The amount of taxis in Buenos Aires is incredible. During the infamous crisis of 2001, many people lost their jobs, and ended up driving taxis to try to make ends meet. That resulted in more taxis than ever, and it is almost never a problem to flag one down, regardless of the time of day, and no matter what the weather is outside. Taxis are relatively cheap, although for anyone who´s lived here for a while, they may tell you differently – taxi prices have been rising rapidly over the last two and a half years.

Some things to keep in mind:
- to catch a taxi, stick your arm out. They will usually stop, though sometimes, they don´t feel like it, or don´t like how you look, and keep driving. If this happens, don´t worry, just flag down the next taxi.

- In the front seat, you should wear your seatbelt. Many drivers don´t care if you do or not, but it is a law, and a lot of drivers require it. In the back, it is your choice, though most of the time, the seatbelts do not work. If you DO put your seatbelt on in the back, you are immediately seen as a foreigner, because this is not common here. However, once you see how the taxis drive, you may feel better with a seatbelt on!

- Taxi drivers love to talk. Sometimes, it is impossible to get them to stop talking.

- Taxis only accept four passengers. It is sometimes possible to find one that will accept five, though this is somewhat rare. Five passengers are illegal, and on top of that, it poses a safety risk to the driver. You can sometimes pay the driver a few extra pesos to do you a favor.

- It is common for taxis to try and rip you off, even if you’re not a tourist. They even do it to locals. If you are sure they are ripping you off, and you feel it’s worth it, only pay them what you believe it should have cost. Usually, it only ends up as a few extra pesos, so it’s not worth the hassle.

- A common way for taxis to rip off passengers is by changing the frequency in which the fare increases. They fiddle with the meter so that the fare increases more rapidly. Usually, it should increase every 3 blocks or so. Keep an eye on the meter, and if it is going up way too quickly (believe me, it’s obvious) then call them on it, and pay them what you know the ride to be worth. What they are doing is highly illegal, there is not much they can do. This usually happens when they drive people home from clubs, in the early hours of the morning.

Safety in Taxis
- Many tourists arrive here and are nervous about taking taxis. They read that you have to make sure you only take “radio taxis” because the other ones might kidnap you. Nowadays, you will rarely see any other kind of taxi, so it is easy to only take a radio taxi.

- A radio taxi is a black and yellow car that says radio taxi on the side. They all look similar, and all say radio taxi, but are actually a bunch of different companies. Each car has a number with a circle around it on their door. This indicates the registration of the car. Remember this number, in case you have to make a complaint.

- When you get into the taxi, they have to make their license visible, proving that they are allowed to drive a taxi. Make sure this is visible when you enter.

- Lately, there have been a few instances where female tourists travelling alone have been raped or abused. This is very rare, but sadly, this does happen from time to time. If you are new to the city, are female, and think you have the “tourist” look, it is best to travel with at least one other person.

- on that point, try to make it sound like you know what you’re doing and where you’re going when you get into a taxi. You will be safer, and less likely to get ripped off.

Don’t like taxis? Feel like getting to know the city better? Want to save some money? Try taking the bus in Buenos Aires.

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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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