You don´t have to spend much time in Buenos Aires to notice how chaotic the traffic is, and as is typical in many Latin countries, the drivers can be pretty crazy. What most people don´t know, is that Argentina has the highest accident rate in the WORLD, nearly double that of the United States. If you are going to be driving in Buenos Aires, there are some important things you should know.

Lanes do not exist
Drivers weave freely in and out of traffic, and have no problem driving in the middle of a lane. When you are driving, just ignore the lanes, because that is what everyone else does. Wherever you fit is where you can go, and where you can expect to see other cars, buses, or scooters.

Buses are even worse than cars
Watch out for hyper aggressive bus drivers. They are big, and they use that to “throw their weight” around. They tend to start moving into a lane and expect you to let them.

Pedestrians will cross wherever and whenever
Jaywalking is rampant in Buenos Aires, so watch out for pedestrians crossing wherever they feel like. A large majority of pedestrians will not follow street signs at all…they cross when there are no cars coming, not when the light is green. They know that most cars will freely run them over, so will usually wait to cross until after you have driven by, but it is good to be careful.

You cannot turn right on a red light
Just a warning for you Canadians.

Bikes and scooters will weave in and out and do not often follow the traffic lights
It is important to watch out for them, because they will try to pass in between cars, and usually come up pretty quick. Be sure to check your mirrors and blind spots for them. They will usually signal that they are coming from behind with a horn, but that is not always the case.

Porteños love to run red-lights
During busy traffic, Porteños will go through lights shortly after they have turned red, and will start to go through a light before it is green. If it is night time, or even during the day in a part with little traffic, they may drive through a solid red light just so they don´t have to wait.

Uncontrolled Intersections
In most countries, if you approach an uncontrolled intersection you should yield to the person on your right. This is how it’s supposed to be in Argentina as well. However, this is not at all how it works. Sometimes the drivers will yield to those on their right; however, more commonly drivers will slow down as they approach the intersection, and will take turns going through. You never really know when to go through, you just have to go when the other car is not going.

Be aggressive
You can´t drive in Buenos Aires without being aggressive. You need to learn how to drive aggressively yet safely. You may call this assertive driving, though in my opinion, assertive driving is not enough in Buenos Aires. You have to be more aggressive than that.

Highway Driving
If you are outside of Buenos Aires driving on highways, you need to be even more careful. This is where most fatalities happen, and the reason becomes quite evident when you leave the city. The Argentines are extremely reckless drivers on highways, especially single lane highways. Don´t be surprised when you see five cars all at once passing two semis in a row, going around a corner on a single lane highway with a solid yellow line (meaning don´t pass). I am not exaggerating, because I have seen this happen. The drivers will pass when they think they can, not when they are allowed to. They are not worried about near misses, and don´t mind trying to pass, and then pulling back into their lane at the last moment when they realize they won´t make it. Once you have experienced this, it is easy to understand why they have such a high accident rate! Highway driving is definitely dangerous here, but as long as you are aware of the dangers you can prevent many accidents by being alert.

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CompuMap

CompuMap is by far your best option for learning the bus (colectivos) system to get around Buenos Aires. It is also your best option for a map. Here is a list of things you can do with CompuMap:

- finding a direction
- which colectivo to take to get somewhere
- the entire route a colectivo takes
- neighbourhoods
- references/landmarks (such as hospitals. There aren´t too many references to start out, but you can add your own).
- getting a postal code

I have put together a quick list of the hotkeys you can use to navigate around CompuMap. It is important to know these so you can take full advantage of the features available on CompuMap. You can use the mouse for most of these, but the hotkeys are much quicker. There is a help section in the CompuMap program, but it is all in Spanish.

Hotkeys
Let click – zoom in
Right click – zoom out
Arrows – move the screen
- move the screen a small amount
A Shows the street number (under the mouse pointer)
O shows all buses that go within a 700 meters (under the mouse pointer)
L neighborhood (under the mouse pointer)
C street search
D direction search
O bus search
L searching for which bus will get you from two specified points
R References – this is how you can things such as hospitals, subway stops, etc.
V Review the searches you have done
I Print
End Exit CompuMap
B Find a postal code
T Indicate all searches made in red
O Show the names of all streets

Not sure where to get CompuMap? You can find some options here: Portable CompuMap Full v4.0.9.2 It is just a small .exe program and highly recommended!

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The subway in Buenos Aires is quite limited, so it is necessary to learn how to take the city bus, which is known as the “colectivo” in Argentina.  It is an excellent way to get around the city and for a very low cost.  They go everywhere you could imagine within Gran Buenos Aires, and the most you will ever pay is $1.40.

One of the best things about the colectivos is their frequency.  Throughout the day and evening, they come by every 5-10 minutes, meaning you rarely have to wait.  They run 24 hours, but after midnight, the frequency starts to decrease.  There is never a specific schedule, meaning you just show up at the bus stop and wait for the next one to come by.

The colectivos are not always the most comfortable, and some are extremely old and noisy.  They are supposed to follow certain regulations regarding the noise output, but these regulations are not well enforced, and most buses surpass these levels.  Drivers tend to be crazy and love to drive fast, and turn corners quickly.  Be very careful when riding the bus, and make sure that if you are standing, you are holding on to something.

The colectivos are safe to take, though one should be careful when taking them through the rougher neighbourhoods.   There have been a few instances recently where the buses have been highjacked, and the pedestrians robbed.  This is rare though, and should not be worried about. The most dangerous part is waiting for the bus, if its night time, and in a shady area. Make sure you wait with someone.

Waiting for the bus
To catch the bus, find the street that it goes down, and look for a post with its number on it.  Each stop by each bus lines is marked by the number of the colectivo placed on a post.  To ensure the bus stops for you, you have to flag it down.  When you see your bus coming, make sure to stick your arm up which indicates you want to get on.  You will also notice here that the argentines line-up nicely for the buses.  Make sure to respect these lines, as people get upset if you try to don´t.

Once on the bus, you will have to tell the driver what fare you need.  You then enter your change into a machine behind the driver, and will receive a ticket once you have paid the correct amount.  You must pay with coins, although you do not need to have the exact amount.  The machine will give you change.

Note that if you are sitting down on the bus and an elderly, pregnant, or handicapped person gets on the bus, you are expected to give up your seat for them.

Cost
The routes of the colectivos are broken down into sections, but it is imposible to know and keep track of the sections.  It is easiest to just tell the driver where you are getting off, and they will tell you the amount you need to pay.  However, here is an approximate breakdown of the costs.

$1.10 – less than 6KM. When you travel withing one zone.
$1.25 – Between 6KM-9KM. When you get on in one zone, and cross to another. Staying within Capital Federal (before going into Gran Buenos Aires).
$1.40 – Between 9KM-12KM, going from La Capital into Gran Buenos Aires
$1.75 – Between 12KM-15KM, going from La Capital into Gran Buenos Aires

How to use the colectivos
There are various ways to find your way around the bus system of Buenos Aires.  Here are the two best options for you.

1. CompuMap Urbano de Buenos Aires – This is by far the best option, a real life saver!   It is a computerized map of Gran Buenos Aires, meaning it includes all of the suburbs.  You can easily find streets, addresses, but most important of all, bus routs.  You can enter two addresses, and it will show you the buses you can take, and the route that the bus takes.  The program takes a few minutes to learn, but is very basic and simple to use.   It is also much faster than any online map of Buenos Aires available.

2.  Guia T – this is a small book that comes in two sizes, with the whole book being a map of Buenos Aires.  The bigger one includes all of Gran Buenos Aires, whereas the smaller one only includes La Capital Federal.  It is just like any map book, with an index to help you find streets.  It also has all of the bus routes, so you can find your way around the city.  It lists all of the buses, and shows which streets they take.  It then uses a grid system to help you figure out what bus you need to take to get to where you want to go.

The Guia T can be a bit complicated to use, because you are always flipping pages, which makes it confusing to try to figure out where in the city you are.  Furthermore, it only tells you the streets of where the buses go, so it can be really difficult to figure out where the bus is going to go, and where you should get off. The main advantage of the Guia T is that you can bring it with you.  It can be purchased at any Kiosk in Buenos Aires.  The small one costs $4 and the larger one costs $8.

There are other websites that include maps and bus routes, but they can be very confusing and very slow.  I recommend one of the two options above.

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