Transportation: Moving around in Panama

The transportation infrastructure in Panama is easy to understand and very efficient compared to other Latin American countries. The Panama Metro and Metro Bus system bring a lot of convenience when moving around the city without a vehicle, however, there are also alternatives for people who prefers a more private kind transportation.

Panama roads and transportation infrastructure have been maintained in good shape and overall, it is quite easy to move around the city and the country without problems.

Public transportation

Panama bus transport system is called Metro Bus, and it is the primary transportation for most Panamanians. During the beginning of the 2010s, the government implemented a project of renovating the transportation system by partially removing the Diablo Rojo (old school buses used for public transport) and including the new buses which are the ones that operates in the present day.

There is also a new Metro system, which in 2019 it contains 2 metro lines and 29 stations. Line number 3 and further lines are currently on development. It is a very fast and efficient way to move around certain places of Panama City, however it still has limited routes.

The cost of rides using the Metro Bus are cheap, you can travel around like a local by paying $0.25 per ride by bus, and $0.35 for the ride by the Metro. These fares are not paid in cash, you will need a Metro Bus card which can be bought on convenience stores and supermarkets such as Metro plus, Rey, Super 99 or at the Albrook Bus terminal. You can find a route map of the Metro Bus system in Panama by clicking here. The Albrook bus terminal offers bus trips to every city in the interior of the country, and the one-way tickets are sold independently in the terminal, depending on the place you may want to go, the prices can go from $2.50 to $27.50.

Taxi and Uber

It is very easy to identify taxi cars in the city, since they are yellow, and there is usually a plenty amount of them riding around the city. As explained in the previous articles, the fares are reasonable, but they do not use a meter and you can notice they can charge different fares by going to the same neighborhood more than once.

Using the Uber app is quite common now in Panama to move around efficiently, and as second alternative, Cabify app is quite popular too. The prices per ride for these apps are fair and it varies depending of where are you going and the demand, you can always compare the prices offered by both apps before confirming a trip.

Renting or buying a car

If you prefer driving, you can rent a car for very reasonable fares. Panama has many rental car agencies both in the capital and the rest of the cities. Famous companies such as Herz, Alamo, Budget and others are very well established in the country. If you plan to buy a car, the process is quite simple and for newcomers, there are plenty of car agencies and dealers’ shop that offers many brands, models and if in case of buying a second hand, good mileage too.

Visitors in Panama can drive for 90 days by using the driving license of their home country, after that period, you will need to apply for a driver’s license. It will be also important to have as minimum, a liability insurance for third parties while driving a car in the country.