My favorite Colectivos Drivers claim the right of way in the streets of Buenos Aires and pedestrians seldom wait for traffic lights to turn green, when the coast is clear they go. Jay walking tickets are unheard of. Taxis drivers fly through the streets of Buenos Aires, but the colectivos are the kings of the road. They have the size and muscle to intimidate smaller vehicles and pedestrians. I have become attached to my favorite colectivos because they take me to and from the milongas! My good friend 126 seems to appear every five minutes and has taken me to Club Gricel, Nino Bien, Lo De Celia and Sueno Porteno.
Number 24 comes less frequently and delivers me to El Beso, Maipu and Ideal. Number 29 goes across town to the open air Milonga Glorietta. Sometimes riding on the colectivos is like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, they tend to drive fast. I had the extreme pleasure of riding the 71 last week to and from Club Sunderland. Our return trip had a party ambiance, in a Mercedes colectivo pimped up with blue lights, blue curtains and a disco ball. There is a song called Milonga Del 71 named after that celebrity bus line. The price for a one way fair is around 1.20 ar pesos; make sure you have moneda because they don’t accept paper money. Wait at the bus stop marked with the colectivo number or they won’t stop, you always need to flag down the driver to let them know that you want a ride.
by Patrick McClure from Honolulu Hawaii USA
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