Trying to figure out if buses and metros in Peru take cards or if Ill need small cash. Any recent experiences?
Spent about a month in Peru recently. Lima is starting to roll out tap to pay on some buses. I managed to use my Revolut Mastercard on a couple of city buses but it didn’t work on the metro. For the Metropolitano and metro you need a top up card and you pay with cash at machines. In Cusco and Arequipa everything was cash only. The little colectivos will not accept cards ever and you need the exact change most times. I kept 5 and 10 sol notes with me all the time.
Just came back from Peru in April. I tried using my card on the metro in Lima but no luck. You need a special card that you buy at the machine inside the station and top up with cash only. Even the big red buses like Corredor Azul or Rojo didn’t take cards. Only that one local transport card works. It’s cheap but you need coins or small cash to load it. I saw some newer buses in Miraflores had card readers but most locals still paid in cash.
I used public transport around Miraflores and San Isidro in Lima last month. Some of the newer city buses now let you tap with a Visa or Mastercard. I used my Wise Visa card and it worked on several routes. But the metro and Metropolitano still need the local card that you load with cash. The contactless tap didn’t work there. So I would say have both your bank card and some soles. Smaller buses and anything outside of Lima is still fully cash.
I was in Lima and Cusco a couple of months ago. The metro and Metropolitano buses in Lima use a prepaid card system. You have to buy a Metropolitano card at the station and top it up with cash. You can’t use your debit or credit card directly at the gate. The machines don’t take cards either so make sure you have some coins or small notes. In Cusco, everything was cash based including the little minibuses and colectivos. They don’t carry change so keep small bills handy.Trying to figure out if buses and metros in Peru take cards or if Ill need small cash. Any recent experiences?