 Overview
There are some peculiar aspects that you should know about before attempting to use public transportation. In this section you will find the information you need in order to move around Quito and its surroundings.
But before that, here are a couple of facts that are important and work everywhere around Ecuador.
 In Quito, public transportation comprises three main lines owned by the city council: Ecovía, Trolebus and Metrovía. They all operate on a 0.25 usd fee, for as long as you stay inside the city limits. They all have different connections to the outskirts of the city.
In major cities around Ecuador, taking buses its an experience by itself. Its really rare for a bus to abide to bus stops, they mainly stop whenever there is a passenger on the street waving their hand at them. They also stop as soon as you stand up from the bus and tell the driver “Aquí, gracias!” (here, thank you). This works as long as you are in the city. Some cheap intercity lines, stop everywhere as well.
Buses all around the country have a “fare taker”, this is a guy that stands next to the driver and collects your fare. In long distance trips, or in some interparroquial buses, the teller will collect the fare on the ride based on where you got in, and where are you getting out, which they are going to ask you when they approach you. Don’t lie here, they have an incredible way of remembering who got in where.
Taxis use a meter that starts at $0.35 usd an the minimum fare is $1 USD even if the meter shows less. Always ask for the meter when you get in. Sometimes pre-arranging the fare is also acceptable, but you have a higher chance of paying extra like that. At night the minimum fare $1.50 usd, and meters are not used. Also, the arranged fares are much higher than in the morning (aprox. 50%)
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