Che Boludo! Dónde está el Colectivo?

Spotlight On: "El Colectivo" (Also known as the bus.)



“Colectivo” is the word that people use for the bus system in Buenos Aires, which I briefly mentioned in the last post. There are hundreds of colectivos in Buenos Aires, each with a different route, and they run 24 hours per day. The interesting thing about the Colectivos is that they aren’t part of a public bus system—each line is actually privately owned by separate companies, and as a result every line has its own personality: color, symbols, interior design, etc. Consequently, the roads in Buenos Aires are a rainbow of unique, brightly painted buses that each look like something out of an episode of MTV’s “Pimp My Ride.”

Is that a mercedes-benz bus named "La Favorita" decorated with banners of the argentina flag? Yes, yes it is.

Every colectivo ride is an adventure. To give you an idea of how crazy these buses are, here are some fun encounters I’ve had with the colectivos (with pictures! Click on the photos to enlarge them)

Today I was on a colectivo that had to cross the train tracks, which isn’t unusual in BA. As we approached the tracks, the lights started blinking indicating that a train was coming. I was reading some homework, not paying attention, when I heard a chorus of gasps from the passengers around me. I looked up to find that we were stopped in the middle of the tracks, with the train barreling towards us. The driver had decided to run the light, and as a result we were trapped behind the barriers ON THE TRACKS with the train only a few hundred meters away and rapidly approaching. As I prepared to jump ship, the colectivo surged forward—somehow, the driver had managed to raise the barriers in time for us to avoid being crushed. (no picture, unfortunately)

The drivers are absolutely fearless. They will charge through the streets cutting people off, running red lights, and stopping literally centimeters away from the colectivo in front of them. Sometimes they actually do smash into things, like this one accident I walked by during my first week in BA.

This bus was literally inches from the one in front of it. Also, note the blue tye-dyed steering wheel. And the advertisement for a sex shop called "Buttman" on the back of the bus ahead.

The colectivo crash I walked by during my first week in Buenos Aires. They are reckless. (photo courtesy of Allison Hoffman)

Though Buenos Aires is relatively safe for the most part, the provinces outside the city can be pretty dangerous. Weirdly, all of the streets in the provinces are named after streets in the capital city—it’s like each street in the capital has an evil twin in the provinces. The colectivo maps don’t distinguish which version of the street they go to. I was very confused to find myself in the elephant’s graveyard (a la The Lion King) last Friday night because I took a colectivo to what I thought was my Cuba Avenue.

You'd be crazy not to trust the bus route scrawled on the rusty metal sign.

Argentines have a special talent for cramming as many people as possible onto a colectivo during rush hour. I once had to share one of the steps at the front of the bus with three other people-- that is how full it was. I tried to count the people on the bus but lost track at 55.

millllllions of people on the bus (it's hard to tell but trust me)

Most of the colectivos are illuminated by blacklights at night. Have you ever wondered what a rave on a public bus would look like? note: I WILL get a picture of this! check back soon