Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
By taxi, moto-taxi and micro
Taxis
can be found anywhere at any time in almost any town and offer a cheap and safe
way to get around. In Bolivia, anyone can turn their car into a taxi just by sticking a sign
in the window, and many people in cities work as part-time taxi drivers to supplement their
incomes. There are also
radio-taxis
, which are marked as such and can be called by phone;
they tend to cost a little more and, in theory at least, are a safer way to travel.
Fares
tend to be fixed in each city or town. A trip within any city centre will rarely cost
more than Bs15, though there's a tendency to overcharge foreigners, so it's best to agree a
price before you set off. Often, fares are charged per passenger rather than for the vehicle
as a whole, and it's not unusual to share a taxi with strangers heading in the same general
direction. You can also hire taxis by the day; with a little bargaining this can actually be an
inexpensive way of seeing a lot in a short time.
Moto-taxis
are motorcycles used as taxis, and are most frequently found in remote cities
and towns in the lowlands. In cities like Trinidad, they're by far the most common form of
transport. Travelling this way is cheap, fast and only slightly frightening.
Micros
are small minibuses that have almost completely replaced larger buses as the main
form of urban public transport in Bolivia. A trip in a micro costs a couple of bolivianos or
less, and they run with great frequency along fixed routes with their major destinations writ-
ten on placards on the windscreen and shouted out by the driver's assistant. With extra seats
fitted in their already small interiors, they're pretty cramped; if you need extra leg room, try
to sit in the front seat next to the driver. Large estate cars - referred to as
trufis
or
colectivos
- are sometimes used in place of micros.
By lorry
The heavy-goods
lorries
(
camiones
) are the other mainstay of Bolivian land transport, and
sometimes the only option in remote or little-visited regions. Most carry passengers to sup-
plementtheirincomefromcarryinggoods.Lorriesare,however,moreuncomfortable,slower
and generally more dangerous than buses, and stop more frequently. Still, travelling by lorry
is a quintessential Bolivian experience.; passengers usually sit in the cab alongside the driver,
or on the back.
The best place to find a lorry is around any town's market areas or at the police checkpoints
(
trancas
) at the edge of town; most also stop for passengers who flag them down at the side
of the road. This is the closest you'll get to
hitching
in Bolivia, and you will always be ex-
pected to pay something for the ride; private cars are few and far between outside towns and
rarely pick up hitchers, and in any case hitching a lift in them is risky. For shorter journeys in
remote areas, smaller pick-up trucks, known as
camionetas
, also carry passengers.
