KJF
I have no experience of riding the local buses in the North, but have used them often in the South, even after reading the following description, which I found to be true, most of the time.
Buses, this is where you really rub shoulders with Goa. The Motto of the private operators is "Let nobody be left standing". Ay the starting point they load the bus till it is bursting at the seams. The conductor climbs up to the windows from the outside, to make sure every inch of space is used . At this stage you wonder if there is any air left to breath, the conductor signals the driver not to start, and loads on a few more passengers. mass packaging at its most impressive
Through all this , the extreme patience and tolerance of the Goan comes to the fore. Often the buses have only one door for exit and entry, when a passenger trapped at the wrong end of the bus wants to get off, the bus waits without a murmor, while they squeeze their way out
I found this to be true most of the time, are they as packed in the north ?
But there
can be some good photo oportunities

there are a couple more either side of it
x lassi

KJF,

I'm staying at Royal Goan at Baga Creek (2nd week Nov). I am also going to be using the buses a lot more during the day. I want to cut my taxi expenditure to half so I will probably only use them for going up to Ashvem and Morjim. Still trying to figure if there is a quicker way to get to Vagator without going to Mapusa.

I think there is a bus from Arpora that goes via Anjuna then Vagator, don`t know much about it as I always have a bike for that very purpose, bike 150 per day, taxi 600 per day return Vagator = no brainer for me.

600 per day return Vagator = no brainer for me

I know what you mean.

I just don't trust myself coming back from Vagator at 7.00 after that "I'll just have another drink while the sun goes down" experience.

Mind you I don't know why i should really be complaining about taxis when between 2 it's still nothing, even when getting ripped off.

Especially when there is 86rps to the pound at present. 600 RS nearly £7 ...... 3.50 each.

Neil if you knew what the fares were when we first visited ,(and I cant imagine what they were when some of the elder statesmen on the forum first went) you would be amazed to see how much they have gone up.. And as I mentioned earlier I wouldnt mind using buses, I just dont know enough about where to get them ect, mind you it would be funny if all the tourists started using them...can you imagine the look on the taxi drivers faces ( and the locals come to think of it).. cheers Keith

Hi KJF - Like many of us Goa regulars, we were getting a bit brassed off with the hassle of taxis. We didn't want to have to bargain and argue every time we got a cab so on our last visit we started to use the bus.

We were based in Candolim and found that 4rupees would get us to Sinquerim or Calangute. Mapusa was 8 rupees away and there is an express bus that goes non-stop from Mapusa to Panjim for 8 rupees (January 08 prices). It's great when you get used to it. Don't know the routes from Baga but I'm sure there is a bus that goes from Baga to Panjim via Calangute and Candolim. I think they run every 20 minutes or so.

I never could work out where the bus stops were because often there are no signs, but you get to know where they stop. They sometimes also stop on request. I'd advise anybody to give it a go - it's best to avoid 8-9am as they get very, very crammed.

Over time, you'll save a lot of money .

I am all for boycotting expensive taxi drivers!

There are 2 bus routes from Baga, one via Calangute to Mapusa, and the other via Calangute and Candolim to Sinqueri. Both run about every 15 minutes. There is no direct bus from Baga to Panjim - you have to change in Calangute. Unfortunately they all stop running by about 8pm.

Also dont forget the Panjim-Margoa nonstop bus to take you to the south 18rps takes just 1hour From there you have the choice of some great beaches like colva benulim and a little further palolem
sharon

We also use the bus sometimes, usually to go to Panjim. They are good fun and as others have said, its a good way to get chatting with the locals. I met a nice young man who was heading off for his shift as a barman at the Ondos Do Mar and had a lovely conversation with him. Just one word of warning - don't look at the tyres

Avoid the expensive taxi - get a good guy you can trust
BUT do not go on the local bus - they are maniacs behind the wheel - I have spent many many months in Goa - even before the tourists invasion and I would not trust a bus driver as far as I could throw his bus. Taxi drivers are awful but bus drivers are even worse.

Don't look at the tyres - they might explode on the way to Mapusa = they did one time when I went there and the bus tipped up but thankfully we were ok as the left hand side had many more people than the right so the bus shifted to the other side and we only got a few knocks etc.
Not bad for 10 pence. A god laugh for that money!!!!!!

Narial
You cant beat the excitement of the bus, we have done it for the last 4 years and much prefer it to the rip off taxi's.
Mind you everyone to there own

We do use taxi's in the evening only because the buses have stopped running, even the tuk tuks are taking the michael with their prices. We just wont pay it.

We are not mean, I would much rather give the money away to the needy and there are plenty of them who need it more than the greedy taxi drivers.

We are not going this year and we have always gone beginning of Nov for a month but last year we thought its getting really OTT with the greed of taxi drivers, shack owners etc.

However I will tell you that the hotel we stayed at, Kingstork in Calangute was the best hotel we have stayed at and prices were very reasonable. It made our holiday and we were able to give much money away to the true people who needed it which gave us great satisfaction and pleasure.

We should get a petition going "Use Public Transport"

Is it just me !
Sometimes as Iv'e been hanging on, in the middle of an overpacked bus, Iv'e suddenly felt very embarrassed , and thought why am I doing this. The locals know I could afford a taxi or tuk-tuk, yet here I am taking up space that could be filled by a local who can't.

x lassi

Know what you mean lassigirl but the time we go on buses, they're often not full so nobody's losing a ride.

Taxi fares are not massive by our standards but over 4 weeks the difference between paying taxis and going on the bus really adds up. I sometimes wonder why I'm haggling about a £1 taxi ride then I think what would happen in England if taxi drivers (and umpteen other traders) doubled the price to visiting Indian tourists.

I think we'd be on the front pages of the tabloids and very swiftly in court. Not really fair, is it?

I live in a tourist resort, during folk week when we are full up with tourists, beer prices in certain pubs DO go up noticeably. We are not really much different to those in Goa.

We have a trusted taxi driver over in Goa and we think we get good value from him so we stick with him (and his brother), having said that things might have changed when we go back The bus is still a good alternative for a change and to save some money, as Roma said, the costs do mount up over 3 or 4 weeks. Given that we always come home with money, I wonder how much extra we would come back with if we only used the bus mmmm must give it a try. More money for the next holiday pot!

Narial, you had a bit of a roller coaster ride for your money then

The reason we use buses is the fact that the taxi drivers just wont leave you alone. as soon as you step out of your apartment to the time you go back you would of been asked a thousand times "taxi "
it just drives you mad so now we just ignor them and catch a bus they soon get to know and leave you alone
we do use taxis and rickshaws but when we do we go to them and them not to us we also make sure we know the cost before getting in
sharon

I have never used the bus but can understand why many do. We have had the same taxi driver for 10 years and his prices have stayed virtually the same over all those years. As we stay in the same area every year all the taxi drivers know which taxi we have so no-one pesters us and if our usual driver can't take us on any night for some reason he sends another driver and tells him that he will pay him so that they can't rip us off. We just give our usual driver the money when we see him. We know what we should be paying after all these years so won't be overcharged.

I have never used the bus but can understand why many do. We have had the same taxi driver for 10 years and his prices have stayed virtually the same over all those years. As we stay in the same area every year all the taxi drivers know which taxi we have so no-one pesters us and if our usual driver can't take us on any night for some reason he sends another driver and tells him that he will pay him so that they can't rip us off. We just give our usual driver the money when we see him. We know what we should be paying after all these years so won't be overcharged.

Yes I have had the same arrangement in the North for the last 5 years. Taxi driver usually phones me every second day to see if I want to go anywhere. I stay around Baga Creek (RGBC) and driver stays outskirts of Anjuna so he's always close by, he also uses the MD rank but never get picked up there. His prices hadn't gone up that much ... maybe 15% in 5 years. A return trip to Morjim + waiting for 5 hours - 700 RS - still doesn't seem that bad shared between 2. I mean it works out the same as using a bus back here price wise.

Will probably take buses from Baga to Candolim for a few journeys, but otherwise be using driver for trips to Morjim, Ashvem, Vagator etc.

Is it just me !
Sometimes as Iv'e been hanging on, in the middle of an overpacked bus, Iv'e suddenly felt very embarrassed , and thought why am I doing this. The locals know I could afford a taxi or tuk-tuk, yet here I am taking up space that could be filled by a local who can't.

x lassi

Perhaps if more of us caught the buses it may get rid of the Goan idea, that all tourists are rich. They don't seem to realise that most of us spend the whole year saving, just to spend a couple of weeks on a holiday, The taxi and tuk tuk drivers are getting so greedy that they dont even bother to chase after you, if you say that there fare is to high, they look at you as if to say, "well I an not moving my taxi, tuk tuk for any less than that, someone gullible enough will soon come past to take it at that price".

When I first went to Goa, I thought that there was no way you would get me on one of those buses, I would rather walk first. Now I find it such a laugh, you have no idea who or what, you will be standing or sitting next too. They are reliable it is not like our country where you spend hours waiting for a bus, then along comes 3, I have never had to wait longer than 5minutes for a bus, and they are NEVER FULL there is always room for a couple of more people, I aboslutly refuse to pay the prices that the Candolim drivers are charging, and why is it that it always costs more to get from Candolim to Calangute, Mapusa or Panjim, than what it does using a local driver from Panjim, Mapusa or Calangute, TO GET BACK TO CANDOLIM. THEY ARE TAKING US FOR MUGS. I wonder if they give bus passes over there?