The Bus

I have a meeting on campus with one of my collaborators at 10am tomorrow. It's in Valparaíso. It's a little too far to walk. I could Uber for about $5 each way. Or, I could figure out how to use the bus. As a test, today I took the bus to campus and back.

The bus system isn't a single municipal entity here. Instead, it's a collection of private enterprises. They run regular routes and have route numbers etc, just like an ordinary public transit system. They even show up as options on google maps.

So, I used google maps to find me a route to campus from home. It came up with a few options. The best option was to catch the 215 bus a few blocks from home. I walked to the bus stop and waited... and waited, and waited. Many buses came through, but never a 215. For example, here's he 301.

 After waiting 35 mins for a bus that google claims comes every 7 mins, I gave up on that one, consulted google and tried the next best option. The next best option turned out to be a different bus that runs the exact same route. In fact I had my pick of around 5 other buses that all ran the same route--at least along the direction that I needed. 

The fares are a bit confusing and all paid in cash to the driver. There are fares for students, seniors and the rest of us. There's usually a local fare and a "directo" fare. If you're starting in Vina and ending in Vina, it's local. If you're starting in Vina and ending in Valparaíso, then it's "directo". When you get on, you tell the driver "Valparaíso" and give the driver the fare. He makes change, if necessary, while driving to the next stop. It cost me about $0.60 each way.

 The trip was interesting in that I got to see parts of Valparaíso. While Vina is pretty posh and touristy, Valparaíso is a full on port city with both posh and poor sections. The "campus" where I have my meeting tomorrow, is really just a large building in what appeared to be not a posh part of town. That said, as a college teacher, it felt homey to be there among students 18-22 years old hanging about, going into and coming out of the building.

The return trip went well. I used the 209. It mostly traveled the same route in reverse. As it was getting into rush hour, the bus was crowded by the time my stop arrived and I was in a window seat. It was a bit of a challenge getting out of my seat and through the folks standing in the aisle, but eventually I extricated myself.

I feel ready to do it again tomorrow for my 10am meeting.