trufi

How it is used in Bolivia

A very Bolivian institution and the workhorse of short trips: cars, minivans or minibuses running a numbered fixed route, shared, for a set per-seat fare (Bs 10 per person to Cotoca in one chapter's story), waved or flagged down at any corner along the way.

No clock, and usually no printed timetable: it 'sale cuando se llena' (leaves when full), so a departure time, even a written 18:30, is a plan to confirm, not assume. It is the classic, everyday way between Santa Cruz and nearby towns, and for Samaipata THE option locals name first.

Routes are learned by lore, not signage: everyone just knows where each line goes, and asking a friend or a passer-by is the normal way to find yours. In Cochabamba the trufi is the everyday way across town, cheaper than a taxi, nimbler than the micro.