CONFERENCE VENUE
Conference
Place
The conference will take place at
the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Chile (Facultad de
Ingeniería) in Santiago. It is located 1 km. south of O’Higgins Avenue
(main street) in downtown Santiago. More precisely, in the Department of
Geology (Departamento de Geología), which is located at Plaza Ercilla 803. If you search
for that address in GoogleMap you will get the picture included below. The
large green area is O’Higgins Park (Parque O’Higgins), which is also the
name of the closest subway station.
If you use the Metro (subway), you
can either get out at Toesca or Parque O’Higgins stations (Line 2). From
there, you can reach the conference site after a 5-10 minutes walk. From Parque O’Higgins station there is a
passage through the park. If you take a taxi, you can ask the driver to
leave you at “Plaza Ercilla en Blanco Encalada”.
Using the
Subway
The Santiago Metro might be the best
public transport option if the place you want to reach is located near to
one of its stations. Even if not, it might be convenient to move first to
the nearest station to your destination first and then take a taxi.
Currently, there are five lines (numbered 1, 2, 4a, 4b, and 5; there is no
line 3 yet). In most cases, you will use only lines 1 and 2, since most of
the interesting spots in Santiago and also the conference venue are located
near the stations of these two lines.
In order to pay for the Metro you
have two options: you can buy a ticket for a single trip or buy a “BIP”
card, which can be recharged with money and used for several trips. There
is no difference in the price using one or another paying method, but if
you want to use the BIP card you have to buy it first for 1000 pesos (US$
1.6) and then charge it with money for traveling. The BIP card is required
if you plan to use the buses, since it is the only way to pay for them.
Moreover, with the BIP card you do not pay again to continue your trip
started with the Metro and changing to a bus or vice-versa within 90
minutes.
The price of one trip does not
depend on the length of the trip, but there is a difference in the price
depending on the hour of the day. The peak hours are from 7:00 to 9:00 and
from 18:00 to 20:00; the fare is 420 pesos (about US$ 0.7 US); the fare is
380 pesos during the rest of the day.
The Metro network: for reaching the
conference venue get off at Toesca or Parque O´Higgins station on Line 2
(yellow line).
Taking a Taxi
Taxis are relatively cheap in
Santiago compared with most North American and European countries. There is
a fixed charge of 200 pesos and then a fare of 90 or 100 pesos (depending
on the taxi) for every 200 hundred meters. The same amount is charged for
every minute the vehicle is not moving during the trip (for example,
waiting for a green traffic light).
Other useful
tips
The official language in Chile is
Spanish. Most people in the street do not speak English.
Electricity is 220V 50 Hz. Time zone
is Greenwich -4. Other information is in Accommodations.
