Puerto Rico's inland transportation network consists primarily of roads and motor vehicles. A system of public buses operated by the Metropolitan Bus Authority (MBA) provides intercity passenger transport in the capital of San Juan and nearby cities. As of 2000, the bus service carried 135,000 daily passengers, up from 60,000 daily passengers in 1995, a 125% increase. The públicos, a privately owned jitney service of small buses and cars, offers transportation between fixed destinations in cities and towns.
In 2000, Puerto Rico had 14,695 mi (23,649 km) of state highways and municipal roads. In 2000, the territory had approximately two million registered automobiles.
The rail transit system under development by Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority (PRHTA), known as the Tren Urbano (Urban Train), was scheduled to begin operations in September 2003. Tren Urbano was expected to operate 74 vehicles, to serve about 115,000 passengers per day at 16 stations along a 10.7-mi (17-km), 30-minute route. The cost of the Tren Urbano project had risen from $1.25 billion in 1996 to $2.3 billion by 2003; these escalating costs and logistical problems delayed the completion of the project as of August 2003.
In 1996/97, the PRHTA invested nearly $750 million to complete the strategic highway network system around the island, as well as other roads that connect small towns with the nearby cities. By 2000, the majority of the projects to improve the highway system had been completed, including improvements to Highways 2, 3, 22, 26, 30, and 52. The PR-10 Expressway crosses from the north to the central moutainous region. The PR-53 toll road provides a new route for the towns of the northeast. The Baldorioty de Castro Expressway allows rapid travel between the main airport and the capital. In 2000, a $200 million master plan for a new north-south expressway was being developed, which would involve the Martinez Nadal Expressway (Highway 20), improvements to Highway 1 to Caguas, an intersection in Caparra, and the Kennedy Expressway. The project was to be completed by 2008.
San Juan, the island's principal port and a leading containerized cargo-handling facility, handled 9.6 million tons of cargo in 2001. Ponce and Mayagüez handle considerable tons of cargo as well. Ferries link the main island with the islands of Vieques and Culebra.
As of 2003, plans were underway to develop the "Port of the Americas," a world-class transshipment port and adjoining free industrial zone extending from Ponce to Guayanilla. Extensive tracts of land and the natural deep-water bay were to create an advantageous site for the port. The port was designed to handle all of Puerto Rico's foreign trade, and a good deal of its international container traffic crossing the Caribbean. The government was expecting to select a port development firm by the end of 2003. It was expected that 20,000 jobs would be created with the establishment of the port.
Puerto Rico receives flights from 38 US mainland cities, and from the Virgin Islands, the British West Indies, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Great Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands. Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in San Juan enplaned 10.4 million passengers in 2002. Puerto Rico shipped 495.8 million tons of air cargo in 2002. San Juan had 1.29 million passenger airline seats in January 2003. Other leading air terminals are located at Ponce, Mayagüez, and Aguadilla. There were 31 airports in Puerto Rico in mid-2002, 19 of which had paved runways. As of 2003, 52 airlines serviced Puerto Rico.