Medellín Bus Terminals Return to Normal: Now at 40% of Capacity

Bus terminals in Medellín return to normal. After one week of full reopening, bus terminals in Medellín are operating at 40 percent of normal capacity.

On Monday, September 7, the transport authorities reported that in their first week of reopening, the Medellín bus terminals reached 40 percent in the normalization of their commercial operation.

However, this is a “new normal” with biosafety measures in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In one week, from the North and South Bus Terminals in Medellín, a total of 18,524 buses transported a total of about 122,000 passengers to and from Medellín.

Currently, all bus routes are enabled in Colombia with a continuous operating schedule, so this is a “return to normal”.  However, frequency of buses is not normal, as it has only been one week and demand needs to build so they can offer “normal” frequency of buses.

In addition, the “Special Permits” platform of the Medellín Mayor’s Office was disabled on September 1. Passengers no longer need to request entry or exit authorizations for bus travel to or from Medellín.

Inside the Terminal Norte bus terminal in Medellín on September 8, 2020

Medellín Bus Terminal Statistics in One Week

The following table shows the statistics for bus transportation to and from the two bus terminals in Medellín from September 1 to September 6.

Bus traffic to/from Medellín from September 1 to 6, source transport authorities

The departmental bus routes that registered the greatest number of passengers the first week were Cundinamarca (Bogotá) and Quindío (Armenia).

The inter-municipal bus routers in Antioquia that had the most passenger departures in the first week were Amagá, Yarumal, San Pedro de los Milagros, Marinilla, Rionegro, Sopetrán, Santa Rosa de Osos, Don Matías and El Santuario.

Most bus companies in both bus terminals in Medellín are now operating.  On September 8, I only saw a handful of bus company windows in the North Bus Terminal that were closed.

Inside the Terminal Norte bus terminal in Medellin on September 8

Bus Service in Colombia Biosafety Rules

And the biosafety protocol for bus land transport in Colombia includes:

• Mandatory use of face masks
• Constant washing of the vehicles
• Avoiding crowds in the transport terminals
• Maintaining the distance of two meters in lines
• The constant disinfection and cleaning of contact elements such as boards, gear lever, handlebars, handrails, doors, windows, etc.

At the North Bus Terminal in Medellín there are no biosafety checks when you enter the bus terminals.

On September 8, I went to the Terminal Norte bus terminals and there was no biosafety in place when you enter the terminal. But I saw that some bus companies were checking the temperature of passengers.

Seats with marks at Terminal Norte in Medellín

Also, there are marks on seats in the bus terminals showing where people should not sit to maintain distance between passengers waiting for buses.

The Terminal Norte bus terminal in Medellín

Medellín’s Bus Terminals

Medellín has two bus terminals that make it easy to travel cheaply to many cities and pueblos in Colombia. We previously provided a guide to Medellín’s two bus terminals: Terminal Norte and Terminal Sur.

Terminal Norte – the Medellín North Bus Terminal

Terminal Norte is the busier of the two bus terminals in Medellín. In addition, this bus terminal has buses that primarily go to locations north and east of Medellín.

Terminal Norte bus companies provide service to about 120 destinations in Colombia.

Some of the more popular destinations served from Terminal Norte include:

• Abejorral
• Barranquilla
• Bogotá
• Bucaramanga
• Cartagena
• El Carmen de Viboral
• Guatapé
• Marinilla
• Medellín’s José María Córdova Airport
• Rio Claro
• Rionegro
• San Carlos
• Santa Fe de Antioquia
• San Rafael
• Sonsón

You can see a complete list of destinations from Terminal Norte on the TerminalsMedellin website.

The Terminal Sur bus terminal in Medellín

Terminal Sur – the Medellín South Bus Terminal

Terminal Sur has buses that primarily go to locations south of Medellín. And Terminal Sur is located next to the Olaya Herrera Airport.

This bus companies in Terminal Sur provide service to over 90 destinations in Colombia.

Some of the more popular destinations served from Terminal Norte include:

• Abejorral
• Armenia
• Bogotá
• Cali
• Jardín
• Manizales
• Medellín’s José María Córdova Airport
• Pereira
• Popayan
• Salento

You can see a complete list of destinations from Terminal Sur on the TerminalsMedellin website.

At the Terminal Norte bus terminal in Medellin on September 8, 2020

The Bottom Line: Medellín Bus Terminals Return to Normal – Now at 40% of Capacity

Bus service in Colombia has resumed around the country and the two Medellín bus terminals have started to return to normal. The two bus terminals in Medellín in one week are already operating at about 40 percent of normal capacity.

But this is a “new normal” with biosafety measures in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Medellín’s two bus terminals and all the bus companies providing service make it easy and relatively inexpensive to travel to many pueblos near Medellín as well as to other cities in Colombia.

Also, domestic flights have resumed in Colombia with at least 15 airports operating.

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