As a philosopher once said:  First things first!..The criticism!

Transportation in the Dominican Republic is not good. It works somehow and it respects some schedules sometimes, but it is not considered good by general standards. Tourists may find it funny or romantic or interesting, but please think about those people who are obliged to use such chaotic public transportation twice or more times per day.

Why is public transportation not good?  One reason is that the vehicles used are old and dirty, and drivers ignore most rules of transit, driving like they own the road. Dominican passengers use the system because they have to do so, but they certainly do not like it.

Most drivers are members of one of two big syndicates (there are a few independents), which have a lot of political power and social impact.

There have been many attempts to try to organize public transportation, but they always fail. There is a government office (OTTT) that supervises fares, but does not seem to be able to do anything more. One of the last attempts to provide decent mass transportation to Dominicans was OMSA, a public-held bus company created in 1997 with brand new buses, fixed routes, and dedicated .traffic lanes. It is still operating, but failed to achieve its main target, which was to provide good transportation service.  In part it failed because of lack of financial support and because of the lobby of driver’s syndicates  that pretend to have a share of the OMSA.

An attempt was made in early 2006 to regulate carros públicos.  They have been divided in two groups (identified by their green or yellow painted tops) that operate on alternative days.  Most of the  cars now bear colors that indicate their route.. but not all. The next step in the government’s efforts to improve the quality of public transportation is the Metro, which started its operations on early 2009 and so far ..it is really good…now works for a 2nd line nearly finished...the only problem is that the budget seems something overloading for the actually administration in particular because they still have to absorb the financial effort for the set-up of the 1st line. Let’s wait to see what will happen!

On the actual situation, the only transportation operators who offer high quality are the largest bus companies and Expresos (despite the maniacal way the latter are driven).

Anyway, we have to make use of what we have.  Below is an attempt to explain the world of transportation in the Dominican Republic. Please remember, though, that everything here is in constant flux and that there is no rule that can’t be “adjusted.”  For example, if a driver thinks that it will be quicker to turn left instead of going straight ahead, he won’t hesitate to change his route at the spur of the moment. Another example:  If traffic is really heavy, it´s possible that the cobrador will add few pesos to the fare or that an Expreso will turn into a local in the middle of the route.

It is impossible to give you an exact picture of Dominican mass transportation because it is very dynamic and always in flux, but we can give you the information you need for a basic understanding. The rest you´ll come to understand in time by using various components of the system.

We have seen some generic, now it is time to make some order in this mess called Transporte Publico!
To try to proceed with some kind of logic I will divide transportation un INTERURBAN vs. URBAN. Really the difference is very tiny, but it helps in the effort to make some clear. Then I will explain which kind of vehicle/transportation may be available and how to ride it. If necessary some extra tips will be printed
In some moment we will also have a look to taxi, rent-a-car and internal flights, but in separate chapter. Also, at the very end I will make a resume trough a glossary of most important terms.
Fare, schedule and routes change very often (when they exist), so I will omit any consideration about. In this case I just give a suggestion: if you are not sure ask around about the fare of your ride, at least to 3 different persons and then confirm it with the driver or the cobrador before onboard. Also don’t forget to confirm anything about the route.

 

go to part 2