Public transportation in Puerto Rico is fairly bad: outside the Metro Area San Juan, Guaynabo, Carolina and Bayamon, there are no scheduled buses or trains. Most travelers choose to rent their own cars, but intrepid budget travelers can also explore the shared cab público system.
By taxi
Official Tourism Company-sponsored taxis on the Island are clean, clearly identifiable and reliable. Look for the white taxis with the official logo and the "Taxi TurÃstico" on the front doors. Also you can download from android play store the new app "taxi turistico" since august 2012.
Under a recently instituted Tourism Taxi Program, set rates have been established for travel between San Juan's major tourist zones. Rates are as follows:
No Zone Piers Old San Juan to Plaza Las Americas - $14No Zone Piers Old San Juan to Plaza Carolina - $24No Zone Airport LMM to Plaza Las Americas - $18No Zone Airport LMM to Plaza Carolina - $14Zone 1 Airport LMM to hotels in Isla Verde - $10Zone 2 Airport LMM to hotels in Condado/Ocean Park/Miramar - $14Zone 3 Airport LMM to hotels and piers in Old San Juan - $19Zone 4 Piers in Old San Juan to hotels in Old San Juan area- $7Zone 5 Piers in Old San Juan to hotels in Puerta de Tierra - $7Zone 6 Piers in Old San Juan to hotels in Condado/Ocean Park/Miramar - $12Zone 7 Piers in Old San Juan to hotels in Isla Verde - $19
Additional metered rates are available which are not to/from the major tourist areas in San Juan:Types of Charges ChargesInitial Charge $1.75Charge per 1/19 of mile $0.10Charge for waiting every 25 seconds $0.10Charge per piece of luggage up to 3 $0.50Charge per piece of luggage 4 or more $1Charge per call $1Charge for rental per hour $36Night charge 10:00PM until 6:00AM $1Minimal charge per trip $3Charge for 5 passengers or more only in vans $2
Several taxi company numbers:Asociación Dueños de Taxi de Carolina787 762-6066
Asociación Dueños de Taxi de Cataño y Levittown787 795-5286
Cooperativa de Servicio Capetillo Taxi787 758-7000
Cooperativa de Taxis de Bayamón787 785-2998
Cooperativa Major Taxi Cabs787 723-2460 or 723-1300
Metro-Taxi Cab. Inc.787 725-2870
Ocean Crew Transport787 645-8294 or 724-4829
Rochdale Radio Taxi787 721-1900
Santana Taxi Service, Inc.787 562-9836
By bus
Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses, also known in English as Metropolitan Bus Authority or by its initials in Spanish, AMA, is a public bus transit system based in San Juan, Puerto Rico
The AMA provides daily bus transportation to residents of San Juan, Guaynabo, Bayamón, Trujillo Alto, Cataño, and Carolina through a network of 30 bus routes, including 2 express routes and 3 "Metrobus" routes. Its fleet consists of 277 regular buses and 54 paratransit vans for handicapped persons. Its ridership is estimated at 112,000 on work days.
The daily, weekend and holiday bus service from 4:30 AM to 10PM with the exception of a few routes that are limited to certain hours and the express routes.
There are two routes which are very reliable, M-I & M-II, commonly called Metrobus metroboos. MetroBus M1 transit between Old San Juan to Santurce downtown, Hato Rey Golden Mile banking zone and Rio Piedras downtown where a nice open walking street mall and great bargains could be found, the Paseo De Diego. The Metrobus II transit from Santurce to Bayamon city, passing Hato Rey, including Plaza Las Americas Mall and to Guaynabo City. Many interesting places could be found on the routes, like the remains of the first european settlement on the island and the oldest under USA government, the Caparra Ruins Ruinas de Caparra Museum.
As a tourist staying in the Isla Verde hotel district, be aware there is a bus line going to and from Old San Juan. It costs only 75 cents, but takes 45 minutes to an hour and the right bus comes by irregularly. The bus till only takes quarters and no bills, so plan ahead. So the trade-off is between low cost versus your time and convenience. In the rainy months, standing at the bus stop can be uncomfortable.
By Pãºblico
A público is a shared taxi service and is much cheaper than taking a taxi around the island, and depending on your travel aspirations, might be cheaper than renting a car. Públicos can be identified by their yellow license plates with the word "PUBLICO" written on top of the license plate. The "main" público station is in RÃo Piedras, a suburb of San Juan. They're also known as colectivos and pisicorres.
There are two ways of getting on a público. The easier way is to call the local público stand the day before and ask them to pick you up at an agreed time. Your hotel or guesthouse can probably arrange this, and unlike you, they probably know which of the multitude of companies is going your way. This is convenient, but it'll cost a few bucks extra and you'll be in for a wait as the car collects all the other departing passengers. The cheaper way is to just show up at the público terminal or, in smaller towns, the town square as early as you can 6-7 AM is normal and wait for others to show up; as soon as enough have collected, which may take minutes or hours, you're off. Públicos taper off in the afternoon and stop running entirely before dark.
Públicos can make frequent stops to pick up or drop off passengers and may take a while to get to their destination terminal, but you can also request to be dropped off elsewhere if it's along the way or you pay a little extra. Prices vary depending on the size of the público and the distance being traveled. As an example, a small público that can seat three or four passengers from Ponce to San Juan will cost roughly $15, while a 15 passenger público that is traveling between San Juan and Fajardo will cost about $5 each person.
By train
Tren Urbano â or Urban Train in English â is a 17.2 km 10.7 mile fully automated rapid transit that serves the metropolitan area of San Juan, which includes the municipalities of San Juan, Bayamón, and Guaynabo. Tren Urbano consists of 16 stations on a single line.
The Tren Urbano complements other forms of public transportation on the island such as the public bus system, taxis, water ferries and shuttles. The entire mass transportation system has been dubbed the âAlternativa de Transporte Integradoâ Integrated Transportation Alternative or âATIâ.
Its services are very reliable and are almost always on time.
Fares - A single trip costs $1.50 $0.75 if you transfer from an AMA bus including a 2 hour bus transfer period. If you exit the station and wish to get back on the train the full fare must be re-paid; there is no train to train transfer period. Students and Seniors 60-74 years old pay 75 cents per trip. Senior citizens older than 75 and children under 6 ride for free. Several unlimited passes are also available. As of 4/26/2010, all Tren Urbano fares were reduced by 50% in order to increase the usage of the mass transit system. Expect to pay $0.75 for a single trip.
A stored-value multi-use farecard may be used for travel on buses as well as on trains. The value on the card is automatically deducted each time it is used. It is a system similar to the Metrocard system used in New York City.