The city of Bogotá is expansive territorially. Avenues, which go from north to south, are numbered east to west, from Carrera 1 (around where we live) to about Carrera 130. Streets, which go east-west, start downtown at Calle 1 and go to about Calle 200 in the north and past Calle 60 Sur in the south of the city (we are in the north at around Calle 57). As I mentioned before, about 7.5 million inhabitants live in the boundaries of the city and traverse these streets daily.
So what are the options for getting around?
The first option is by foot, if you don’t mind braving the inclines, highly uneven and eclectic sidewalks, and the large distances. Walking around Bogotá can actually be very pleasant, since the city is very green, has a range of different architectural styles, and during daylight is relatively safe. After dark, the feeling of security wanes in many neighborhoods, even though the crime rate has been significantly reduced over the past ten years.
Therefore, at night, and whenever you need to get somewhere fast, taking a taxi becomes the expedient option. There are vast fleets of yellow taxis plying the streets of Bogotá, outside of rush hour, will usually take you to your destination quickly and at a reasonably price. For us, most cab fares have ranged between the equivalents of three to eight dollars (6000 to 1600 Colombian pesos).
I have never taken so many taxis in my life before, and thus have never encountered such a variety of different cab experiences. First of all, when taking a taxi you have two options – flagging one down, or calling a taxi company by phone to request one. Flagging one down is usually very easy (and slightly cheaper), except for certain locations during rush hour, where it is impossible to catch a taxi because all of them are already carrying other passengers.
Calling a cab company is another story. The companies have telephone numbers that are easy to remember like 3111111, 4111111, 2222222, and the like. Whenever you call from a landline, you reach an automated system that detects your address simply from the number you are calling from. The system then tries to locate a cab nearby, and upon finding one, gives you a confirmation code, and tells you that the cab will arrive in 5 to 10 minutes. You run into problems when: the system can´t find a cab nearby and puts you on hold indefinitely, you forget the confirmation number when you finally get into a cab, when you call from a cell phone at a random location, which makes it more likely that you and the cab miss each other.
The experiences inside the cab vary from pleasant and courteous, to somewhat chaotic and almost dangerous. Road rules seem to be a lot more lax in Bogotá than any place in the United States, as drivers cut each other off frequently, travel in-between lanes or weave in and out of them at will without signaling, keep tiny distances between preceding vehicles, and frequently talk on cell phones while driving. For example, one day when we were taking a taxi back home, the driver was a bit reckless, and rapidly stopped at a red light, slightly to the left of the lane we were traveling in. Next thing we know a buseta screeches to a stop, knocking off our taxi´s left side mirror. The driver makes us get out of the cab without paying, get out himself and frantically starts knocking on the doors of the buseta and yelling. Once the light turns green the buseta speeds off, and the driver hops back into the cab to proceeds to chase after the buseta. End of story: unknown, but we were stuck on the side of a fast moving road, having to flag down a different taxi, that ended up being on slightly less sketchy.
Word of the day – buseta.
In Bogotá the bus system is for me, a whole new world. The traditional form of public transportation is the ubiquitous buseta. Busetas are smaller than regular buses, and because operated by many different private companies, carry a whole range of liveries and are a range of different makes and models. Tickets are basically non-existent – you pay the driver with cash, and the driver is actually able to deal out change while speeding though traffic. From what I can tell there are no route maps or route numbers for busetas – you can only know which one to take by glancing at a white placard on the front windshield of the buseta that lists the main destinations and streets of that particular buseta. Neither are the stops fixed – if you want you can flag down a buseta at any corner. Once inside the buseta, you are subject to random vendors boarding (without paying mind you), calling out their spiel, selling their wares, and alighting. If it is rush hour you are getting nowhere fast, but at 1300 pesos, the ride is the equivalent of 65 cents, and may get you to where you want to go eventually.
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