Getting around Santiago: city bus, taxis and parking

Santiago is a city built for walking. The old town is compact, cobbled and largely pedestrian, organised around the cathedral's four squares. From the Estación Intermodal to the cathedral is about a 15-minute walk — the real distances are on the map of central Santiago — and between the train and bus stations, adjoining under the same roof, barely a couple of minutes over the footbridge that connects them. That said, to get in from the airport, reach the outer neighbourhoods, or haul luggage around, it helps to know how the city's transport works.

City bus (Tussa)

Tussa is the municipal bus company, running around 23-24 lines that cover the whole city. That changes this winter: in September 2026 the council signed the contract with a new operator, which has at most three months to take over, and the new network is reorganised into 16 lines (ten point-to-point and six circular) plus three rural feeder lines, with different numbering. If you're travelling from December onwards, check your line number on the council's website before trusting what you read here. A single ticket paid to the driver costs €1. If you're staying several days, it's worth getting the rechargeable card (a refundable €3 deposit, topped up in 10, 20 or 30 journeys): with the reduction in force since 1 January 2026 the fare is €0.36 and the monthly pass €15.60. Children aged 4-14 ride free — the card is picked up from 1 July at the Tussa office in the bus station or at Tralusa, on the Amio showground, weekdays 9:00-14:00 (Tussa does not give the year in that note) — 15-to-17-year-olds pay €0.20 a journey, and pensioners continue to ride free. Under-4s travel free with a fare-paying adult.

Worth knowing if you are planning for the Holy Year: that reduction is not permanent, and it is not paid for by one administration alone. The Ministry of Transport subsidy covers 100% of the child fare, 50% of the youth fare and 20% of the ordinary and monthly ones; on top of that 20%, Santiago city council adds another 20% of its own, which is why the discount on those two reaches 40%. Tussa's website limits it to 2026. From 1 January 2027, unless something else is announced, expect the card fare and the monthly pass to go up, and expect the municipal half to be able to lapse even if the national part is extended.

The figures above are the reduction in force in 2026, taken from Tussa's fare table; if the exact amount matters to you, confirm it at a Tussa office or when you top up.

One restriction that catches people out: dogs are only accepted on the city bus inside a carrier, so a big dog on a lead has to go by taxi. Guide and assistance dogs are exempt and travel normally.

Lines 6A and 12, the ones you will actually use

Two lines are particularly useful for visitors: the 6A, which connects the airport with the Estación Intermodal and the centre, and line 12, which serves the hospitals (handy if you're staying near CHUS or have a medical appointment). The 6A's frequency and service hours, which is what anyone arriving by plane usually wants, are in our airport guide; the rest of the lines only publish theirs through Tussa, and they change in summer and on public holidays, so we do not copy them here and risk handing you an out-of-date table.

Taxi

The fares in force are the 2025 ones, published by the Asociación Compostelana de Auto-taxi as the maximums the Xunta authorises for the municipality. The first thing to know is not a price but a concept: there is no flag-down charge followed by the kilometres here. There is a minimum fare that already covers the first 1,700 metres or five minutes of waiting. In town that is €4.30 by day, €5.00 at night (11pm to 7am) and €4.75 on public holidays and Saturday afternoons; beyond that, the kilometre runs at €1.20 by day, €1.44 at night and €1.30 on holidays. Add €0.60 per suitcase or bag, and €3.20 if you book by phone instead of taking one at a rank. On intercity runs the minimum drops to €3.60 and €4.32, with the night rate starting at 10pm. From the airport to the centre there is a flat €23 for the first 15 km, around the clock, so there is no room for a surprise there. These are maximums rather than list prices: treat them as a guide, like everything else here, but nobody may charge you above them. Convenient taxi ranks sit at Praza de Galicia, next to the train station, and on Rúa de San Francisco, a step from Praza do Obradoiro. To book by phone, Radio Taxi Compostela runs a 24-hour service on 981 56 92 92, and that same number books the wheelchair-accessible Eurotaxi, which has to be arranged in advance rather than flagged down.

Parking

The blue zone (ORA) runs Monday to Friday 10:00-14:00 and 16:30-20:30, and Saturday mornings; it's free on Sundays and public holidays. Rates run around €1.05/hour, with one- to two-hour limits depending on the zone. For longer stays, the most convenient car park is Xoán XXIII, just 150 metres from the cathedral, with a daily maximum around €11 and special tourist rates for 7- or 15-day stays. San Caetano and Belvís are also options, a little further from the centre but similarly priced.

By bike

Worth being honest here: cycling infrastructure is still thin, just a few kilometres of bike lane with barely any connection between stretches, and there's no municipal bike-share system open to the public (only one restricted to the university community). A recent bylaw allows bikes and scooters in the old town up to 10 km/h, but in practice a bike works better as neighbourhood transport than as a way to get around the centre.