www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Hello,

I have rented cars, taken interbus and taxis around CR. But, I have not seen a thread or a location for taking Tico Bus, the city bus system or even the train (Incofer Transfeco?) where can I go to get this information?

Say I want to go from SL to the mall in Ecaszu, where would I find which busses to take, where to catch them and how much does it cost?

I know there is a train in CR. Where can I find a schedule, the costs and where it goes.

Basically, all means of transportation on a single location on this site?

Many Thanks

(I still don't know where the "coca-cola" terminal is)

A website for local transportation information is a GREAT idea. There are some scattered sites that are pretty difficult to use. None that I am aware of have much detail.

An amigo told me a few months ago that he is developing a bus route site, complete with route maps and prices and timetables. He was looking for investors.

I haven't heard of the status of his project lately........and NO, I didn't invest.

I have used this bus schedule site for years. Every time somebody asks me about where to get the bus or what time.

http://thebusschedule.com/cr/index.php

Most of the buses, including Escazú, start down the hill from the HDR.
Just go out the hotel and turn left toward the Horseshoe and keep walking about 2 blocks down the hill.
Then ask any driver.
It's best to have change or 1000¢ bill
I think the fare is 200 or 250¢
Good way to see the city

Sorry, the website I posted is for going outside of San Jose. My ADD sometimes acts up and I don't read the whole post.

Here is Projilo's reply to a question in another forum.
1. Re: San Jose bus routes
Apr 19, 2012, 9:48 PM

As with all the "public" intercity buses in CR, the various metro bus routes are actually run by a variety of private bus companies. Unfortunately, there is no centralized website for those METRO bus routes like http://www.thebusschedule.com/cr/index.php that covers intercity buses going OUTSIDE the metro area, or at least none that I have found. The closest thing I've seen to something like that is at http://supermediacr.com/rutas/rutas.pdf with its listing of routes with verbal descriptions of the principal paradas but no actual schedules (i.e. not really all that useful). Occasionally, individual companies MIGHT have website, though the vast majority don't or if they do have barely functioning sites that typically provide little more than proudly posted pictures of their buses (when they were shiny new of course and not beat up by SJ's city streets) and rarely if ever have anything more useful like routes and times (e.g. see http://infobuscr.blogspot.com). One of the rare exceptions is actually for one of the companies that covers part of your route, the part from San Pedro to downtown (http://www.coesacr.com/rutas.aspx).

That site MIGHT be some interest to you, but I suspect that part of your commute is really not your biggest problem, as those buses run so regularly (e.g. you have the choice of hopping on one coming from Guadelupe, Curridabat, Tres Rios, etc.) that you should never have to wait for more than 5 minutes to catch one if even that and the ride to their final stop at Calle 9 and Avenida Central probably doesn't take much more than 20 minutes even at the height of rush hour (and much less at other times).

Your real problem is that the San Pedro bus stops there and there is no direct bus from San Pedro to Escazu, necessitating you to get off that first bus, then walk or, in this case, ride to where the bus for Escazu departs and then probably wait some length of time for that bus to depart (unless you're lucky enough to get there just as that bus is leaving. BTW, I believe the Escazu bus from downtown normally takes upwards of 45 minutes to get to its destination (and leave only every 15 minutes), so I doubt you're ever going to manage to shave very much time off this commute unless you forego the buses entirely and even then the commute by cab or private car will still take you considerable time, at least at rush hour.

About the best you might be able to do is, rather than taking the Sabana Cementario bus to get between the San Pedro and Escazu bus stops, even though that parada is conveniently just around the corner from the San Pedro stop and also passes quite close to where you catch the Escazu bus, is to just hop directly into a cab for that short stretch to that last bus stop and hope you avoid waiting the full 15 minutes for that bus to leave. The fare for those 13 blocks, should only set you back another buck or so over the bus-fare you would have paid and would save you the extra wait-time for the Sabana bus (not sure how often they run, every 5-15 minutes?), not to mention being a little speedier than the bus. For that matter, you could also take a cab all the way from San Pedro to the Escazu bus stop downtown. Assuming you start at the Mall, the extra 2kms that the San Pedro bus covers would only set you back an extra $2 over that fare. Of course, you could even do the whole thing by cab, but then you're looking at considerably more than and extra $2-3 in cab-fare.

BTW, the reason there are no buses that pass directly through the heart of the city, rather than just taking you to or from there, is because of traffic restrictions that try to get commuters, or in this case buses, who are not going into the heart of the city to avoid downtown to cut down on the congestion there (not sure how well that works or whether restricting buses that take the place of many cars really helps in that matter, but that's the strategy).

One last bus route that I should mention is one that could cut the number of buses you need to take down to 2. I'm not sure it would save you much time if any at all or if it might even take you longer and it is definitely LESS direct, That is the Periferica, that avoids the downtown traffic altogether and circumnavigates the city (http://www.lapericr.com). The stretch that might interest you would pick you up at its UCR-San Pedro stop then head north through Guadelupe, west along Calle Blanco, then past Barrios Tournon and Mexico where it comes fairly close to the bus stop for Escazu (total transit time to that point something just over 30 minutes). Of course, you'd still have that 45 minute ride to Escazu from there (plus possible wait time for that bus), so you'd probably only consider this alternative for greater simplicity rather than any real time savings.

Wow, thanks! It is much appreciated. One Tica told me that riding the bus was dangerous. Ticos sit next to you and pull a gun or knife and take your money or especially your cell if it is nice.