Transportation in Santiago

The most important Transport in Santiago:

In 2007 a new integrated system of urban transportation was inaugurated in the city; its name is Transantiago. The urban buses are called micros. There are mainline buses that are white and green that circulate across the big thoroughfares like Alameda, Av. Providencia, etc. and feeder buses (with different colors) that connect with the city's outskirts. The most important stops of the route are listed in the window shield. In transantiago.cl you can look for the bus lines that you need for a specific route. Tickets cost 560 pesos (about USD 0.70) and allow the transfer to other buses or the subway. The only way to pay is with the prepaid card Bip!.

Metro:

Santiago's subway is fast, but during the peak period crowded. Possibility to use clon-buses,  that have the same route as the metro, but on the surface.  Today it has five lines. The main line (1) runs modern French trains along the central East-West axis  Alameda - Providencia - Apoquindo serving the center as well as the newer business districts of Providencia and Las Condes. At Los Héroes, Baquedano and Tobalaba stops, you can change to one of the three lines connecting  the southern parts of the city to the center. Tickets cost between 530 and 580 pesos (about  USD 0.70- 0.82), depending on time of day, and include transfers. It is recommended to buy a prepaid card Multivía or Bip!                                     Taxis Taking a taxi in Chile is safe and relatively cheap. The black cars with their yellow roofs can be hailed anywhere. In Santiago, there is a base price of 200 pesos (USD 0.40) plus around 100 pesos for each  200 m driven (or per minute when waiting). The rates are posted on the windscreen; the meter has to  be where you can see it. For longer hauls or cross-country, you can negotiate a price beforehand.  Tipping is not customary. You cannot rely on the drivers' sense of orientation, often they barely know  their way around. The more you know about how to get to your destination, the better.  You can request a radiotaxi by phone to pick you up from your house (Yellow Pages under 'Taxi').                                          Colectivos These reasonably-priced group taxis run their fixed routes indicated on the signs on their roofs. They  usually wait at the metro stations in Santiago or at other central locations and leave when there is a  minumum of riders. In other cities, they operate like buses. A colectivo can also be stopped anywhere  along the way. At night, they will take you to a specific address for an additional fee and as long as it  is close to their route.                                    Trains Passenger trains, which have been pushed out of the market by the competition from buses and by a  lack of timely investments for modernization, only run from Santiago south until Talca (approx. 250 km).  Compared to the bus, there are few trains leaving during the day, but - for a similar price - they offer  more space and services (bar, restaurant). All trains leave from Estación Central where you can easily  get by the subway. There is fast and reliable light rail service called Metrotren 40 times a day between Santiago and  Rancagua, eight times a day to San Fernando.                       Bus Terminals in Santiago Terminal Alameda: directly by Universidad de Santiago Metro station; the companies "Tur-Bus" and  "Pullman Bus" leave from here to all directions; to Viña/Valparaíso every 15 minutes Terminal Santiago (formerly, Terminal Sur): Alameda at Nicasio Retamales, 150 m west of Alameda  terminal; all companies going to the coast and south Terminal Los Héroes: Tucapel Jiménez at Alameda, close to Los Héroes Metro stop; various companies  going to the north Terminal San Borja (Terminal Norte): San Borja at Alameda, next to Estación Central train station: to the  north and Greater Santiago.