When I planned my trip to South America I read good things about the bus service here, especially the overnight buses. Because of that I took an overnight bus in Chile, two in Argentina, along with quite a few day buses. I have been given a pillow, a blanket and a meal on other overnight buses so I expected that on my Cruz del Sur bus in Peru.
What I didn’t expect was;
- to be asked when I bought my ticket, if I wanted beef, chicken or a vegetarian meal,
- luggage checkin ahead of time,
- security screening and a private waiting room with bathroom for passengers,
- a stewardess along with the two drivers they have on all overnight buses,
- a sturdy dinner or work tray that attached to my seat,
- a movie screen and console on the back of each seat with quite a few movies to select from
- movies with sub-titles in English.
- a USB port to charge your device.
Almost all of the long-distance day or night buses play movies but usually they are shown on a couple of TV screens that drop from the ceiling so they can be seen by others. You don’t have a choice as to what is shown and they have always been in Spanish with no English subtitles.
Of course this was a top of the line bus. It was part of the Cruz del Sur Evolution Crucero group of buses. But I thought I was taking the best buses in other places as well and they certainly didn’t compare to this bus. One thing I have been told, and I try to do in all countries is to take the better class buses. They are often not that much more expensive and usually they provide more comfort and safety.
This bus cost $56 Canadian dollars for a 12hr trip of over 700 kilometres. I’ve paid twice as much or more for a 600k, 10hour bus ride from Kelowna to Calgary in Canada, and that bus wasn’t near as nice or as comfortable. There was also no food or drinks provided. It didn’t show a movie or provide mobile charging capabilities.
This Cru del Sur bus was also a direct bus, no stops except to change drivers, a requirement every 4hrs. The second driver is on-board so it’s a quick stop. The buses also don’t go over 90k and the speed is posted inside the bus for passengers to see. The road was also a lot more winding and a bit rougher in places making it a slower drive than our Canadian highway through the Rockies.
When I left Canada 3 months ago, there was still no bus service from Kelowna to Calgary. At one time when Greyhound provided bus service in Canada there were 3 buses a day that traveled this route. It makes me sad that our so called progressive country of Canada can’t provide better transportation options. I meet many travellers from around the world who would like to travel in Canada but getting around our country by bus or train is difficult because of such limited service. And flying is extremely expensive in Canada compared to almost anywhere else.
So I, like many others will continue to travel other parts of the world. I hope someday Canada will realize how important it is to provide more alternative modes of transportation (i.e. buses and trains), so it’s own citizens and others can visit more of our country as well. Not everyone can or wants to travel by automobile.
Although there are a few bus companies slowly starting to cover some major routes in Canada. So far it’s a pretty disconnected system with high prices. Let’s hope things improve. This is definitely an area where the government should step in and offer assistance to get a proper system in place. It would help tourism, seniors, low income individuals and new Canadians who cant afford vehicles but want to see our country.
It’s time Canada provided better transportation for all its citizens and not just those who own automobiles. Maybe a few buses like this Peruvian bus would even encourage others to ride a bus instead of drive their car everywhere.
