Barbados Buses ... Public Transportation in Paradise

Where Barbados buses are concerned, there are three main public transportation vehicles.

Depending on where you need to go. A common destination like Bridgetown is easy to reach by any of these three public transport modes. A ride on each is slightly different.

Taking the bus...

It is an option, a Barbados bus ride costs BBD$1.50 each way (journey). It is not always the most convenient way of getting around in Barbados. In some cases it takes two buses to reach a single destination and two buses to return to your lodging.

The other quirk is, sometimes the bus route puts you out (this is in very few instances). Say you want to travel to somewhere that is close by but not logically within walking distance (the sun is even to hot to even attempt going by foot) and there is no bus passing your way going in that direction.

You will need to go in the opposite direction taking a bus to town to get a bus passing by that destination.

The island is small so this isn’t too bad, providing where you are going has a frequent bus service. But this still takes up valuable vacation hours. And imagine how time consuming and tiring it can be trying to visit as many as the islands amazing attractions in a day. Trust me they won’t seem so amazing doing that.

If you do wish to visit any of the islands attractions by bus, however, you can find out which bus terminal and which bus will take you there.

To get a full transport board bus schedule, click here (a new window opens up), enter the attraction, then click search.

There are times when taking the bus does come in handy, so let’s look at the types of buses (or public transport vehicles) available to work with when “bussing it”.

Transport Board Bus

The Transport board service covers all areas of the island and buses operate on scheduled times.

Warning: Travelling on the “by pass” bus (by pass busses are those that travel from destination to destination without going to town.) for example the Oistins bus and Speightstown transport buses are referred to as by pass buses.

Okay, warning: Attempting to travel on the ‘by pass’ bus between the hours of 6:30am -9:00am and 4:30pm and 5:30pm, can be uncomfortable and testing. These buses (often live up to their name) by passing individuals during these times. On evenings, after 6:00pm the by pass runs on the hour.

Advice: Take the transport bus to and from Bridgetown the service is frequent and tends to be less crowded. Bus service runs from 5:00am until 12:00am.

Tip: With the transport board bus you will need to have BBD$1.50 straight, the bus’ collection box takes dollar bills but will not issue change.

Mini Buses and ZRs

The Minibus and ZR transport services can be classified as two radical, privately operated, public transportation modes. It’s really up to you to decide, shall we?

Mini Buses

(Advice for) The mini-bus ride: Hold on tight, eat light before boarding and say your prayers for patience to survive this ride. Here is why.

Which ones are the Mini buses? The yellow buses with the horizontal blue stripes- a size smaller than the transport board bus.

Riding on these mini buses is nothing short of an adrenalin rush. They have most people at the edge of their seat with the speed at which they operate… sometimes to fast for comfort.

Visitors to the island admit that they can hardly fathom even after being on one, how it seems like these buses barely stop for less then a second to let people off. It is fascinating for 'first timers'.

Another visitor has called this a ‘boogie’ ride claiming the crazy party starts when you get on and you’re back to contrast sanity when you get off. Some mini buses do play load reggae, dud and R&B music. In fact there is a “mini” bus culture all on its own.

There is more.

The mini buses unlike the transport board do not always follow a strict schedule for service, they focus on heavily traveled routes and do not cover as many areas of the island.

Despite the hype of their speedy operation, these buses travel extremely slow , prowling for commuters when there are not many patrons on board. This is extremely annoying when you are trying to get somewhere in time.

A conductor collects your money. if you have dollar bills, you will get change back.

Tip: If you must, it is a good idea to take these buses as an interim to and from Bridgetown.

ZRs

At times the ride is speedy, somewhat radical and not the most comfortable. These vans have one door and pull up seats, sitting in those seats often mean getting out letting the person sitting behind you get out and a long route of this can be a bit of tiring exercise.

At times so many people are packed in you get the notion of sardines in a tin.

There is a conductor who collects your fare so you will get change back from your dollar bills.

Tip: If you have a choice of seats getting on a ZR, try to get the front seat, the seats behind the driver or the one at the back right, that way you won’t have to get in and out, in and out if your destination is one of the last on the route.

Overall recommendation: Take a bus into Bridgetown that way you can avoid finding somewhere to park, sometimes heavy traffic, and it is the most convenient place to take the bus.

Return from Barbados Buses to Getting Around Barbados


Go to: Home page