Metropolitano is a bus rapid transit system serving the city of

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, Peru. Its construction began in the year 2006.

History

The origins of the Metropolitano go back to the ''Lima Bus'' project, which was planned and proposed during the administration of former mayor Alberto Andrade Carmona. Its construction began in the year 2006 during

Luis Castañeda Lossio Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

's first period as Mayor of

. Service commenced on July 28, 2010, during the second term of former mayor Luis Castañeda. On March 18, 2019, Lima mayor Jorge Muñoz announced the expansion of the Metropolitano line, consisting of the construction of a 12-kilometer road from Naranjal station, in Independencia, to Chimpu Ocllo avenue, in Carabayllo. This system is similar to the

TransMilenio TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system that serves Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and Soacha, a neighbouring city. The system opened to the public in December 2000. As of 2024, 12 lines totalling run throughout the city. It is pa ...

of Bogota, and inspired by the previous system that existed in the city the National Urban Transport Company (In spanish'': Empresa Nacional de Transporte Urbano-ENATRU''), which was the first urban transport system in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, that also even inspired other companies such as the

Rede Integrada de Transporte Rede Integrada de Transporte (also known as RIT, ; Portuguese for ''Integrated Transportation Network'') is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Curitiba, Brazil, implemented in 1974. It was one of the first BRT systems in the world and a compo ...

(which started the era of

BRT BRT may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Bayrak Radio Television, a Turkish Cypriot broadcaster * Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (now ''VRT''), a Flemish broadcaster * Business Research and Training Center (BR&T), Ho Chi Minh Cit ...

). In September 2020, the Metropolitano begins to be controlled and administered by the Authority for Urban Transport in Lima and Callao, an institution that reports directly to MTC and from the

Peruvian government The Republic of Peru is a unitary state with a multi-party semi-presidential system. The current government was established by the 1993 Constitution of Peru. The government is composed of three branches, being executive, judicial, and legisla ...

, so is no longer administered by the Municipality of Lima

Services

Regular Service

These routes stop in all stations. "Regular A," "Regular B" , "Regular C" and "Regular D" services are included in this category.

Regular A

This bus route stops in all stations from Estación Naranjal to

Estación Central Estación Central ((), Spanish for "central station") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is named after the Estación Central railway station, which is located within the commune. Demographi ...

, going through Av. Emancipación and Jr. Lampa in Downtown Lima. Skyblue is used by this bus route as its color.

Regular B

Currently, this is the only bus route that stops in all stations from Chimpu Ocllo Terminal to

. Unlike Regular A, it goes through Av. Alfonso Ugarte and Av. España. Orange is used by this bus route as its color.

Regular C

This bus route begins in Estación Ramón Castilla and finishes in Estación Matellini going through Av. Emancipación and Jr. Lampa in Downtown Lima. Green is used by this bus route as its color. Regular D This bus route begins in Estación Naranjal to

going through Av. Alfonso Ugarte and Av. Espana. Purple is used by this bus route as its color.

Express Services

There are thirteen plus special Express services which stops only at designated stations. Express 1 This bus route begins in

to Estación Matellini. Silver is used by this bus route as its color. Express 2 This bus route begins Estación Naranjal to

Veintiocho de Julio 28 de Julio (Veintiocho de Julio, also called simply Veintiocho) is a village and municipality in Gaiman Department, Chubut Province in southern Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of ...

in the north to south direction and from Ricardo Palma station to Estación Naranjal in the south to north direction. Blue is used by this bus route as its color. Express 3 This bus route begins Estación Naranjal to

in the north to south direction and from Benavides Station to Estación Naranjal in the south to north direction. Golden is used by this bus route as its color. Express 4 (Inoperative) This bus route begins Estación Naranjal to Plaza de Flores Station. It ceased to function on April 24, 2024, due to readjustments. The following route is your replacement. Red is used by this bus route as its color. Express 5 This bus route begins Estación Naranjal to

Plaza de Flores Station. A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

Cherry is used by this bus route as its color. Express 6 This bus route begins Izaguirre Station to Benavides Station only from north to south. Black is used by this bus route as its color. Express 7 This bus route begins

Tomás Valle Station Tomás may refer to: * Tomás (given name) * Tomás (surname) Tomás is a Spanish, Portuguese, or Irish surname, equivalent of '' Thomas''. It may refer to: * Antonio Tomás (born 1985), professional Spanish footballer * Belarmino Tomás (18 ...

to Angamos Station only from north to south. Garnet is used by this bus route as its color. Express 8 This bus route begins Izaguirre Station to

Pink is used by this bus route as its color. Express 9 This bus route begins UNI Station to Benavides Station in the north to south direction and from Plaza de Flores Station to UNI Station in the south to north direction. Light blue is used by this bus route as its color. Express 10 This bus route begins from Estación Naranjal to

, going through Av. Emancipación and Jr. Lampa in Downtown Lima only from north to south. Mint Green is used by this bus route as its color. Express 11 This bus route begins from

Los Incas Station LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

. Dark purple is used by this bus route as its color. Express 12 This bus route begins from

to Benavides Station only from north to south. Brown is used by this bus route as its color. Express 13 This bus route begins from Chimpu Ocllo Terminal to

. Fuchsia is used by this bus route as its color. Super Express This bus route begins Estación Naranjal to

in the north to south direction and from Estación Comunidad Andina - Aramburú to Estación Naranjal in the south to north direction. Light green is used by this bus route as its color. Super Express North This bus route begins from Estación Naranjal to

, going through Av. Alfonso Ugarte and Av. España. Due to the high number of passengers, a new route has been added that departs from the 22 de Agosto Station to

only from north to south. Yellow is used by this bus route as its color. "Lechucero" L This bus route begins from Estación Naranjal to Estación Matellini going through Av. Alfonso Ugarte and Av. España. Grey is used by this bus route as its color.

Stops

bold indicates Express stops

Naranjal

Terminal Naranjal is located in a disputed area of the district of Independencia, is the northern end of the line for the system and its busiest station. The name of the terminal (as well as its adjacent avenue and roundabout) comes from its location, a former

sugarcane mill A sugar cane mill is a factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw sugar or plantation white sugar. Some sugar mills are situated next to a back-end refinery, that turns raw sugar into (refined) white sugar. The term is also used to refer ...

located on the site of an hacienda of the same name in lands owned by

Conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

s Francisco de Ampuero and Nicolás de Ribera since 1732.

Ramón Castilla

Ramón Castilla station is located at the intersection of

Avenida Emancipación Emancipation Avenue (), formerly known as Jirón Arequipa and Jirón Riva-Agüero, is a major avenue in the Damero de Pizarro, located in the historic centre of Lima, Peru. The street starts at its intersection with the Jirón de la Unión and ...

and Plaza Ramón Castilla.

Tacna

Tacna station is located at the intersection of Emancipación and

Tacna Tacna, officially known as San Pedro de Tacna, is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland f ...

avenues in the city's historic centre. Due to its proximity to the Sanctuary and Monastery of Las Nazarenas, its service is suspended when the annual

Lord of Miracles The Lord of Miracles (), also known as Christ of Miracles, is a Catholic title of Jesus Christ that is associated with a painting of Christ crucified venerated in Lima, Peru. The image was painted during the 17th century by Benito or Pedro D ...

festivities start in October.

Colmena

Colmena is a station is located at the intersection of Nicolás de Piérola (Colmena) avenue and

Jirón Lampa Jirón Lampa is a major street in the Damero de Pizarro, located in the historic centre of Lima, Peru. The street starts at its intersection with the Jirón de la Unión and continues until it reaches the Paseo de la República. History The ...

, next to

Democracy Square Democracy Square () is a road junction and public space in the Tres Cruces neighbourhood of Montevideo, Uruguay. The square connects Italy Avenue, Artigas Boulevard and 8 de Octubre Avenue, which are three of the most important thoroughfares ...

. The station was damaged during the protests of

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Estación Central

Estación Central (Spanish for "Central station") is the station located under the

Paseo de los Héroes Navales The Promenade of the Naval Heroes () is a public park located in the Historic Centre of Lima, historic centre of Lima. It occupies the first block of the ''Vía Expresa Luis Fernán Bedoya Reyes, Paseo de la República''. It was given its current ...

, between the Plaza Grau and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

/ Roosevelt avenues, where the system path's bifurcation begins. Construction of the station began on July 16, 2007. In 2008 the construction of the tunnels that replace the mixed pedestrian zone was carried out. As part of the construction of

Lima Metro Line 2 The Lima and Callao Metro () is a rapid transit system that serves the cities of Lima and Callao, which make up the Lima metropolitan area. The existing metro lines (1 and 2) currently link the district of Villa El Salvador in the south of Lim ...

, the construction of a station of the same name for the metro's route is scheduled to join the Metropolitano's station, making it an intermodal station, the first of its kind in the city. Construction works for the station will take place under the

Paseo Colón 9 December Avenue (), commonly known as Paseo Colón, is an avenue in the historic centre of Lima, Peru. The street is named after the statue of Christopher Columbus located in the avenue. History The place where the Paseo Colón extends today c ...

Estadio Nacional

Estadio Nacional (Spanish for "National Stadium") station located east of the

National Stadium of Peru The National Stadium of Peru (, ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Lima, Peru. Its current capacity is 50,086 seats as stated by the Peruvian Football Federation without the lodges for some thousands more. The stadium was first inaugurated on 27 Oct ...

and the

Park of the Reserve A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

, receiving its name from the former, between the districts of La Victoria and

's Santa Beatriz neighbourhood. Due to its proximity to the stadium, its schedules are often modified to fit those of the events that take place there, such as the

Peruvian Clásico The Peruvian Clásico (''El Clásico Peruano'') or the Classic of the Classics of Peruvian Football (''El Clásico de los Clásicos del Futbol Peruano'') is the name given to Peru's biggest football (soccer), football local derby, derby between ...

or a number of international football matches, as well as concerts.

Javier Prado

Javier Prado is a station located near the city's financial district, next to the

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

Interbank Interbank, formally the Banco Internacional del Perú Service Holding S.A.A. is a Peruvian provider of financial services. History In 1897, Elias Mujica opened an agency at the Jirón de la Unión in Lima's historic centre under the name o ...

in the neighbourhood of

Santa Catalina, Lima Santa Catalina is a neighbourhood in La Victoria District, Lima, Peru. Originally an Ichma settlement, it is currently an area inhabited by upper middle class families, making it the best consolidated area of the district, where it is the epicent ...

Andrés Reyes

Andrés Reyes is a station located at the intersection of

Paseo de la República Paseo may refer to: * a ''paseo'', a promenade, esplanade or public avenue. * ''Paseo'', a euphemism for a ride to summary execution during the White Terror during the Spanish Civil War Parkways and malls * The Paseo (Kansas City, Missouri), a ...

and jirón Andrés Reyes in San Isidro District. The station was built to alleviate the load taken by neighbouring Canaval y Moreyra and Javier Prado stations. Construction began in 2018, continuing well into 2019 with a cost of S/. 1 million. It was inaugurated by Jorge Muñoz Wells, then

Mayor of Lima The following is a list of mayors (''alcaldes'') of Lima since the city's foundation in 1535. Under Spanish rule, the city's '' cabildo'' was headed by an ''Alcalde ordinario''. Currently, the city's local government is under the jurisdiction ...

, on February 21, 2020.

Canaval y Moreyra

Canaval y Moreyra is a station located at the intersection of

with the avenue of the same name in

San Isidro District, Lima San Isidro is an upscale Districts of Peru, district of the Lima Province in Peru. It is located in the west center of the city, it has a few meters of coastline. Officially created on April 24, 1931, San Isidro, along with Orrantia and Country ...

. It is located in the financial centre of the city, near buildings such as those of

Petroperú Petróleos del Perú (), better known as Petroperú, is a Peruvian state-owned enterprise and private law dedicated to the transportation, refining, distribution, and commercialization of fuels and other petroleum products. It has been owned by ...

and of the Ministry of Development. The station services over 16,000 people daily.Canaval y Moreyra station will have a new access for passengers (in Spanish)
retrieved from Peru21.pe on 23 August 2011 In addition to its main access, another one exists at Andrés Reyes street.

Comunidad Andina-Aramburú

Comunidad Andina-Aramburú, formerly known as Aramburú, is a station located at the intersection of

and Andrés Aramburú Avenue, next to the

Headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

of the

Andean Community The Andean Community (, CAN) is a free trade area with the objective of creating a customs union comprising the South American countries (Andean states) of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The trade bloc was called the Andean Pact until 1 ...

. It received its current name in 2023 after a successful proposal by the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Matellini

Terminal Matellini, also known as Estación Terminal Sur, is the southern terminal of the bus system and is located in

Chorrillos District Chorrillos (Spanish language, Spanish for "trickle of water"), founded as San Pedro de los Chorrillos, is a Districts of Peru, district of Lima Province in Lima, Peru. A middle-income residential district, it is located next to the Pacific Ocean an ...

Payment

Fares are paid through an Electronic Prepaid Card which can be purchased and refilled at any station in the system. There is a flat fee of S/. 3.50 (3.50 new soles, approximately US$0.89) for regular commuters. This originally was S/. 1.50, but was raised in December 2012 to S/. 2.00, got raised again so that by February 2015 (or earlier) it became S/. 2.50. And in 2022 it got raised again to S/. 3.50. The card can be bought at a vending machine, which is available on every station, and will cost S/. 4.50. It can be charged up to S/. 100.00. The machines accept both coins and bills, but payment with bank cards (either debit or credit) is not possible. There are separate Electronic Prepaid Cards available for students, either university or normal schools. These can only be obtained through a sales office, and bear a name. These are charged a lower rate, but can be recharged at the same vending machines. Firefighters and

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

are not required to pay and do not have to possess any of these cards.

Buses

The buses are powered by

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

, purchased from Chinese manufacturers

King Long King Long United Automotive Industry Co., Ltd () or commonly known as King Long (, literally, ''Golden Dragon'') is a Chinese bus manufacturer headquartered in Xiamen, Fujian. Founded in December 1988, it is focused mainly on developing, manufa ...

and Bonluck. These

articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a slinky bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, is an articulated vehicle, typically a motor bus or trolleybus, used in public transportation. It is usually a ...

es are long and can carry up to 120 passengers. The system uses about 300 of these gray-colored buses. Smaller buses are used as feeders to each of the main stations (Naranjal, Estacion Central and Matellini). Those painted yellow can carry up to 80 passengers, while orange ones can only carry 40.

References

External links

Official Web Page of Metropolitano BRT (in Spanish)
{{Rapid transit in Peru