Since 2007, Santiago’s Public Transport is an integrated system of bus and underground train that operates in the capital of Chile.

It has a total of 358 Bus services that cross 34 districts of the metropolitan area, distributed in routes that cover great distances by main avenues of Santiago, denominated “Troncales” and others of smaller extension, known like “alimentadores” (feeders), which circulate through the interior of the main districts and allow the combination with Subway and “Troncales”.

Santiago’s Public Transport is administered by the State of Chile, through the General Coordination of Transports of Santiago (Coordinación General de Transportes de Santiago), part of the Ministry of Transports and Telecommunications, which supervises the operation of the services, distributed on twelve private operators.

On the other hand, the underground train (commonly known as “Metro”), counts on 5 lines and more than 100 stations across the city.

The only means of payment is an electronic card, the “bip! card”, provided by the Financial Administrator of Transantiago, AFT, a private organism under contract with the Ministry of Transports and Telecommunications.

The bip! card sustains the integration of the system, allowing a maximum of 3 three transfers in two hours between “Troncales”, “alimentadores” and “Metro”, by the cost of one passage. The students of elementary, secondary and post secondary education enjoy a reduced fare, with the same benefits of the normal passage.

The “bip! Card” can be bought and charged both in “Metro” stations as in some city shops. Today’s sell/charge points network surpasses 1.000 commercial establishments, distributed in all Santiago.

Up to December 2010, 80% of the buses in the system are accessible for people with reduced mobility: they have low floor, access for wheelchairs or chassis that adapt around the sidewalk. At the same time, 60% of the bus fleet fulfill the environmental norm Euro III and 40% rest have Euro III + DPF.

In order to improve the buses speed, public transport corridors were built in some of the city’s main avenues like “Pajaritos”, “Santa Rosa”, “Vicuña Mackenna”, “Grecia” and Dorsal, among others.

The Ministry of Transports and Telecommunications works at the moment in the redesign of the System of Public Transport of Santiago, to solve the problems presented since its implementation in February of 2007. One of the main landmarks will be the licitation of all the “alimentadores” services, programmed for 2011.