Asuncion has an extensive city bus network. This can be used to travel inexpensively around the city.
Whenever I am in Asuncion I use the buses to travel from one part of the city to another.
To use the buses it is important to know how the system works and how to make sure you are on the right bus.
The public transport network is when used with a bit of common sense perfectly safe to travel on. Tales of robberies on the buses are greatly exaggerated, although as with any mass transport system they can occur.
Simple ways to avoid trouble are to keep a hold of your possessions, don’t have items like phones and wallets hanging out of pockets inviting pick pockets and avoid if possible travelling by bus after dark.
There tend to be fewer buses on the streets after dark so there is a good chance you will also have a long wait for the right one to come along.
That all said I have been travelling by bus whenever I have been in Asuncion over the last 20 years and never once experienced that sort of trouble.
So travel is safe but it is not without it’s issues.
The main of these is the simple matter of catching the right bus.
There is no unified bus network in Asuncion. Instead there are a large number of seperate companies with their own buses and sets of routes.
To learn them all is just not possible. In any case you will probably only have a few places you need to get to, which the majority of the buses won’t serve.
Even after all these years I have only needed to learn a few of the bus routes and often ensure that I am on a bus heading in the right direction using another method I will come to shortly.
The principal difficulty in ensuring you are getting on the right bus is that routes are numbered rather than named. So 15 or 30, not City Centre or Airport.
To confuse things even further that number is the number of the bus company, not the route. A company will have a number of routes which then themselves numbered. Giving 15.1, 15.2, 15.3 etc. Not in itself overly helpful, although buses run by a company do often follow fairly similar routes.
As I mentioned above there is a better way to guess where a bus is going to go. Until that is you know a couple of routes. And that is to read the collection of signs displayed in the front window.
Doing this it helps to know a little of the geography of the city. Sometimes the location needed will be displayed on one of those signs, such as the Bus Terminal. However more often it will either be the main road through the area you wish to go to, for example Azara for the Old Town, or destination that can only be reached by travelling past where you need to go, Luque for the Airport.
On further method is to use the Moovit App which although it will not tell you if a bus is nearby will list the various buses you could use to get from your location to your destination.
Buses only stop at bus stops for as long as it takes for passengers to get on and off. So a sharp eye is needed to read the numbers and names on an approaching bus and then decide whether or not to jump aboard.
A bus will only remain stationary long enough for the waiting passengers to climb aboard. It will be heading off down the road long before everyone has paid and found a seat.
So when boarding hold on tight to something. There are always railings to catch a hold of near the door.
You will then more than likely find yourself confronted by a small turnstyle. Most, though not all buses have one.
Due to this barrier catching a bus is fine with something small such as a backpack, but not practical when travelling with a large bag such as a suitcase.
Exiting a a bus with a suitcase would be equally difficult, so if you are carrying something sizeable take a taxi instead.
Once inside the bus the first thing you will notice is that it is not new. Some are older than others and rattle a little more, and all are fitted with hard plastic seats. Don’t be expecting upholstery or cushions.
Take a seat, hold on to you bags and keep a look out for your destination.
There are no announcements and no signs saying where the bus is. Watch out of the window for your destination. It is very easy to get off too early or too late. I have often done that, but fortunately enjoy a walk.
When you do exit the bus it is by the rear.
There will either be a button above to rear door or a cord running the length of the bus. Push or pull as required and the bus will stop at the next stop or road junction.
The fares on the city buses are a flat fee. Either 25p on a standard bus or 35p on an air conditioned one.
That fare is the same for a short hop of a few blocks or an hour or more out into the suburbs which the buses also serve.
No cash is taken on a city bus. All journeys are paid for with a pre paid card.
So no Spanish is needed to catch a bus. Simply hold your card against to reader to register payment.
Those cards come in two names either Jaha or Mas. Of the two Jaha is the most common.
Buses have readers from either one or the other but all the cards are interchangeable and can be used on any bus regardless of which reader it has installed.
Cards can be bought and charged with credit at many locations around the city. Anywhere that displays either the Jaha or Mas logo. Then whenever you use your card the reader in the bus will display how much credit remains on it after payment for a journey has been made.
So now with your card and a basic understanding of the geography of the city you should be able to navigate Asuncion at your leisure.
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