Home / Micro (transport)

Public transport in Lima is handled by buses, micros, taxicabs, and the so-called mototaxis.

Micros are the most common means of public transportation in Lima and many other cities in Peru. The word micro is used in common-day Peruvian Spanish as an abbreviation for microbus (minibus). While the bigger vehicles are known as micros, the smaller ones are known as either combis or micros. These privately-owned vehicles are not only known for being very cheap and convenient but also for being rather risky.

Micros race from one street corner to another along all the major arterial city roads. Stickers saying, for example, "Todo Arequipa" or "Todo Benavides" can be seen on their windscreens, which indicates that the micro runs the whole length of Avenida Arequipa or Avenida Benavides. These microbuses dash dangerously fast, frequently crashing and speeding off before their passengers have got both feet into the vehicle. There being few bus stops, micros and combis may pick and drop passengers anywhere along their route. Tickets became compulsory in the late-80s. No transfer tickets are issued, so double fares are often used by people when a micro passing through downtown does not go to the destination needed, although with the lack of control of routes nowadays there are many routes that go just about everywhere within the city limits. The only places where micros are no longer allowed to circulate is in the crosstown streets within downtown Lima: if you need to go from the West Side to the East Side you must walk or take a taxi (see below), and micros go north-south only through either the West or East sides' main arteries, Tacna Ave. and Abancay Ave. respectively.

Pollution

There are approximately 60 000 micros in Lima. Since almost all of these vehicles are poorly maintained, they produce a great amount of pollution. Statistics show that in July 2001, the amount of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) was of 236.66 mg/m³, the maximum allowable quantity being 100 mg/m³ . 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 .

Vehicles

The most popular vehicle types used by the small micros (combis) are Toyota HiAce and Nissan Urvan microbuses, while the bigger micros are usually Toyota Coaster or Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa vehicles. A few older bus lines from the pre-combi era use large forty-odd year old buses.

Routes

Each transport company has its own routes, which usually pass through many districts. Some of the routes in the Lima and Callao Metropolitan Area are:

• Ate - Callao (Routes CR20; CR25; CR57; CR71; CR75; IM04; IM24; IM31; IM33; IM40; IO01; IO04; IO27; IO61; IO64; IO67; IO78 and IO81)
• Carabayllo - Miraflores (Routes NO03; NO15 and NO99)
• Carabayllo - Pachacamac (Route EM01)
• Chorrillos - Ventanilla (Route IO03)
• La Punta - Pachacamac (Routes IO57; IO75; OM57 and OM62)
• San Bartolo - San Miguel (Routes SO16 AND SO18)
• San Juan de Miraflores - Carabayllo (Routes NM24; NM33 and SO20)
• San Juan de Miraflores - Downtown Lima (Routes SCR08 and SCR35)
• San Juan de Miraflores - San Juan de Lurigancho (Routes EM05; EO07; EO65 and SM24)
• Santa Anita - La Molina (Route EM17)
• Santiago de Surco - Ancón (Route NO02)
• Santiago de Surco - San Isidro (Route SCR10)
• Santiago de Surco - Downtown Lima (Routes SCR25; SCR26 and SM31)
• Villa el Salvador - San Juan de Lurigancho (Routes EM37; EM43; EO17; EO25; EO65A; EO65B; SO11 and SO30)

This is not an exhaustive list and only provides a few examples of micro routes.

Combi culture

Micro and especially combi drivers are known for being irrespectful of traffic rules. They will stop at any part of the streets to pick up passengers and will race other micro drivers to be able to get more passengers. This, combined with the lack of vehicle maintenance, the low prices, salsa and reggaeton music on the radio and the overall relaxed feeling in the micros, has created the so-called "combi culture", which today is a synonym of the quasi-clandestinity in which they operate (route registration by Lima Province City Hall is generally lax, and many routes overlap). Street vendors ar "ambulantes" also tend to climb into the bigger buses to try to sell some of their merchandise, usually candy or sweets. In most cases, they will usually give a little speech or sing a song before going seat by seat trying to sell their merchandise.

Taxis

Taxis in the city are very cheap. There are no meters so you must tell the driver where you want to go and agree on a price before you get in. Since there are no meters, many taxi drivers overcharge inexperienced foreigners with high cab fares.

They vary in sizes from small four door compacts (generally Korean Daewoo Ticos) to large vans capable of transporting many pieces of luggage from the airport to your destination. They are virtually everywhere, accounting for a large part of the car stock. Often they are just any random car with a taxi sticker on the windshield. As in other major cities the way to flag them down is to wave your hand up high. Also much more expensive but more secure and professional are the Taxi Seguro's which you call up. They pick you up in their company cars. There are many different Taxi Seguro companies in Lima. Taxis will take you virtually anywhere in the city. You can tell them to take you to a certain hotel, tourist destination, or mall and they will probably know how to get there. Citizens of Lima commonly joke that they have the smartest 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 an university degree, who either rent or own the cars they drive. 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 after the Tren Urbano, however they are also considered somewhat risky since some criminals disguise as taxi drivers and steal from the confident passenger at gunpoint later on. An indication of the security of the Taxi is to check if it has the label of the Setame (it stands for Servicio de Taxi Metropolitano which is the administrative authority that regulates the taxi cabs)on the windshield. Taxis without the Setame label are considered to be informal and risky.

Mototaxis and pedicabs are used in peripheral districts such as Puente Piedra and Comas where there isn't larger traffic, although with the spread of urbanization and routes they are losing ground to regular micros.

Tren Urbano

See Lima Metro

See also

For specific countries see Taxicabs around the world.

Taxicab, short forms taxi or cab, is a type of public transport for a single passenger, or small group of passengers, typically for a non-shared ride.
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Lima

Flag
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Nickname: City of the Kings
Motto: Hoc signum vere regum est
Lima Province and Lima within Peru
Coordinates:
Country  Peru
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Anthem
Somos libres, seámoslo siempre   (Spanish)
"We are free, may we always be so"
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 Spanish, Castilian}}} 
Writing system: Latin (Spanish variant)
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: —
ISO 639-3: —

Spanish (
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minibus is a motor vehicle that is designed to carry fewer people than a full-size bus. An example of a minibus is the VW Bus/Kombi or Ford Transit, although there are many manufacturers producing models specifically for such use.
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road is an identifiable route, way or path between two or more places.^[1] Roads are typically smoothed, paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel;^[2]
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Mayor Luis Castañeda Lossio
Official website
n/a

Lima (known in Spanish as Cercado de Lima) is a district of the Lima Province in Peru. It is where the downtown zone of Lima, the country's capital city, is located.
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2007: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2006: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2005
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Nitrogen dioxide is the chemical compound NO₂. It is one of the several nitrogen oxides. This reddish-brown gas has a characteristic sharp, biting odor. NO₂ is one of the most prominent air pollutants and a poison by inhalation.
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2
(Amphoteric oxide)
Electronegativity 2.33 (scale Pauling)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 715.6 kJmol⁻¹
2nd: 1450.5 kJmol⁻¹
3rd: 3081.
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Toyota Hiace is a motor vehicle produced by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota. The first generation was launched in 1967, since when it has been available in a wide range of configurations, including minivan (MPV) and minibus, van, pick-up, taxi, ambulance and motorhome.
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Nissan Caravan is a van designed by Nissan for use as a fleet vehicle or cargo van. Outside Japan the car was sold as either Nissan Urvan or Homy. Several configurations of this van are available, including the GX (flat roof) and DX (taller roof) models, and several
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The Toyota Coaster is a minibus produced by Toyota Motor Corporation since 1977.

The Coaster sold in Australia has a seating capacity of 21 (including driver). Its engine is a 4.0L turbo diesel.
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Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa (kana:三菱ふそう・ローザ) is a minibus built by Mitsubishi Fuso.

Most models of the bus are distinguishable by a front '3 Diamond' badge, but the common "Mitsubishi" badge is usually used on the rear.
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The Lima Metropolitan Area (Spanish: Área Metropolitana de Lima, also known as Gran Lima (Greater Lima) or Lima Metropolitana), is an area formed by the conurbation of the Peruvian cities of Lima (the nation's capital) and Callao.
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Ate, also known as Ate-Vitarte, is a district of the Lima Province in Peru. Located in the eastern part of the province, it is one of the districts that comprise the city of Lima.

Geography

The district has a total land area of 77.72 km².
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Callao (Spanish: El Callao) is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region.
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The Peruvian district of Carabayllo is one of the 43 districts that make up the Province of Lima. It is located in the Cono Norte area of the province.

Boundaries

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Area
Area
Elevation 9.62 km²

Population (as of the 2005 Census)
Population
 - Total
 - Density
92,815 (2002 estimate)
9,648.1 people/km 
Mayor Manuel Masías
Official website
www.
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The Peruvian district of Carabayllo is one of the 43 districts that make up the Province of Lima. It is located in the Cono Norte area of the province.

Boundaries

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Pachacamac is an archaeological site 40 km southeast of Lima, Peru in the Valley of the Lurín River. It had at least one pyramid, cemetery and multicolored fresco of fish by the Early Intermediate period (c. 200-600 CE). Later, the Huari (c.
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Chorrillos is a district of the Lima Province in Peru and part of the city of Lima. It gets its name from the Spanish word for "trickle of water". The district was originally founded as San Pedro de los Chorrillos
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Ventanilla is a district of the Constitutional Province of Callao in Peru, and one of the six districts that comprise the port city of Callao. Covering more than half of the province's territory, it is Callao's largest district.
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La Punta is a district of the Constitutional Province of Callao in Peru, and one of the six districts that make up the port city of Callao. It is located in a peninsula in the western part of the province and is almost entirely surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, except on its
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Pachacamac is an archaeological site 40 km southeast of Lima, Peru in the Valley of the Lurín River. It had at least one pyramid, cemetery and multicolored fresco of fish by the Early Intermediate period (c. 200-600 CE). Later, the Huari (c.
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San Bartolo is the Spanish name for Saint Bartholomew. In Spanish speaking countries it is often used as a part of placenames.

It may for example refer to:

• San Bartolo, Totonicapán, in Guatemala.
• San Bartolo (Maya site) near Tikal in Guatemala.

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Area
Area
Elevation 10.72 km²

Population (as of the 2005 Census)
Population
 - Total
 - Density
132,504 (2002 estimate)
12360.
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Population (as of the 2005 Census)
Population
 - Total
 - Density
367,128
/km 
Mayor Paulo Hernán Hinostroza Guzmán
Official website
www.munisjm.gob.
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The Peruvian district of Carabayllo is one of the 43 districts that make up the Province of Lima. It is located in the Cono Norte area of the province.

Boundaries

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Population (as of the 2005 Census)
Population
 - Total
 - Density
367,128
/km 
Mayor Paulo Hernán Hinostroza Guzmán
Official website
www.munisjm.gob.
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