You only need to swipe your card once and can get on as many different buses after that for no additional charge. It usually costs 2300 COP to board this bus, which is less than $1USD. For this reason, I noticed that public transit is very affordable here. There is a smaller bus system called the recreativo, which you pay in cash. It is a little less centralized and more informal, but gets you around town and it's regulated by the city. Many people use bikes to get around town, too, making Cali fairly bike-friendly. It is very common to walk around town as we are currently suffering traffic jams due to construction. Carpooling is also very common. Large neighborhoods have a WhatsApp group chat where people post when they’re leaving and how many spots they have. In my neighborhood, we pay the driver 2500 COP and get to school much quicker (and with more air conditioning) than the bus! Finally, taxis remain very common in Cali as well.
When I first used the main bus system it was very empowering. I’d spent the months before arriving worrying about navigating a foreign country all on my own. Relying on my second language was super important for me to get around town. I had to figure out which routes to take and how the stops work. I’ve also never been so amazed at how many people can squish into one bus. I quickly learned to avoid busy hours. Finding the carpool group chat was such a relief because sometimes the bus is very full and can take even longer. Buses can only use certain routes and usually, they are the roads with the traffic jams. That means carpools are more convenient because they can use whatever roads and shortcuts they'd like.
