Puerto Rico Metropolitan Bus Authority
The Puerto Rico Metropolitan Bus Authority — is a government-owned corporation and public transport bus service based in the San Juan metropolitan area. It is ascribed to Puerto Rico’s Department of Transportation and Public Works and the Puerto Rico Integrated Transit Authority.
Background
Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses was created as a public corporation on May 11, 1959. The operations would later be integrated into the Department of Transportation and Public Works in 1973 and the Integrated Transit Authority in 2014. It is the second oldest public transport authority in America, behind New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority.AMA is one of three major public transportation systems serving the San Juan metropolitan area, along with Tren Urbano and the Cataño Ferry. All system ridership combined is estimated at 80,000 people on work days.
Service
AMA provides bus transportation in the San Juan metropolitan area—which includes the municipalities of San Juan, Guaynabo, Bayamón, Trujillo Alto, Cataño, Toa Baja, Carolina, and Loíza—through a network of 31 fixed bus routes.Most routes work Monday through Friday from 5:00AM to 9:00PM; and Saturdays and holidays from 6:00AM to 8:00PM. Only routes E40 and T3 offer Sunday service, along with Tren Urbano and the Cataño Ferry.
All bus stops are identified with a sign with the word Parada. To help the driver, please wave as the bus approaches.
Fares
The regular service fare is $0.75 per ride. The only bus route with a different fare is Route E20 with a $2.00 cost per ride. Reduced fares are available for students, seniors, and people with disabilities.All buses require exact change in coins or the use of a magnetic fare card available at Tren Urbano stations.
Routes
ATI manages the operation of thirty-one bus routes in the San Juan metropolitan area; twenty-four operated by AMA and seven by First Transit. The design of the bus network includes four service categories to guide the customers and improve the coordination between buses, ferry, públicos, municipal buses, and Tren Urbano.Transit hubs
- Bo. Campanilla Terminal: E20, municipal buses
- Carolina Terminal: T6, T7, 44, municipal buses
- Cataño Terminal: T4, 37, municipal buses, públicos
- Hato Rey Transfer Center: TU Roosevelt, T2, T4, 1
- Iturregui Terminal: T5, T6, T41, 43, municipal buses
- Río Piedras Transfer Center: T7, T9, T41, 1, 15, 26, municipal buses, públicos
- TU Bayamón Bus Terminal: E20, T2, 37, 91, 92, municipal buses, públicos, Inter American University Bayamón trolley
- TU Centro Médico Transfer Center: 17, 19, ALSA Caguas-Covadonga & Caguas-Isla Verde
- TU Cupey Bus Terminal: T7, T9, 15, 17, 18, 31, Inter American University Metro trolley
- TU Martínez Nadal Bus Terminal: T8, 19, 27, municipal buses
- TU Piñero Bus Terminal: E40, T4, T8, T41, 26
- TU Sagrado Corazón Bus Terminal: E10, T2, T3, T9, T21, 1, 15, 22, 35, 36, 45, municipal buses, públicos, ALSA Caguas-Isla Verde, Dolphy-Universidad del Sagrado Corazón
- Viejo San Juan Terminal: E10, T3, T5, T9, T21, 53, municipal buses, públicos, ALSA Caguas-Covadonga
Active bus fleet
First Transit, which operates seven routes under contract, works with a fleet of Gillig Low Floors built in 2009, and NABI 42-BRT and 60-BRT for Metro Urbano built in 2012. The 60-BRT will be AMA's first low-floor articulated bus. This will mark only the second-time articulated buses have been used on the island; in 1984 AMA receive their first fleet of articulated buses, the MAN SG-310.
In 2015, AMA introduced the first suburban bus fleet with 33 Ford Super Duty Glaval buses.
TYPE | YEAR | LENGTH |
Orion V | 2004-2005, 2007 | 35' |
New Flyer DE35LF | 2005, 2007 | 35' |
Gillig Low Floor | 2009 | 40' |
Orion VII Next Generation | 2010 | 40 |
NABI 42-BRT | 2012 | 42' |
NABI 60-BRT | 2012 | 60' |
Ford Super Duty Glaval Suburban Bus | 2012 | 25' |
NovaBus Smart LFS | 2013-2014, 2019-2020 | 40' |
Inactive bus fleet
TYPE | YEAR | LENGTH |
Flxible Twincoach Old Look | 1946 | 35' |
GMC Old Look | 1953-1954 | 40' |
Mack Trucks Old Look | 1955 | 40' |
Mack Trucks New Look | 1960 | 40' |
GMC New Look | 1962-1963 | 35' |
GMC New Look | 1966-1968 | 35' |
Flxible New Look | 1970,1972 | 35' |
GMC New Look | 1976 | 35' |
GMC RTS II | 1980,1983 | 35' |
MAN SG-310 | 1984 | 60' |
Grumman 870 ADB | 1987 | 40' |
Flxible Metro | 1988 | 40' |
Flxible Metro | 1990 | 30' |
Flxible Metro | 1991 | 35' |
TMC Methanol Powered RTS | 1992 | 40' |
Flxible Metro | 1995 | 40' |
Nova Bus RTS | 1997-2000 | 40' |
Nova Bus LFS | 1999 | 40' |
Nova Bus RTS | 2002 | 30' |