Transportation in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

can be summarized in the following areas: aviation, highways, pipelines, ports and harbors, railways, and waterways. Apart from transporting passengers, the country is a relatively small exporter of, alongside fruits and vegetables such as Banana's, Papaya's an
Pineapples

Aviation

National airlines

Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under ...

LATAM Airlines LATAM Airlines Group S.A. is an airline holding company headquartered in Santiago, Chile. It is considered the largest airline company in Latin America with subsidiaries in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru. The company filed for Ch ...

Airports

359 (2006 est.)

Airports (paved)

:''total:'' 98 :''over 3,047 m:'' 3 :''2,438 to 3,047 m:'' 4 :''1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 19 :''914 to 1,523 m:'' 29 :''under 914 m:'' 43

Airports (unpaved)

:''total:'' 261 :''914 to 1,523 m:''33 :''under 914 m:''228

Heliports

:2 (2010)

Highways

:''total:'' :''paved:'' :''unpaved:'' (2004 est.) The Sierra Region still plays an important role in transportation throughout the country. The

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

crosses it from north to south. Ecuador has managed to update some roads into four-lane freeways: *

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

– Alpichacas. Length: 33 km. *

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

ring-road. Length: 46 km. *

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

– Taura. Length: 30 km. *

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

– Cerro Blanco. Length: 27 km. *

Machala Machala () is a city in south-west Ecuador. It is the capital of the El Oro Province, and is located near the Gulf of Guayaquil on fertile lowlands. Machala has a population of 241,606 (2010 census); it is the eighth-biggest city in the country, a ...

– Pasaje. Length: 23 km.

Bus transport

Bus transport in Ecuador Ecuador has a variety of bus services. The general types of service include: * luxury buses — ''autobús de lujo'', which travel the main routes between cities. * standard buses — these travel more local routes and will stop for any pa ...

Pipelines

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

800 km *

petroleum products Petroleum products are materials derived from crude oil (petroleum) as it is processed in oil refineries. Unlike petrochemicals, which are a collection of well-defined usually pure organic compounds, petroleum products are complex mixtures. The m ...

1,358 km

Ports and harbors

Pacific Ocean

* Esmeraldas *

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

, La Libertad *

Manta Manta or mantas may refer to: * Manta ray, large fish belonging to the genus ''Manta'' Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * Manta (comics), a character in American Marvel Comics publications * Manta (''Uridium''), a spaceship in the Br ...

Puerto Bolívar Puerto Bolívar is an urban parish and port city, part of the municipality of Machala, El Oro Province, Ecuador. Puerto Bolívar is one of the world's largest shipment points for bananas, most of them destined for Europe; about 80% of Ecuador's ...

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

Merchant marine

''total:'' 31 ships ( or over) totaling /
''ships by type:'' (2006 est.) *

Chemical tanker A chemical tanker is a type of tanker ship designed to transport chemicals in bulk. As defined in MARPOL Annex II, chemical tanker means a ship constructed or adapted for carrying in bulk any liquid product listed in chapter 17 of the Internat ...

1 * gas carrying tanker 1 * Passenger ships 7 *

Petroleum tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...

s 21 *

Specialized tanker Specialization or Specialized may refer to: Academia * Academic specialization, may be a course of study or major at an academic institution or may refer to the field in which a specialist practices * Specialty (medicine), a branch of medical ...

1 ''Foreign-owned:'' 2 * Norway 1, * Paraguay 1 ''Registered in other countries'' 1 * Georgia 1

Railways

''Total:'' 812 km (single track)
''

Narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

:'' 812 km of gauge. All services ceased in 2020.

Proposals

There is a proposed rail connection with

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. On 5 July 2008, a meeting took place between

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and Ecuador regarding a railway for freight and passengers to link the three countries, and linking the Pacific with the Atlantic also. There is no railway service to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Metro services

In 2020, the

Cuenca Tramway The Cuenca Tramway ( es, Tranvía de Cuenca) is a tram line in the Ecuadorian city of Cuenca. Background Construction began in November 2013, with the city of Cuenca signing a US$142.6m contract with the CITA Cuenca consortium, which is led by ...

(Tranvía Cuenca), the first modern rail transit line in Ecuador, opened for service. The

Quito Metro The Quito Metro ( es, Metro de Quito), abbreviated as MDQ, is an underground rail mass transit system consisting of a single line that is operational since January 2023 in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. History Construction on the main south ...

is expected to open in late 2022.

Waterways

References

Useful tips and articles about transportation in Ecuador

External links

{{Commons category, Transport in Ecuador