You're probably wondering what in thunder'n tarnation is going on with shuttle buses at Machu Picchu. Right? Claims of blackmail between competing bus companies surfaced in November 2025, and the conversation about how to set up a plan to keep the bus service operating is now centered on claims that the new owner of the bus service contract may be blackmailing the former owner of the old bus company, who is actually providing the bus service. If it sounds complicated, keep reading as I try to detangle the story for you.

After the news of the Machu Picchu bus service contract debacle flashed around the world in September, 2025, the rukus died down during the month of October and everyone went to their corners to mind their own business hoping the rest of the world wouldn't notice. But too late for that fellas! We can see you! 

While news outlets praised the Peruvian Ministry of Tourism for successfully bringing in and managing "record-breaking" crowds in October, no one was paying attention to the shuttle bus disaster that was still brewing. In another post I will expound more on how normal the crowds were in October. You may know I've tracked Machu Picchu ticket availability data for over 10 years.  Except during the pandemic, It's not unusual for the month of October to rank 2nd for visitor traffic in a calendar year. The report about how well the authorities in Peru managed the increased crowds in October was more hyperbole than anything else. It's part of the plan to encourage travel to Peru. So. Back to the bus story.

Don't be surprised if you continue to see headlines about issues with buses at Machu Picchu. I told you we need to be prepared for bumps along the road, before a final solution is reached.. Two steps forward, one step back. Cha-cha-cha! You know how that goes.

In November, it was reported that the owner of the new bus company, which I will refer to as "Torontoy," is finally admitting he doesn't have enough buses or ticketing services, to meet the needs of the visitors going to Machu Picchu. Well duh dude. I started connecting the dots and saw this coming in September. If I saw it, they all knew it too, but hoped it would not escalate to the situation we now have.  The owner of the company has stated that since he now owns the contract for the bus concession, he is entitled to compensation from the old bus company, whose name is Consettur and who is still operating the daily bus service at Machu Picchu! Apparently, the owner of the old contract has been paying the owner of the new contract! This news was reported by an insider who knows people in both companies. What a mess right? 

Whether or not the "blackmail" payment was the plan all along, I can't tell you. But I smell a dead trout. Everyone knows. In order for shuttle buses to operate at Machu Picchu, they need to meet not only safety standards, but size limits. The Hiram Bingham route, as it's called between the village of Aguas Calientes and the entrance to Machu Picchu, has specific requirements for vehicles to operate. This is why EV buses cannot be used. They're simply too heavy for this road. 

There was a big meeting In September to find a resolution to the bus contract problem. But now it seems like it was a publicity stunt to assure the world, "Hey, we got this!" The meeting in Lima sorted out the contract for the Machu Picchu bus concession. (which currently means absolutely nothing!) Everyone at the meeting thought it was a good idea to do everything possible to guarantee the safetly of travelers going to Machu Picchu. So. They established that the National Police will ensure the safety of buses and the clearance of roads to Machu Picchu. Furhermore, the Ministry set up measures to assist tourists at the iPeru offices at Cusco airport. And for the poor folks in September who couldn't get to Machu Picchu, they took it up a notch to coordinate rescheduling of flights with the airlines and even went so far as to make arrangements that hotel operators avoid "no-show" fees. All for you guys! It turns out they want the visitor experience to be positive after all! 

So far in October and into November, Consettur has not had any issues providing bus service to Machu Picchu, and both Inca Rail and Peru Rail have been operating at full steam! 

When will the new shuttle buses at Machu Picchu begin operating?

There is no final agreement, official contract or plan of any kind in place to solve the shuttle bus dilemma at Machu Picchu. The players in this game, are local mayors, council members and business leaders who are foaming at the mouth to get their chunk of the tasty multi-million dollar empanada. The new buses are still not in place to take over the service at Machu Picchu. These local myopic greedy bosses, are elbowing each other to get to the top of the heap. Meanwhile the Peru government just wants the negative news headlines to fade away into the cloudforest.  If only they could get the players to be quiet. One of the mayors actually reported that he thinks they should shut down Machu Picchu for a month or two until they get the bus service contract sorted out. These statements were met with an outcry that echoed through the mountains and rattled every Inca ruin in the Andes.  My Machu Picchu whisperers tell me there is no official plan in place to get the new buses up and running anytime soon, that we know of. The whisperers believe that the authorities will try to keep the bus story on the down low. One day, in the future, the new buses will magically appear and being operating. And Bob's Your Uncle!

Is it Safe to Travel to Machu Picchu During "Shuttle Bus-Gate" of 2025?

All of our groups since September have made it to Machu Picchu without any incidents except one in Septermber who couldn't get to Aguas Calilentes due to the 1-day suspension of train service. Trains and buses were operational all of October and November. On September 18, all the head haunchos on each side got together for a roundtable meeting in Lima. I"m assuming there was adult supervision because the details for a contingency plan were hammered out and announced on the same day. Both train and bus services were restored. I don't believe that travelers are at risk of being injured or physically harmed in this skirmish unless they choose to do something foolish like join the farmers on the tracks. In my opinion, as long as travelers mind their own business, they'll be fine, although the possiblity of interruptions in service could flare up. 

We don't believe that there's any issues with safety. The biggest problems are reliability. You never know when there could be a flareup that could affect bus operations. For people planning trips in 2026, you just have to go with it folks and hope that everything works out on the day you are there.

They really do want to keep people coming to Peru. They just don't know how. They're in over their heads. You've got kindergartners holding the keys to one of the top wonders of the world. 

Why won't the Peru government step in and manage the buses at Machu Picchu?

That's a very good question grasshopper. After working down there for 18 years, I'll share my opinion. My take is that the government doesn't like to use it's official authority in matters of tourism because it can backfire and make them look like government bullies. Factions know how to muster up naive indigenous residents for their causes and uniformed policy generally don't touch the farmers unless they actually try to engage in physical violence. The ministers running the tourism industry in Peru are negotiating with local leaders who are trying to position themselves to benefit from the services being provided for the tourism industry. It's all about controlling the flow of money.  Authorities in the travel industry want to avoid the appearnace of reinforcing the reputation that Peruvian politicians are using scare tactics to get their way. (Just for the record, I'm not saying that other countries are better at solving their probelms.)

Here's the backstory if you want to follow along from the very beginning. 

It all started when Consettur bus service to Machu Picchu was suspended for a couple of hours on Sunday, September 7, 2025.  Or let's say that's when the interruptions in service started. Prior to that, the primary reason it started was due to an attack on one of the last buses coming down from Machu Picchu at 5:45pm on Saturuday Sept 6. Someone threw a rock at the windshield, then skedaddled. But there's more. Another underlying reason has been broiling away. I will explain that further. To protect the safety of travelers and staff after someone threw a rock at the windshield, the owners of the shuttle buses suspended service Sunday morning. Travelers had to wait in the village of Aguas Calientes and hope that service would be restored, or take their chances and hike 9km up the Hiram Bingham trail to the main gate of the citadel. 

After a couple of hours without bus service, the national police agreed to provide a uniformed police escort on every bus to prevent any further disruptions to service and get the thousands of daily visitors safety up to Machu Picchu. As you can imagine, trains were delayed and undoubtedly many people had to make changes to their entire trip to Peru.

Why was Shuttle Bus Service at Machu Picchu Suspended?

It's complicated. The reason for the attack on one of the buses is due to a "situation" that has been brewing for a few weeks now. In case you haven't been following, (and why would you!), Consettur bus company has been caught up in a messy dispute about the process to select a shuttle bus provider when their contract ended on September 5. Right up to the last day of the contract it was not determined who would be responsible to provide the lucrative multi-million dollar bus service from the village of Aguas Calientes to the doorstep of Machu Picchu National Park. "Gentlemen! Start your engines!"

Everyone, including little ole me, knew the contract for the bus concession at Machu Picchu was expiring on September 5. It was widely known that Consettur was reluctant to end their comfy monopoly, The company claims that for the last 4 years, they've been preparing to continue offering service after September 5 by investing in charging stations, electric buses, (which is another dicey issue!) and rest stops. I've seen stories for the last several weeks mentioning how citizens and local authorities have been calling for the bidding process to get going so the bus concession service could continue without interruption regardless of which company would be awarded the concession. But you know how politics and money are. For some reason, the municipality in charge of accepting proposals for service opened the bidding, then cancelled it right before midnight on Sept 4 when the Consettur contract officially expired. Meanwhile Consettur made it clear they wanted to be included in the contingency plans while the bidding process was conducted. On September 7, you could say that broken promises and hurtful accusations collided and broke the llama's back. And a flood of recriminations began! 

Here's how the new Machu Picchu bus service was selected

Recently, the contract to provide bus service ended at midnight on September 4, 2025, which doesn't mean that Consettur could not continue to provide bus service until new arrangements were made. But apparently no one took responsibility to actually set up a contingency plan to, first, accept bids for the bus service concession, and secondly, organize a contingency plan to either renew the contract with Consettur, or arrange for a new bus company to get their buses in a row. And that's what has been happening. Everyone including me knew the contract was ending at the stroke of midnight on Sept 4. The drivers showed up and drove on Sept 5. So on Saturday Sept 5, someone decided to shake things by throwing a rock at the windshield of one of the last buses returning to the village at the end of the day. That's when it gets dark. It would be easy to hide in the thick foliage along the dirt road. Then. In the middle of the night, sometime between midnight and "before the rooster crows," a deal to provide bus service was codified with San Antonio de Torontoy Company. To get around the rules and legal requirements needed to select the next provider for the "golden yellow brick path" to guaranteed prosperity, the deal makers allegedly just made up a plan that would allow them to circumvent the official rules and regulations for opening the bidding process. They claimed they had to choose a company quickly without going through the process. It was an "emergency." Uh-huh. So withouot legal authority and the binding authorization of the regulatory bodies, they awarded the concession to San Antonio de Torontoy Company. In the middle of the night. While I was sleeping.

Then, allegations of irregular and illegal public procurement started flying out of the shadows, spotlighting how the municipal mayors, councilmen and local politicians, not to mention the media, could be invested and benefit in the selection of either the old bus company or a newly appointed company. 

How to plan around delays and suspension of transport services to Machu Picchu:

• allow extra time for your trip to Machu Picchu. One day trips are risky in these circumstances. However, when services by train or bus are interrupted, I have seen authorities make accommodations for travelers to change their entry dates. Can I guarnatee it?  No! This is where having a local person to advocate on your behalf can be worth the extra cost and effort to arrange. 
• have a source for reliable up to date information. I mean a local who is on speed dial! 
• schedule a buffer day or two after your scheduled trip to Machu Picchu. If you are delayed getting out of Aguas Calientes, you don't want to risk missing your flight.
• if you're fit enough, wear sturdy shoes, and pack light to walk up the dirt road from Aguas Calientes up to Machu Picchu

Is it Possible to Walk from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu?

I'm not saying you need to know this. But. Just in case you're curious about walking from the village up to Machu Picchu main gate. Here's what you need to know. Bring sturdy shoes and a backpack big enough to carry everything you need for the 9km hike to Machu Picchu. Estimated time on foot, is 2 hours up / 1 hour down. The road starts out flat from the village of Aguas Calientes for about 30-40 minutes to the ruinas bridge. Then the climb begins up the dirt path with stone steps that heads straight up the mountain to the blessed Inca city. Just remember. You'll be walking in the footsteps of the ancient ones. 

Who do we want to "win" the contract to provide bus service to Machu Picchu?

I fall into the camp of "let's put the travelers' needs first" regardless of how we ((that's the royal we) feel about monopolies and coverups. There are certain criteria that should be met for meeting the requirements of the job. Things like having enough buses and offering a website for tickets seem pretty important. Consettur has almost 40 buses and Torontoy claims they have 18. So. There's that. I support the company that offers the highest safety profilen and has the ability to meet the needs of the customer. I believe that Consettur is most likely to meet the needs of the travelers and, at least temporaily, should be left in place to provide service. 

Check back because I plan to keep this story updated "as the world turns."