Transportation in Lima

Lima has an extensive bus system, which connects all of Lima’s main streets and avenues. These buses are commonly known as micros or combis. Although very cheap and convenient (they stop virtually everywhere), they are often poorly mantained and the smaller buses run at excessive speeds.

Taxis vary in quality of service and price. They can be stopped at any street, or private taxi companies can be called to pick up passengers at a certain address.

Numerous inter-urban bus companies offer transportation to other cities in Peru. Quality varies depending on the price, from luxury express buses to uncomfortable and crowded micros.

Nowadays Lima’s mayor is working on a new bus system called Metropolitano where all busses will have exclusive lines; it has been told that new busses must be acquired by the companies working in the metropolitan area, this busses will be bought from a Chinese company, the same company that sells busses to Italy. The mayor’s hope is to see a new massive transport system in the next few years.

To improve the quality of taxis running in Lima, a new law has been released where its forbidden to import used cars; thanks to this law, the city of Lima ensure to always have new cars all over the city, reducing smog.

An agreement signed by Mayor Luis Castaneda and President Alejandro Toledo on February 17, 2005, provided funding for finishing the Lima Metro, an above-ground mass-transit system which will link the downtown area with the financial district, San Isidro. The project was launched in the late 1980s but left unfinished by former president Alan Garcia.

Lima’s main passenger gateway for national and international air travelers is Jorge Chavez International Airport.