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Public transport in Lima consists ofbuses,minibuses (known asmicros),taxis, andmototaxis (tuk-tuk).Micros are the most common means of public transportation inLima and many other cities inPeru. There are also more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) ofcycle paths in the city.
The wordmicro is commonly used in Peruvian Spanish as an abbreviation formicrobús (minibus). While bigger vehicles are known asmicros, smaller vehicles are known as eithercombis ormicros. These are privately owned vehicles that are considered to be both economical and convenient, but also risky.[citation needed]
Micros drive from one street corner to another along all the major arterial city roads. Stickers saying, for example, "Todo Angamos" or "Todo Benavides", can be seen on their windscreens, which indicates that themicro runs the whole length ofAvenida Angamos orAvenida Alfredo Benavides. These microbuses travel dangerously fast, frequently crashing and speeding off before their passengers have safely entered the vehicle.[citation needed] As there are few bus stops, passengers are picked up and dropped off anywhere along their route by themicros andcombis, despite this being prohibited.[citation needed] Tickets became compulsory in the late 1980s. As no transfer tickets are issued, double fares are often used by people when amicro does not travel to their desired destination, although as the routes are not controlled, manymicros will travel to most destinations within the city limits.[citation needed] The only places wheremicros are no longer allowed to circulate is in the crosstown streets within downtown Lima, which means anyone travelling from the west to east must walk or take a taxi, withmicros travelling north to south only through either the west or east sides' main arteries,Tacna Avenue andAbancay Avenue, respectively.
The newMetropolitanobus rapid transit system and the first line of theLima Metro have attempted to modernise transport in Lima.
The Lima Metro is the electric mass transit system of the Lima Metropolitan Area in Peru. It currently consists of one line of 35 kilometres (22 mi) and 26 stations, joining the southern area of the metropolis with the centre and the north east of the city. Five additional lines are planned.[citation needed]
In 2010, the government ofAlan García resumed construction of the Lima Metro starting with Line 1. This saw the construction and implementation of 11.7 kilometres (7.3 mi), combined with a total of 22.5 kilometres (14.0 mi) ofviaduct, from theAtocongo Bridge to downtown Lima. The Lima Metro Line 1 was built by a consortium made up by two engineering and construction companies[citation needed] and began commercial operations in early 2012. There have been 19 newAlstom trains since November 2012, adding to the current fleet of fiveAnsaldoBreda trains, which is major impulse of the service. Since July 2014, the line was extended by 12.4 kilometres (7.7 mi) to run to the northern district ofSan Juan de Lurigancho.
Line 2 is an east to west underground metro line currently under construction with plans to link this line to theJorge Chavez International Airport, which will begin the first stage of the future Line 4. Line 2 was initially expected to begin partial operation in 2016,[1] and full operation for both lines in 2019. However, due to various delays,[2] Line 2 only became operational on 21 December 2023 as part of a three-month trial run and is predicted to be fully operational through all 27 stations by 2028.[3]
TheMetropolitano is abus rapid transit (BRT) system that integrates the main bus corridor, known by the Spanish acronym COSAC 1 (Corredor Segregado de Alta Capacidad, which means "segregated high capacity bus corridor" in English). This system links the principal points of theLima Metropolitan Area with 33 kilometres (21 mi) of long line fromIndependencia in the north of the city toChorrillos in the south of the city. It has 38 stations along 33 kilometres (21 mi) of busway. This system is similar to theTransMilenio ofBogotá, and inspired by theNational Urban Transport Company (in Spanish: Empresa Nacional de Transporte Urbano, ENATRU)[4] which was the first urban transport system inPeru that also inspired other companies, such as theRede Integrada de Transporte, which started the era of BRT.[5]
TheSistema Integrado de Transporte (SIT) ("Integrated Transport System" in English) is a bus system developed by the local government to reorganise the current route system. SIT aims to reduce the number of urban routes, renew the bus fleet currently operating by many private companies and to reduce (and eventually replace) mostcombis from the city.
As of July 2020, SIT currently operates 16 routes:SAN MARTIN DE PORRES –SURCO (107)ATE –SAN MIGUEL (201, 202, 204, 206 and 209),RIMAC –SURCO (301, 302, 303 and 306),San Juan de Lurigancho –MAGDALENA (404, 405, 409, 412), andDOWNTOWN LIMA –SAN MIGUEL (508)
In the 1990s, during the government of presidentAlberto Fujimori, there was an insufficient number of buses to transport people around the city, so the use of secondhand vehicles (mostlycombis) from others countries was permitted.[6]
Since the end of the 2000s, manycombis were replaced by buses between 9 metres (30 ft) and 18 metres (59 ft) in length.[citation needed]
The most popular vehicle types used by the buses in Lima areVolvo, the BrazilianCAIO,Marcopolo,Comil, and also bus brands likeMODASA, METALBUS,Yutong, KING LONG, andGOLDEN DRAGON.
Each transport company has its own routes, which usually pass through many districts. Some of the routes in theLima and Callao Metropolitan Area are:
Some older routes were defined by their old numbering until the early 1990s. The old route number is usually prominently displayed on the passenger side of the front window, as a backward reference. Many modern routes, however, do not have this number. As of 2007, old route numbers that are still well known are numbers 2 (route 9504), 8 (route 3810), 9 (route 8403), 23 (routes 8519, 8520 and 3806), 31 (route 3707), 48 (route 3612), 71 (route 4908), 91 (routes 4405 and 4703) and 94 (route 3906).[citation needed]
If one company has many routes and generally overlaps with other routes, these different routes may be differentiated by letters: 104A, 104B, 104C, and so on. For instance: 104A (this route is not available) goes from Penal section of San Juan de Lurigancho to San Miguel via downtown on the east side; 104B (route 3509) goes from Mangomarca section of SJL (the original terminus) to San Miguel via the east side; and 104C (this route is not available) goes from Mangomarca toMiraflores, via the west side.[citation needed]
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Taxis in the city are considered to be an economical mode of transport. As there are no meters, a price must be agreed with the driver prior to commencing the journey. However, many taxi drivers may overcharge inexperienced foreigners with high cab fares.[citation needed]
They vary in sizes from small four door compacts (generally KoreanDaewoo Ticos) to large vans. They are ubiquitous, accounting for a large part of the car stock. Often they can be any car with a taxi sticker on the windscreen. As in other major cities the way to flag them down is to wave your hand up high. There are many different taxi companies in Lima, one of which is Taxi Seguro, which can be contacted directly and collect passengers in company cars. The most common cars used as taxis in Lima areKia Rio,Chevrolet Sail,Toyota Yaris and someToyota andNissan station wagon models.
In recent years,vehicle for hiremobile apps have become more popular, since they usually provide a more comfortable experience than regular taxis, which are often considered not as safe.[citation needed] Some of the most used taxi apps in Lima areBeat andUber, and to a lesser extentCabify andDiDi.
The taxis will travel to a multitude of different locations. Citizens of Lima commonly joke that they have the most educated taxi drivers in the world. The joke is based on the fact that taxi-running is a major source of income for unemployed or under-employed people, including professionals with a university degrees who either rent or own the cars they drive.[citation needed] A whole economy spreads from investments in vehicle acquisition to be later rented as taxi cabs.
Taxis are the most efficient and fastest way of transportation in Lima, although they are also considered somewhat risky during rush-hour traffic as criminals have been known to disguise themselves as taxi drivers to later steal from passengers at gunpoint.[citation needed] An indication of the security of the Taxi is to check if it has the label of theSetame on the windshield, which stands forServicio de Taxi Metropolitano, the administrative authority that regulates taxi cabs.Setame taxis are in most cases painted in a distinctive yellow colour. Taxis without theSetame label are considered to be informal and risky.[citation needed] However, in recent times, theSetame label is no longer synonymous with safety, with people choosing modern IOS/ Android taxi services to solicit a safe option of transport.[citation needed]
Mototaxis andpedicabs are used in peripheral districts such asPuente Piedra andLurín where there is no heavy traffic, although with the spread of urbanization and routes, they are losing ground to regularmicros.
The average amount of time people spend commuting on public transport in Lima during the week is 95 minutes, with 35% of commuters travelling for more than 2 hours every day.[citation needed] The average amount of time people wait at a bus stop or station is 14 minutes, while 19% of commuters wait for over 20 minutes on average every day.[citation needed] The average distance people usually travel in a single journey on public transport is 8.1 kilometres (5.0 mi), while 17% travel for over 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) in a single direction.[citation needed]
In the last two decades, car sales have been growing annually. Now Lima has approximately 1.4 million cars, with industry plans to sell around of 200,000 new vehicles in the coming years. This method of commuting is one of the most common, which is a result of a growing economy and a better rate of income among the citizens of Lima.[7]
Lima is served by theJorge Chavez International Airport, located inCallao. It is the largest airport of the country with the largest amount of domestic and international air traffic. It also serves as a major hub in the Latin American air network.
Lima also has other airports inSan Bartolo and theLas Palmas Air Force Base.[8]
Few richer transportation companies use modern bodies made inBrazil orArgentina. Smaller companies use smaller vehicles such as minibuses and minivans.
Since almost all of these vehicles are poorly maintained, they produce a great amount of pollution. Statistics show that in July 2001, the amount ofnitrogen dioxide (NO2) was of 236.66 mg/m3, the maximum allowable quantity being 100 mg/m3[citation needed]. The presence of small particles of different materials (dust, lead and other metals), was also high during this month: 294.12 mg/m3, while the allowed limit is 150 mg/m3[citation needed].
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