Locale Lima, Peru Number of lines 1 Began operation October 2010 | Transit type bus rapid transit Number of stations 38 System length 33 km (21 mi) | |
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El Metropolitano is a new Bus rapid transit system serving the city of Lima, Peru. Its construction began in the year 2006 during Luis Castañeda Lossio's period as Mayor of Lima.
Contents
Regular Service
These routes stop in all stations. "Regular A," "Regular B" and "Regular C" services are included in this category.
Regular A
This bus route stops in all stations from Estación Naranjal to Estación Central, going through Av. Emancipacion and Jr. Lampa in Downtown Lima. Skyblue is used by this bus route as its color.
Regular B
Currently, this is the only bus route that stops in all stations from Estación Naranjal to Estación Matellini. Unlike Regular A, it goes through Av. Alfonso Ugarte and Av. España. Orange is used by this bus route as its color.
Regular C
This bus route begins in Estación Ramón Castilla and finishes in Estación Matellini going through Av. Emancipación and Jr. Lampa in Downtown Lima. Green is used by this bus route as its color.
Express Service
There is an Express service which stops only at designated stations.
The system is made up of the following stations:
Chorrillos
S. Matellini
1. Rosario de Villa
2. Fernando Terán
3. Escuela Militar
Barranco
4. Estadio Unión
5. Bulevar
6. Balta
7. Plaza de Flores
(Entering Paseo de la República)
Miraflores
8. 28 de Julio
9. Benavides
Miraflores and Surquillo
10. Ricardo Palma
11. Angamos
12. Domingo Orué
San Isidro
13. Aramburú
14. Canaval y Moreyra
15. Javier Prado
La Victoria and Lince
16. Canadá
La Victoria and Downtown Lima
17. México
18. Estadio Nacional
Downtown Lima
EC. Estación Central Grau
Downtown Lima
Route A (Through Jr. Lampa)
19. Colmena
20. Jr. de la Unión
21. Tacna
25. Ramón Castilla
(Joins route A)
Route B (Through Av. España)
22. España
23. Quilca
24. Dos de Mayo
(Joins route B)
Rímac and San Martín de Porres
26. Caquetá
27. Parque del Trabajo
28. UNI
San Martín de Porres and Independencia
29. Honorio Delgado
30. El Milagro
31. Tomás Valle
Independencia
32. Los Jazmines
33. Independencia
34. Pacífico
35. Izaguirre
N. Naranjal
(Names in bold are the stations in which the Express service makes stops.)
Payment
Fares are paid through an Electronic Prepaid Card which can be purchased and refilled at any station in the system. There is a flat fee of S/. 2.50 (2.50 new soles, approximately US$0.83) for regular commuters. This originally was S/. 1.50, but it was raised in December 2012 to S/. 2.00 and then raised again so that by February, 2015 (or earlier) it was S/2.50). The card can be bought at a vending machine, which is available on every station, and will cost S/. 4.50. It can be charged up to S/. 100.00. The machines accept both coins and bills, but payment with bank cards (either debit or credit) is not possible.
There are separate Electronic Prepaid Cards available for students, either for university or for normal schools. These can only be obtained through a sales office, and are put on name. These are charged a lower rate, but can be recharged at the same vending machines. Firefighters as well as members of the police are not required to pay and do not have to possess any of these cards.
Buses
The buses are powered by natural gas, purchased from manufacturers such as King Long and Bonluck. These buses are articulated (split into two sections with an accordion-like rotating middle to allow sharp turns), between 18 and 19 meters long and can carry up to 120 passengers. The system uses around 300 of these gray-colored buses.
Smaller buses (in bright yellow and orange) are used as part of a feeder bus network available at each of the main stations (Naranjal, Estacion Central and Matellini). Those in yellow can carry up to 80 passengers while the orange ones only up to 40.