Buying a Metro Bus Pass in Cuenca

You can buy a card at Terminal Terrestre or the bus transfer station at the Arenal (Feria Libre).  Also at the ETAPA office on the corner of Gran Colombia and Tarqui, or at the SIR office which is just off of Gran Columbia near the redondel at Las Americas

Also you can buy the card or recharge them at the hundreds of tiendas marked with a blue and red sign with “SIT” and a picture of a card.

However, I have heard that people over 65 need to add a photo to the back of the card in order to take advantage of the senior discount.   Therefore, those over 65 should go buy their cards from the Terminal Terrestre, the Arenal,  Etapa office or SIT office. They can still recharge them at a tienda in town.

I usually recharge my card at a lottery ticket store in front of the bus stop at Presidente Cordova y Padre Aguirre.

Thank you for that valuable information. If I am reading the SIT site correctly it appears that in order to get the "rate differential" for minors, seniors or "CONADIS , a rate that is applied to those with disabilities" it is necessary to apply at the Consorcio Sir Cuenca. Regular rate cards can be obtained at any of the sites you list.

I'll be going to get my card on Monday!!

I succeeded in obtaining my half-price bus card today. For anyone else wishing to get this type of card, I had an adventure reaching the Consorcio (Systema Integrado de Transporte de Cuenca if you go by taxi).

On the advice of an expat, I planned to take the #8 bus to the Banco del Pacifico stop on Gran Columbia. Upon reaching El Centro, I found streets blocked off, traffic at a virtual standstill and no #8 bus! Luckily, I passed a newsstand and saw a headline in El Tiempo that some buses had been rerouted due to street closures. Thought this would be a good time to buy a paper to learn the details. Sure enough, the #8 was one that had been rerouted. I finally reached the #8 after taking a lengthy stroll through a part of El Centro I'd never visited before. When I got off on Gran Columbia I saw that the #3 bus was right behind us...I could just have stayed on it from my house and saved a lot of hassle...but I'd have missed taking the "scenic tour".  Just another "day in the life in Cuenca"!

Anyway, when you get to Banco del Pacifico, walk across Gran Columbia to a short street. You'll pass a vegetarian cafe. Keep walking to the end, it's a little more than one block. There you will see a one story white building with a closed gate between two tall condo buildings. It may look like it is not open. Just approach the gate and a guard will appear as if by magic. Let him know you desire "la Tarjenta de Tarifa diferencial" and he will open the gate and motion you to the door. When I got there at noon, there were two clerks and no customers waiting. They asked for both my passport and cedula. Took about 6 minutes to get my card. It only costs $1.70 and you can have them load it with however much you want. They will take your photo and print it on the back side.

After coming from St Paul, MN, where I had to pay $3 each way to get to and from work, I couldn't believe how much I had come to resent paying 25 cents for a bus ride!! I sure did get spoiled fast! Now with the card, I plan to get on buses just to see where they go and not have to worry about having exact change.

Have you gone to the terminals.  la Fiebre y Ave Americus and the one in Miraflores T terminal.  End of the ride for #102 and #7 and many others.  Also ask the Bus Shirpa,  he knows all, when it comes to bus's.

afbcook,
I took the word of the website for Systema Integrado de Transporte that the reduced fee card could only be obtained at the Consorcio Sir Cuenca. Were you were able to actually get such a discounted card at one of these other locations?