trips uneventful.

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