An OBcean Looks at Public Transit in Tijuana – ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ – Both Just South of the Border

By Robert Burns

I live part-time in Tijuana.  I have long shared the popular public dismay with M.T.S. and its often barely loaded big busses, limited ridership, and every rising fares.

In Tijuana public transit is provided by the private sector–not taxpayers– with fleets of single-level vans and large busses.  More of this is discussed below.

The Moovit app discusses public transit in Tijuana :

Get around Tijuana by public transit!
Traveling around Tijuana has never been so easy. See step by step directions as you travel to any attraction, street or major public transit station. View bus and train schedules, arrival times, service alerts and detailed routes on a map, so you know exactly how to get to anywhere in Tijuana.

When traveling to any destination around Tijuana use Moovit’s Live Directions with Get Off Notifications to know exactly where and how far to walk, how long to wait for your line, and how many stops are left. Moovit will alert you when it’s time to get off — no need to constantly re-check whether yours is the next stop.

Wondering how to use public transit in Tijuana or how to pay for public transit in Tijuana? Moovit public transit app can help you navigate your way with public transit easily, and at minimum cost. It includes public transit fees, ticket prices, and costs. Looking for a map of Tijuana public transit lines? Moovit public transit app shows all public transit maps in Tijuana with all bus routes and stops on an interactive map.

Tijuana has 1 transit type(s), including: Bus, operated by several transit agencies, including Taxis, Calafias Rojo y Crema, Azul y blanco, Blanco y Amarillo, Camiones Verde y Crema, Calafias Blancas, Transportes 24 de Febrero (Camión naranja), Altisa (Autotransportes Libres de Tijuana S.A de C.V.) and Camiones UNTIMA

The Paserjo App has this to say :

Pasajero is the premier digital platform for organizing and improving access to informal public transportation, starting with cities like Tijuana. This user-friendly, collaborative application enables passengers to easily discover nearby routes, identify vehicles by their unique colors and types, and receive timely arrival estimates. By allowing users to voluntarily register when they board, the platform continuously enhances the accuracy of its data.

Also, there are a variety of taxis noted here.  What the article calls “route taxis” is what I see away from the tourist areas and these are usually small vans.   Here is the discussion there:

Tijuana’s public transportation system relies almost completely on vans that transport people along fixed routes, like bus routes. When a tijuanense says he’s going to take a taxi, he means a route taxi. There are many different companies running these vans. You can hail a route taxi anywhere on its route and be set down anywhere on its route just by calling “Pare aquí, por favor” (stop here, please).

Prices are extremely low, but you will need exact change for the fare (usually 12-14 pesos in town or 19 pesos to Rosarito) and the taxi will not leave until it is full. You can pay off the rest of the seats in order to leave. Taxis cannot deviate from their routes, and their routes are not really published. Your best bet is the new site Ruta664 (after Tijuana’s area code) at

Settepi runs most/all busses at least in eastern Tijuana.

Taxis Amarillos las Estrella Dorada runs most/ all taxis in eastern Tijuana.

Notwithstanding the above, there is a 2022 critique from Voice of San Diego here . Yet the same publication has a 2024 update here    It notes:
bus rapid transit system for Tijuana that was supposedly launched in 2016 — but never fulfilled its promise. Known as the Sistema Integral de Transporte de Tijuana, or SITT, the route runs 23 miles with 45 stations from the U.S.-Mexico border down Avenida Revolucion, to the Rio Zone and down the Via Rapida highways that flank the Tijuana River channel.

That is a limited but large area of the huge metropolis of Tijuana.

My wife adds her comments:

“La mayoría de los conductores son terribles y aveces groseros” (Most drivers are terrible and sometimes rude), the taxis don’t run often enough, and “Es muy ultilizado casi nunca hay espacio y es peor en navidad hay grandes filas en espera” (It is very used, there is almost never space and it is worse at Christmas there are long lines waiting).

There thus appears to be a Tale of Two Cities, each Tijuana, in which there is a vibrant transportation system serving many persons yet also a lagging transportation system that would serve many other persons perhaps displaying an half-empty/half-full phenomenon.

Robert Burns is a retired lawyer and a part-time resident of Ocean Beach.