Although there are certainly large outcrops of us expats all across Buenos Aires, it's been my experience that most of us live in Palermo. I don't but most of my friends do.My barrio is truly one of the biggest transportation hubs in South America; I can walk to a stop nearby and literally get to almost anywhere in the world... except to most places in Palermo.
Most of my friends live in what I like to refer to as "Palermo Dead-Zone" (not to be confused with "Palermo Dead" which is a realtor joke for places in Chacarita that are too far to be officially Palermo.)
It's not really a dead zone for public transportation but all of the subte, train and colectivos out of Retiro seem to always leave me 10 blocks from where I wanna go.
Today I discovered the 34. It's a cross-town bus that goes back and forth from Liniers to the Hipódromo on Avenida Libértador and back and forth all day long, mostly along Juan B. Justo and Godoy Cruz.
The 34 cuts across all the major transport arteries that spread out from the center of the city toward Palermo ...but get a little too spread out once they get there (click the graphic to enlarge.)
It effectively links the Linea B Subte that runs out Corrientes, looks to be about 3 blocks from the Chacarita commuter rail station, stops at Córdoba where outbound buses even have their own lanes, then sails through about 14 blocks of Palermo where brave bondis dare not tread.
After that, it continues past the Palermo Rail Station and Subway Station on Avenida Santa Fe where countless other bondis head back into the city center.
As if that weren't enough, it even swings down to tag Avenida Libértador and head right back up again on a combination of Calle Oro and Uriarte streets.
This bus is gonna cut miles of hoofing off my visits to so many friends ...not to mention bars and restaurants that I like but don't get to very often.
Anybody got any experience with this particular bondi? Anybody know of some others that can save some shoe leather in Palermo?
Lemme know. And while you're at it, feel free to share some of your mass transportation habits in Capital with me and everybody else.
4 comments:
Hey Mike,
The 34 is definitely a great bus....not only does it cross all of the arteries, it also comes by very frequently...about every 5 minutes.
Other useful buses to go to "that" area of Palermo (dead-zone, as you refer to it), are the 55 and 36, which you catch at Thames and Guemes. THe 55 is very frequent as well, both go in the direction of the 34, crossing cordoba and then corrientes. A little further over, heading up Scalibrini, the #15 is also a good option.
The 39 has a #3 which goes up Santa Fe, but later turns onto Honduyras, and will take you right through Plaza Serrano.
I recommend using CompuMap It is a very fast program, and shows you where all buses go, on a map. YOu can pick two locations, and it will tell you the buses that go there. It also does a number of other useful things. To me, this program has been my savior...I never even bother with a Guia T, or Xcolectivo.
O, and regarding transportation, something I found out recently...if you live in Palermo, near Juan de Justo and Santa Fe, or Carranza and Santa Fe, take the train to Retiro, instead of buses or subways. Its cheaper, but more important, faster, and much more comfortable. From the station, it only takes about 10 min to get to Retiro....and there are no crowds!
- Matt
Truly super stuff, Matt.
Thanks!
I'm gonna try compuMap right away.
The 34 is my second favourite bus, after the 39 (ramal 3). The 39 wins it because of its retro livery and friendly drivers who wait for you if they see you running. But the 34 is a joy for the speed with which it gets you to Liniers. When I lived in Palermo I'd get to Ezeiza in under 3 hours. Imagine! Other buses that leave you the other end of Palermo are 151, 168 and 106. But the 106 is the devil's work, avoid it at all costs.
Treemendous.
Do either of you guys know how late the 34 runs on weeknights?
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