Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses – AMA

Taste the refreshing exhaust of the bus as you longingly await the ride of your life. The beach may be a block away, but there is nowhere I’d rather spend my time than this station. Similar in architecture to El Moro, you get so much more experience and save time if you just start waiting for your return bus rather than venturing through Old San Juan.

Thanks reviewers! It really helped! I’m at a hotel on ashford ave (Condado) and waited for a bus (in front of CVS) to old San Juan on Sunday. They do drive on Sunday but less then working days. So a nice taxi driver picked us up for $ 3 and quickly made it $ 2 a person to old san juan. Easy and fast! On the way back we saw the bus station across the cruise terminal in Old San Juan and got a bus #21 right away. Work out and accept the system it sort of works. The taxi driver told us to get to plaza Americana with bus #21 and then #22. Taxi might be easier then catching 2 busses.

June 28, 2015
Sunday bus driver problems
Bus 5304
Leaving San Juan Old Town at 10:45 a.m.
Bus driver male over 50 years old and heavy set
I only read about problems with bus drivers in San Juan Puerto Rico
My daughter and I had carryon luggage after our cruise and where waiting for the
Bus driver to come back from his break at the bus station in old town.
On Sunday 6÷28÷2015 at 10:45 we were approached by the heavy set bus driver asking us with perfect English if this is our luggage and where we are going. I responded we are going to Bakery Kasalta (an icon in Ocean Park — our president Mr. Obama visited it in 2011). The bus driver didn’t seem happy about it.
We sat down in the back of the bus so other passengers don’t have to go around our
2 small carryon bags.
There are several speed bumps around the cruise terminal and around the convention center. The driver slowed down for the bump with the front wheels but purposely accelerated for the back wheels making us JUMP on the seat every time!
At the convention center he stopped for 2 local ladies and chat for a brief while and invited them to drive for several stops «without» payment.
Prior to Bakery Kasalta I pushed the yellow STOP bar, walked up to the back entrance and pushed the red «STOP» button, but the driver did not slow down and drove past the Kasalta Bakery. I shouted please STOP and walked up to the driver and he made a face and finally as other passengers shouted he stopped much further than the Bakery.
I request that this bus driver gets a remark in his employment file if someone cares and recommend that this bus driver should be taken OFF any tourist route.

There is no rhyme or reason to this thing. I trusted the Unilocal reviewers who posted here– had my 75 cents in exact change at the ready and hopped on the 53 bus in some random parking garage in Old San Juan and got back to Condado a-​okay. No complaints on the transport but would be nice if the thing had a schedule and maps posted. I had no idea where to get off so I hopped off at the first stop where I recognized where I was in Condado.

We took the T5 bus from ocean park to old San Juan and it was perfect! Seems we got lucky because both times the bus came right away, it wasn’t overcrowded, and it was 75 cents. Just be sure to have quarters and to wave the driver down.

No there is no schedule and yes it is still only 75cents — exact change in nickels dimes or quarters. Only 3 stars because it is unpredictable. Ideal option if you don’t mind waiting. A good sign is if there are lots of people waiting! The T5 from the bus terminus across from the Sheraton Old San Juan can take you to the Puerto Rican art museum and the contemporary art museum. Also close to Santurce market. Get off at the Walgreens on Calle Loiza and walk a couple of blocks to Ocean Park beach and Pamela’s at the Número Uno guest house. Great food, plus chair and umbrella rentals and beachside service. Walk back towards Condado and catch the 21 back to Old San Juan. It will go to the convention center first and then back over the bridge to OSJ. Remember the bus stop has to have a sign that says Parada as there are some old stops that just have a bench and canopy but are «nada parada»! Buses to sagrado corazon connect to the sky train but we’ve only done that once.

If you are staying in Condado and want to get to and from Old San Juan, I highly recommend taking the bus. Sure, there’s no schedule and very scant information on the internet, but it also only costs 75 cents (exact change only!). As a comparison, the taxis are a $ 15 flat rate for the 3 miles between Condado and Old San Juan; that also doesn’t include the ridiculous $ 1 surcharge for ordering a taxi by phone. I can think of a lot of things I can do with the savings. Plus there’s a good chance you’ll be the only rider on the bus, so it’s like taking a really big cab.
Anyway, here are some instructions that will hopefully encourage you to ride the bus:
1) walk onto Avenida Ashford and look for signs that say «Parada»;
2) wait until you see a #21 or 53 bus (be strong and resist the temptation to hop into one of the many taxis that will try to pick you up);
3) wave at the bus or it will pass you by;
4) on the reverse (east) route, the bus will run down Avenida Magdalena.
Between the stagger of the #21 and 53 lines, I did not have to wait more than 20 minutes for a bus. That seems to be on par with the CTA, which does publish a schedule, but only sometimes sticks to it. By my estimation, there are about 2 buses an hour and it runs until 9 pm. Yes, riding the AMA requires patience, but as someone else mentioned, have low expectations, chill out a bit, you’re on vacation.

If AMA was twice as good, it would still be awful!
From a tourist’s perspective, there were so many things that could be improved about this public transportation system. I think a list is the best way for me to go about this review. So here goes:
1. There is nothing on the internet regarding the bus routes, schedules, or bus stop locations.
2. Routes don’t really go outside of San Juan. You need to rent a car (or taxi) if you want to explore other parts of Puerto Rico.
3. The physical bus stops don’t have any labels or signs that state the the bus routes that stop there.
4. There is a very good chance that you’d need to wait a very long time for the next bus to show up.
5. The distances between bus stops can be very far apart.
I wanted to experiment how much time would be needed to take the bus from the airport to Old San Juan. I exited the airport at 4:30pm and arrived in Old San Juan at 8pm. Just for comparison, I took a taxi for the return trip… the whole ride was only 15 minutes!
(In case you want to try it out, as of September 30, 2014, you need to take bus 40 from the airport to Isla Verde. When there, transfer to either bus 5 or 53 to take you to Old San Juan. It will cost you 75 cents for each bus, so a total of $ 1.50– exact change only!)
It was very clear that AMA was meant for locals who are familiar with the system. However, when I rode bus 53 from Isla Verde to Old San Juan (which is the entirety of the route), I was the only passenger on the bus for 95% of the ride. The other 3 passengers exited the bus within 5 minutes.
TL;DR-, I think visitors to Puerto Rico should not use AMA as their sole method of transportation. The entire system should be restructured to more efficiently use its resources and appeal to its demand.

I took the bus from Condado to Old San Juan everyday for like .75 cents. The bus has no schedule nor does it take dollar bills. No worries, I’m on vacation so I just chill. Also have low expectations, ur saving hella money.
However please talk to your hotel about bus routes and when the last one runs. Please note the only bus route I found easy to take was Condado to Old San Juan, and then back. Any others you may need to know spanish and be comfortable with adventures.

Oh NO you di’int! AMA! I KNOW you didn’t make me miss the CTA!* That is UNFORGIVABLE! O, the triflingness. Seriously. The CTA is a farm team compared to the major league triflingness of the AMA. What is it about public transit that makes the workers and managers adopt a ‘I don’t give a damn; I’m taking a break’ attitude? It’s universal!
I get that I am on island time in Puerto Rico. I get that I should relax, breathe in and enjoy the moment. I get that ‘things move a little slower.’ But, for real for real? I am pretty sure that automotive engineering works the same throughout the world: step on the pedal and go! Move it! Waiting for/​taking the AMA I:
–witnessed FOUR of the same bus number pull into the depot at the same time. The next bus pulled out 42 minutes later (30 minutes off schedule);
–experienced the bus pass up a stop with a father and little boy late at night. When the bus passed them (and my party) up, the little boy burst into tears wondering why the bus would do that [side note: I don’t recall being that angry in a long time; making little kids cry… unbelievable];
–lived through the bus drive into oncoming traffic… like, a lane… on a highway (complete with screams from inside the bus);
–scowled at bus bunching that would make Ron Huberman and Rich Rodriguez weep with pride;
–arrived late for nearly every appointment I had courtesy of public transit (no matter how early I left to beat the system); and
–became broke for having to pay $ 15-​$ 18 a pop (another review in and of itself) for taxis.
Tourism is one of your major industries, San Juan. Fix your public transit. I feel badly for those who _​have_​to rely on it to get to/​from work.
*I may have missed it, but I still hate it. 4eva.

Zap! Pow! Bam! Holy Cow, Batman!
That’s what the San Juan bus system did to my head. They took a ride that looked simple on paper and turned it into a tourist’s nightmare. Their website would claim the buses run on a schedule, but everyone I spoke with said the stops were unpredictable. After taking the bus from the Condado area to a bus stop at Sagrado Corazón, my girl friend and I waited 30 – 45 minutes for a trolley to show up only to have someone tell us that it was the wrong one. Then as we were waiting for the right bus to come along, another person said the trolley would have been ok. ¿Qué?
We finally arrived in Old San Juan 1.5 hours later. By car, it would have taken 10 minutes. ¡Ay, caramba! But it’s not over! ;P
On the way back, some tourists from Argentina and Uruguay and I were talking to a bus driver. I told him where I wanted to go, and he said I could take either of two bus routes. After 45 minutes of waiting for the new bus driver (?), we were ready to go. After traveling down the road a bit, he told us the previous driver was wrong, and we should have taken the other bus. However, he made a special stop for us half a mile from the hotel so it wasn’t that bad.
If the tourists from Argentina and Uruguay were having a hard time figuring it out as native Spanish speakers, I know it must be confusing for everyone. I’m sure the residents of San Juan have it down, but more information for tourists would be helpful. ;)