Highways and main avenues
The highest concentration of road networks in the country is found in the Caracas region and its surroundings, with a large network of highways and avenues in the Metropolitan District and urban, suburban and interurban roads, the road network has become a great crossroads between the West, the East and the Center of the country. Not very advantageous role for a city saturated with population and vehicles of all kinds, both from the city itself and from its immediate area of influence (Vargas, El Tuy, Guarenas-Guatire, Altos Mirandinos) and from other areas of the country. See Countryvv for labor market in Venezuela.
Currently, a road link is being built that will connect the Central Regional Highway (at km 31) with the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Highway (Kempis sector), in order to serve as a spillway to the city of Caracas and neighboring Guarenas and Guatire, so that vehicles that go from east to west or center, and vice versa, do not have the need to enter Caracas. The route of this highway would be from the vicinity of the Charallave airport, passing through Santa Lucía and going up to the Kempis area (between Guatire and Caucagua).
Metro and Rail Systems
The city has an underground transportation system, the Caracas Metro, which covers the central area of the city and extends to the city of Los Teques (capital of the Miranda State) connecting it with the Los Teques Metro System ; both operated by the company C. A. Metro de Caracas (Cametro). The system has four lines and expansions are being built towards the towns of Guarenas and Guatire.
In addition to the metro, there is the station built by the Instituto de Ferrocarriles del Estado (IFE). This is the train system between Caracas and the Tuy Medio area, which connects the city with the towns of the Valles del Tuy (Charallave, Santa Lucía, Ocumare, Santa Teresa, Yare and Cúa). Its starting point is the station. train station from Caracas.
Ports and airports
Caracas has the main airport in Venezuela, about 20km by road, in the town of Maiquetía, Raul Leoni parish in Vargas State, the Maiquetía Simón Bolívar International Airport. Apart from this there are three minor airfields. One of them, the Generalissimo and Almirante Francisco de Miranda Air Base, known as La Carlota Airport, is for private and military flights; and it is in the closing period. The space is expected to become a park or a sports center. Two other private airports are the Ocumare del Tuy Metropolitan Airport and the Caracas Oscar Machado Zuloaga de Charallave Airport.
In the city of La Guaira, like the Maiquetía airport, about 20km away is the homonymous port, the main one in the country due to its size and capacity.
Public land transport
The Caracas Metro is complemented by a surface transportation network: The Metrobús system that connects other areas of the city with the subway stations, but unfortunately it does not cover the entire city and some criticize its slowness. For this reason, public transport is strongly based on small buses that run throughout the city and are usually fast and efficient, colloquially known as “vans” or “truck eticas.” However, the “camioneticas” system is accused by some of being chaotic and originating from a large part of the city’s circulation problems, for not respecting the areas reserved for loading and unloading passengers. The van system replaced buses, old and not affiliated with the Metro, which still cover some routes.
The poorly urbanized areas with irregular topography, called “hills”, have a system of jeeps, rustic vehicles with capacity for eight or ten people. This transportation system is considered limited, precarious, and insufficient for the population it serves. This constitutes one of the problems that most directly affects the population living in these areas. The Caracas Metro communicates at the La Rinconada station, with the Libertador Simón Bolívar railway station, from which trains depart daily to the towns of the Tuy valleys.
The Mayor’s Office of the Libertador Municipality is executing the project to develop and implement a Rapid Transit Bus called BusCaracas, which will consist of trolleybus units that will run through the city from northwest to south. The plan, which was originally designed in 2001, envisages a length of six kilometers and a cost of fifty-one million dollars. In the initial stage of construction, the system estimates to transport approximately one hundred thousand passengers per day through twelve stations, starting from the Mercado de las Flores, passing through San José., the Armed Forces Avenue, La Hoyada, Nuevo Circo, San Agustín, El Helicoide, Cemetery, Prado de María, Roosevelt Avenue, Los Laureles, until arriving at Terminal La Bandera. The installation of this means of transport in the capital city is based fundamentally on the experience of the TransMilenio of Bogotá or the transport system of Curitiba, Brazil and implies a prior agreement with the Caracas Metro. [29]
Interstate ground transportation
There are three passenger terminals, which make routes to the interior of the country by buses or interregional trains.
- For the Eastern Region: the Terminal de Oriente
- For the Western Region and Los Llanos: Terminal de La Bandera
- For the dormitory cities located in the Miranda state (Charallave, Santa Lucía, Santa Teresa, Cúa, Ocumare del Tuy, Los Teques, San Antonio, Carrizal, Paracotos, Guarenas, Guatire, Caucagua, Río Chico, Higuerote, etc.): the Terminal del Nuevo Circo or La Hoyada.
- For Santa Lucía, Altagracia de Orituco, Santa Teresa, Guarenas, Guatire, Caucagua, Río Chico, Higuerote, etc.: The La Urbina terminal (serves as an outlet for the collapsed terminal of the Nuevo Circo or La Hoyada).
- For La Guaira and the Simón Bolívar International Airport: Central Park Bus and Taxis Terminal
- In addition, there is also the Libertador Simón Bolívar railway station, which communicates with the region of the Tuy valleys (Charallave, Santa Lucía, Ocumare, Santa Teresa, Yare and Cúa).
- There are also several private terminals with fixed destinations
