Quito Getting there & around

Getting around

Public transport

Trole, ecovía & metrobus

Quito has three electric bus routes – the Trole, the Ecovía and the Metrobus. Each runs north–south along one of Quito’s three main thoroughfares. Each line has designated stations and car-free lanes, making them speedy and efficient. As the fastest form of public transport, they’re also crowded and notorious for pickpockets. They run about every 10 minutes from 6am to 12:30am (more often in rush hours), and the fare is $0.25.

The Trole runs along Maldonado and Avenida 10 de Agosto. In the old town, southbound trolleys take the west route (along Guayaquil), while northbound trolleys take the east route (along Montúfar and Pichincha).

The Ecovía, runs along Avenida 6 de Diciembre between Río Coca in the north and La Marin in the south.

The newest line is the Metrobus, which runs along Avenida América, from the Universidad Central del Ecuador (northeast of Parque El Ejido) to north of the airport.

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Bus & tram

Bus

Local buses all cost $0.25; pay as you board. They are safe and convenient, but watch your bags and pockets on crowded buses. There are various bus types, each identified by color. The blue Bus Tipos are the most common and allow standing. The red ejecutivo buses don’t allow standing passengers and are therefore less crowded, but are more infrequent.

Buses have destination placards in their windows (not route numbers), and drivers will usually gladly tell you which bus to take if you flag the wrong one.

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Car & motorcycle

Car

Driving in Quito can be a hectic experience, especially in the old town. Remember, most streets are one-way. Leaving your car (or a rental car) on the street over night is asking to have it stolen. There are private garages throughout town where you can park overnight for around $10; inquire at your hotel for the nearest one.

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Local transport

Taxi

Cabs are all yellow and have red ‘taxi’ stickers in the window. Usually there are plenty available, but rush hour, Sundays and rainy days can leave you waiting 10 minutes for an empty cab.

Cabs are legally required to use their taxí-metros (meters), and most drivers do; many however charge a flat rate of $2 between the old and new towns, about $0.25 to $0.50 more than if the meter was on. Whether the extra quarter is worth haggling over is up to you. When a driver tells you the meter is broken, flag down another cab.

Late at night and on Sundays, drivers will ask for a higher fare, but it should never be more than twice the metered rate.

The minimum fare is $1. Short journeys will start at that and climb to about $4 for a longer trip.

You can also hire a cab for about $8 per hour, which is a great way to see outer city sites. If you bargain hard and don’t plan on going very far, you could hire a cab for a day for about $60.

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