Albrook Bus Terminal, Panama City: How does it work?
(examiner.com) Many visitors of Panama will utilize the convenient and affordable national bus service that can get you to and from nearly every corner of Panama. If you are inexperienced with traveling by bus in Panama or speak little Spanish, the tips below should help you travel with ease.
If you are in Panama City, you will begin your trip in the Albrook Bus Terminal, located next to Albrook Mall and near the Marcos A. Gelabert Airport (more commonly called the Albrook Airport). Ask a taxi driver to take you to “Albrook Term-e-nall” or “Term-e-nall de auto-boos” (should cost about $2.00 from downtown Panama City) and you will be delivered to complex with brightly painted buildings and a seemingly endless number of buses and taxi cabs. The taxi will drop you off on the street with the mall to your left and the bus terminal to your right. You will cross the street towards the terminal (watch out for the Diablo Rojo buses!) and enter the building.
If you arrived on a Diablo Rojo or a bus from another city, the bus will climb to the second floor of the complex and drop you off there. You can then take the steps to the lower level to find your next bus.
When arriving by taxi, the side of the terminal where you entered is where the local city buses (Diablo Rojos) pick up passengers. If you are traveling locally within Panama City (recommended only for the experienced travelers with little baggage – take a taxi cab otherwise), follow the signs hanging from the ceiling to find the area to which you would like to travel. Then wait for the appropriate bus to pull up. Designations will be printed on the front window and sometimes on the first window behind the door. The driver or assistant also may yell out places where the bus will stop. You will pay upon exiting the bus, typically $0.25. Buses traveling to Tocumen (including the Tocumen International Airport) will cost about $1.00.
If you are traveling to a major city in Panama, you will want to walk along the windows/booths inside of the terminal and look for your designation. The cities are arranged roughly in geographic order on the east-west direction. Buses traveling to Costa Rica (two companies, including Tica Bus and Panaline, make the journey) also have windows. If you are traveling to a smaller city, you may have to take a bus to a nearby, larger town, and then transfer to a smaller bus (your travel guide or directions from your hotel should give you clear instructions).
Once you find the city to where you would like to travel, walk up to the window to order your tickets. You will ask for the number of tickets and to which city (note that some windows have more than one city listed or many times people will get off the bus before the final destination). Prices for the ticket are normally displayed on a sign near the window and the cashier will tell you the total. They will hand you a small ticket (frequently green or white in color), which you should hang onto in case you are asked to present it when you exit the bus. The cashier also will tell you a number, which indicates the door, either to the right or left of the window, through which you should exit to meet your bus. You can usually exit into any of the small lobbies and then through the outside doors to meet your bus. Note that you will have to pay a nickel ($0.05) to go through the turnstile to the outside of the building.
But wait, are you hungry or need to purchase something, like a phone card, a snack, or a variety of other products? A food court is located in one end of the bus terminal and shops line the center walkway. Restrooms are shattered along the upper and lower level and cost $0.25 to use. Also note that, if you have a lot of luggage, carts and porters are available to help. The bus may charge you extra to transport more than one or two bags per person. If you exit the building and then want to return inside, be sure to have your bus ticket with you and be prepared to pay the toll once again upon exiting.
Once outside, the buses (names printed on the front windshield) will be lined up in geographic order with the buses heading further west to your left as you face the buses. Walk along the row until you find one that is marked with your designation and look around for someone with an “Utropa” shirt, or who otherwise looks to handling baggage. They will take your bags and place them in a compartment under or behind the bus or may secure them to the roof (don’t worry – they are professionals and always tied down the bags securely. Most buses have a plastic tarp in case of rain).
The secretary (or bag handler) will typically open the door for you to board the bus. Pull it closed behind you if the air conditioning is already running (buses can get chilly, so bring a sweater if chilled easily). Now you will simply wait for the driver to arrive and for the bus to leave. Although buses have a scheduled time for departure, they will typically leave upon filling up. Even if the seat next to you is left empty, be prepared for the driver to stop along the way to pick up more passengers, typically keeping the bus full. Do not plan to set extra bags on an empty seat! Various people will come onto the bus to sell soda and potato chips or music while you wait. They often appreciate small bills or exact change if you want to purchase something.
Upon reaching your designation the secretary will help you gather your bags and exit the bus. If you would like to get off at a specific place, ask the secretary ahead of time and they will make the stop for you, although at times after dropping off the majority of passengers.
Hopefully these tips will make your bus-riding experience easy and carefree.
Julie Ray is an Examiner from Norfolk. You can see Julie's articles on Julie's Home Page.
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Original Source:http://www.examiner.com/x-12916-Norfolk-Panama-Travel-Examiner~y2009m7d13-Albrook-Bus-Terminal-Panama-City-How-does-it-work
Date Retrieved: July 14, 2009.
