View source for Transport in Ecuador

{{Short description|Transport infrastructure networks in Ecuador}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is already sufficiently detailed; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{no footnotes|date=February 2013}}
[[Image:Carreteras Duplas de Ecuador 2025.jpg|thumb|right|[[Dual carriageway]] highways in Ecuador, in red]]

'''Transportation in Ecuador''' is the transport infrastructure networks in [[Ecuador]] and those connecting the country with other countries. Transportation in Ecuador include aviation, highways, pipelines, ports and harbors, railways and waterways. Apart from transporting passengers, the country is a relatively small exporter of fruits and vegetables such as banana, papayas and pineapples.

==Aviation==
[[File:29. Aeropuerto de Guayaquil (8).JPG|thumb|[[José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport]] ('''[[Guayaquil]]''')]]

===National airlines===
*[[Avianca Ecuador|Avianca]]
*[[LATAM Ecuador|LATAM Airlines]]
*Aeroregional

===Airports===
{{main|List of airports in Ecuador}}
345 (2025)

====Airports (paved)====
*''total:'' 317 (2025)
**''over 3,047 m:'' 3 (2010)
**''2,438 to 3,047 m:'' 4 (2010)
**''1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 19 (2010)
**''914 to 1,523 m:'' 29 (2010)
**''under 914 m:'' 43 (2010)

====Airports (unpaved)====
:''total:'' 261
:''914 to 1,523 m:''33
:''under 914 m:''228

===Heliports===
28 (2025)<ref>{{Citation |title=Ecuador |date=2025-03-25 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ecuador/#transportation |access-date=2025-03-31 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>

==Highways==
{{main|Highways in Ecuador}}
*''total:'' {{convert|43,197|km|mi}}
**''paved:'' {{convert|6,467|km|mi}}
**''unpaved:'' {{convert|36,730|km|mi}} (2004 est.)

The Sierra Region still plays an important role in transportation throughout the country. The [[Pan-American Highway]] crosses it from north to south. Ecuador has managed to update some roads into four-lane freeways:

* [[Quito]] – Alpichacas. Length: 33&nbsp;km.
* [[Guayaquil]] ring-road. Length: 46&nbsp;km.
* [[Guayaquil]] – Taura. Length: 30&nbsp;km.
* [[Guayaquil]] – Cerro Blanco. Length: 27&nbsp;km.
* [[Machala]] – Pasaje. Length: 23&nbsp;km.

===Bus transport===
Ecuador has a variety of [[bus]] services.<ref>{{citation |title=Defining Central Place Systems through the Analysis of Bus Services: The Case of Ecuador |author=R Bromley |journal=Geographical Journal |year=1979}}</ref>

The general types of service include:

* luxury buses &mdash; ''autobús de lujo'', which travel the main routes between cities.<ref name=RG>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=cG2qljj3y6wC |title=The Rough Guide to Ecuador |author=Harry Adès, Melissa Graham}}</ref>
* standard buses &mdash; these travel more local routes and will stop for any passengers that hails them.<ref name=RG/>
* [[minibus]]es &mdash; ''busetas'' which service the outer fringes of the bus networks<ref name=RG/>
* ''rancheras'' &mdash; [[truck]]s which have been converted to buses by adding [[wooden bench]]es.  These service the poorer, rural areas, along with ''camionetas'', which are converted [[pickup truck]]s.<ref name=RG/>

In the capital, [[Quito]], boarding platforms are used to put passengers at the same level as the entrance to the bus.<ref>{{citation |title=Bus rapid transit technologies in the Americas: an overview |author=RB Diaz, DC Schneck |journal=Transportation Research Record |year=2000}}</ref>

==Pipelines==
* 485 km extra heavy crude,
* 123 km gas,
* 2,131 km oil, 
* 1,526 km refined products (2025)<ref>{{Citation |title=Ecuador |date=2025-03-25 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ecuador/ |access-date=2025-03-31 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>

==Ports and harbors==
Ecuador has:

* 6 total ports (2024)
** 0 large
** 0 medium
** 2 small
** 4 very small
** 5 ports with oil terminals
** key ports: Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Puerto Maritimo de Guayaquil

=== Pacific Ocean ===
* [[Esmeraldas, Ecuador|Esmeraldas]]
* [[Guayaquil]], [[La Libertad, Guayas|La Libertad]]
* [[Manta, Ecuador|Manta]]
* [[Puerto Bolívar]]
* [[San Lorenzo, Ecuador|San Lorenzo]]

===Merchant marine===
* total: 31 ships ({{GT|1,000|disp=long}} or over) totaling {{GT|184,819}}/{{DWT|300,339|metric|disp=long}}
*ships by type: (2006 est.)
** [[Chemical tanker]] 1
** [[LNG carrier|gas carrying tanker]] 1
** Passenger ships 7
** [[Petroleum tanker]]s 21
** [[Specialized tanker]] 1
*Foreign-owned: 2
** Norway 1
** Paraguay 1
* Registered in other countries 1
** Georgia 1

==Railways==
{{main|Rail transport in Ecuador}}
[[File:Railways in Ecuador.svg|thumb|Railways in Ecuador
<br /><span style="color:red">━━━</span> Routes with passenger traffic
<br /><span style="color:black">━━━</span> Routes in usable state
<br /><span style="color:gray">··········</span> Unusable or dismantled routes]]
''Total:''
812&nbsp;km (single track)
<br>''[[Narrow-gauge railway|Narrow gauge]]:''
812&nbsp;km of {{RailGauge|3ft6in}} gauge.

All services ceased in 2020.

=== Proposals ===
There is a proposed rail connection with [[Transport in Colombia|Colombia]]. On 5 July 2008, a meeting took place between [[Transport in Venezuela|Venezuela]], [[Transport in Colombia|Colombia]] 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 [[Transport in Peru|Peru]].

=== Metro services ===
In 2020, the [[Cuenca Tramway]] (Tranvía Cuenca), the first modern rail transit line in Ecuador, opened for service.

The [[Quito Metro]] initiated its commercial operations on 1 December 2023.

==Waterways==
{{convert|1500|km|mi}}

==See also==
*[[Chiva bus]]
*[[Share taxi]]
*[[Trolleybuses in Quito]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{CIA World Factbook}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927025616/http://www.volunteeringecuador.info/en/about-ecuador/transportation-in-ecuador.html Useful tips and articles about transportation in Ecuador]}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Transport in Ecuador}}

{{Americas topic|Transport in}}
{{Ecuador topics}}

[[Category:Transport in Ecuador| ]]


{{Ecuador-transport-stub}}