ansoncfit

Gran Terminal Nacional de Transporte

One of my favorite places in Panama City was the Albrook Bus Terminal. Hundreds of diablos rojos pull into the thousand-foot-long local bus platform, and the pedestrian bridge from the Terminal to the adjacent Albrook Mall was an excellent spot from which to observe the buses. Almost all of these local buses are Type C former school buses. The breakdown of chassis manufacturers is, by my estimate, 80% International, 10% Ford, and 10% other. About half of the buses have Blue Bird bodies, and about half have Thomas bodies.

At the other side of the terminal, long-distance buses, with a wider range of body types and manufacturers, arrive at upper deck and depart from the lower deck. There is a 5¢ fee to access the long-distance boarding platforms, which is payable with a newly-implemented contactless smartcard system called Rapipass.